What did I do wrong?

[bzehr]

Ok, I decided to try live plants for the first time. About 2 weeks ago I planted my 55 gallon. The plants are doing great, but so is the algae. My water has turned green and clouded up so bad that I can barely see 2 inches into the tank. I have never had an algae problem before, so I assume something I did while introducing the plants caused it.

When I got the plants, I upgraded the lighting to 120 watts, up from 30. I also used CO2 injection. I didn't use any fertilizers. The tank was fully cycled, ammo - 0, nitrites - 0. Nitrates were usually around 20 with weekly water changes. Since I added the plants, nitrates have dropped to around 5.

I assume that the algae bloom was caused by the upgrade in lighting and introduction of CO2. How can I prevent this? I need the lighting and CO2 for the plants, so how do I keep the algae out?

Also, to get rid of the green water, I have read that I should do a complete blackout for about 5-7 days. Is this going to kill my plants?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated.

 

[Captain Hook]

If money isn't a concern, you can buy a U.V. sterilizer for the tank. That would kill all the green water algae. It also helps kills off other things like diseases in the water I think.

Do you have a good amount of plants in the tank? Sounds like you were fairly well prepared with the light, Co2, etc. Are you using any gravel fertilizers?

Forgot to mention I've heard the blackout should not kill your plants. 7 days sounds pretty long to me though. I thought 3-5 days was usually recommended but I could be wrong.

 

[Shariukas]

First of all, do you really need co2? Blanking out the lights should kill the green water, but it does not guarantee that it won't come back later. Biological means of combat with algae show best long-term results. I would suggest introducing floating and fast growing plants to the aquarium, and CO2 should be removed, or kept minimal. The floating plants would shade the light from algae, and should outcompete algae for nutrients.

 

[Captain Hook]

Shariukas suggesting to take out or reduce the CO2 makes no sense. I have found it much easier to keep algae away with good CO2 levels. I'm sure others will agree. The CO2 helps the plants grow at a faster rate so algae cannot establish itself.

edited for a clearer arrangement

 

[echoofformless]

Shariukas suggesting to take out or reduce the CO2 makes no sense. I (and I'm sure many others will agree) have found it much easier to keep algae away with good CO2 levels. The CO2 helps the plants grow at a faster rate so algae cannot establish itself.

I'd say yes and no to that. Let us not forget that algae uses co2 as well. But, there is a good point in the fact that when feeding co2 and using fast growing plants, you will find that the plants will outcompete the algae. But if your plants are small and slow-growing, you might just be doing the algae more favors.

Don't fret about green water. It's not harmful to your fish and can be easily cleared with a short blackout. In fact you might even find that after a few days of blackout, your plants have all gotten really straight and maybe even grew a little taller in their search for light. My crypts gained a few inches during a four day blackout, and my water was clear as vodka.

 

[djlen]

The suggestion that CO2 will do anything counter productive is a ridiculous one.
If you had a picture of your tank it would help quite a bit.
You've got an imbalance here, and if we knew how heavy your plant mass was we could advise as to how much and what type of nutrients to dose, and/or what type of plants to add to balance things out.
With your watts per gallon, it should be very easy to fix your algae issue. You need to fix it for the long term. A black out (3 day, not 5 to 7) will clear it, but the algae will return without balancing the tank.

Len

 

[Shariukas]

The suggestion that CO2 will do anything counter productive is a ridiculous one.

I wouldn't be that brave to say that. There are various situations in aquaria. A good friend of mine, growing aquaplants for almost 20 yrs. said that in combat with algae, in 70% of cases CO2 does nothing or worsens the deal. First thing to care about is water, then comes light, co2 and ferts.

 

[djlen]

I suggest that anyone who has dealt with aquatic plants for 20 years would not make a statement as foolish as that.
The reason for injecting CO2 is to supply the 'building block' of all growing things....carbon. An adequate supply of carbon is essential to good plant growth. Plant growth is the best way to combat algae growth.
CO2 injection can kill fish if used carelessly. Carefully administered it supplies the most important nutrient for plants. What could be counter productive about that?

"A good friend of mine, growing aquaplants for almost 20 yrs. said that in combat with algae, in 70% of cases CO2 does nothing or worsens the deal."

You tell your friend that you were talking with a guy on this forum that has been growing plants since 1963 and using CO2 since 1993 and he says that .....'70% of the cases CO2 does nothing'....... is a patently ridiculous statement and without an iota of fact to it.

Len

 

[Shariukas]

Do you mean that CO2 is the only source of carbon for plants?

If plants don't "feel" well, CO2 won't do much help, they won't take it, algae will. When plants are growing fine without CO2, injection might speed up their growth, for a while, untill something else is missing (N for example), and here we go ferts! That's my opinion, knowledge and practice.

I don't want flaming here, but please, respect others (or at least yourself), think twice b4 calling someones statement ridiculous.

 

[echoofformless]

IThe reason for injecting CO2 is to supply the 'building block' of all growing things....carbon.

Your own statement negates your case. Algae is a growing thing.

It's just a simple matter of logic that if a building block of all growing things is introduced into an ecosystem, only those organisms that are growing and in good health will be using it. If this tank has only dying, declining plants and craploads of algae, which organism do you think will utilize it most?

That is not to say that adding co2 isn't a good idea, it very well could be the solution. But assuming constants in a world of variables is just not solid science. This solution would only work in the case of their being fast growing, nutrient absorbing plants - many of them, and in enough health that they are not beyond the point of being revived. Otherwise, that extra co2 will just make things worse.