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Maybe you can try blocking the sun light using those plastic "board" sold in bookshops?
a 2ft x 1ft x 1ft tank was recently moved (by my father) to under a south facing window on sunday. it now gets about 4hrs of morning sunlight everyday. i've tried drawing the binds but still there's sunlight shining into the tank.
i did 3 x 90% water changes after the move to get rid of any possible ammonia stirred up during the move and my test kit shows zero ammonia.
i found traces of BGA and GSA on the glass today and i immediately did a huge water change after scrubbing them off.
my fert regime is as follows:
12ppm of nitrate, 4ppm of phosphate and 9ppm of potassium on monday, wed and fri
5ml of flourish on tues, thurs and sunday.
50%water change on sat followed by dosing of 1/4tsp of equilibrium and NPK.
pressurised CO2 is injected via a powerhead - the 'misting' method.
an hour after lights on, kh=2, ph=6.
lightings is 72W PL, tank planted with java fern, crypts and hairgrass.
7 pearl danios + 1 yamato shrimp.
the tank was 'algae-free' before the move.
should i simply dose more of Nitrates and phosphates (sunlight drew the consumption up)?
i can't get permission to shift the tank to any other locations in the house.
Maybe you can try blocking the sun light using those plastic "board" sold in bookshops?
Up nitrate and potassium dosage...
You might want to turn off one of the 36W tubes if things do not improve furthur.
okay. i've just increased the co2 slightly.
should i dose a 1/2 dose of the N and P on the days i'm dosing the traces? or a full dose?
current fert regime is as follows:
12ppm of nitrate, 4ppm of phosphate and 9ppm of potassium on monday, wed and fri
5ml of flourish on tues, thurs and sunday.
increase to
12ppm of nitrate, 4ppm of phosphate and 9ppm of potassium on monday, wed and fri
5ml of flourish, 6ppm of nitrate and 2ppm of phosphate on tues, thurs and sunday.
Do you have enough plant biomass to begin with?
Just remove all the algae and crank the CO2 up a tad bit and observe for that week. Find ways to improve the flow pattern such that the mist will cover all parts of the plants. The nutrients are fine imo (3x a week is enough..you do not need it everyday for macros). The algae should not return if you clean things up good and the CO2 is enough. Focus on the CO2.
Regards
Peter Gwee
thanks peter. i 'think' i have sufficient plant mass, 80% filled. but i'm still planning to fill it in a tad more.
i'm currently using just a powerhead, no rainbar though.
the powerhead, 1" from the gravel, is directed left to right and the mist gets around like 4/5 the length of the tank.
to improve the spread of the mist, should i use a rainbar across the length/width of the tank? or a stronger powerhead?
The mist needs to get to the plants (thats the main idea of the direct gas contact). Its just something you can tweak via visual.Originally Posted by hongrui
Regards
Peter Gwee
okay peter. i think i've got the idea of what needs to be done.
thankyou.
is it true that too much CO2 n lights cause hair algae? newbie to algae...pls help. Thks...
I had similar problems with my tank that I set up 2 years ago. Sunlight, poor plant growth and algae despite CO2 and fert. Eventually, I solved the problem by turning CO2 on 24 hours daily. I believe the problem was caused by insufficient CO2 during photoperiod under direct sunlight.
It does make alot of sense that it could be due to insufficient amount of CO2 in the tank, thus resulting in the algae outbreak... The sun is so much more powerful than our lights, as a result, the uptake of the plants could probably be much higher... So insufficient CO2, too much nutrients, algae happy...
So, UPZ your CO2!!
i've got my danios popping up to the surface once in a while to breath and i'm reluctant to up the co2 anymore. anyway after cleaning off the BGA, i've decided to go for a 4-5days blackout and get a new powerhead as the current one (150 l/hr) may be too weak. will get one in the range of 300-400l/hr
Make sure you have moderate surface movement and shut the CO2 off at night. Plants don't need CO2 at night and you can add more 10-12hrs per day as compared to 24hr method. Consider using the CO2 misting method.
Regards
Peter Gwee
okay peter.
what i'm doing now is inserting my co2 output from the cylinder into the powerhead and using the powerhead to 'spray' the co2 around the tank so i guess i'm using the 'misting' method.
but since the mist from my current powerhead only gets around like 4/5 the length of my tank i'm considering changing to a powerhead with higher flowrate
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