my problem tank

[clouser_minnow]

*sigh* the title says it all. first it was how to make it better. now its how to get rid of the BBA. just trimmed a little yesterday. please comment.

fauna
whiptails
oto cats
congo tetras (approx 15-20)
apisto caca "orange flash" babies

pictures




Fauna










a very plump looking oto



please COmment. THanks!!

Ren

[Fei Miao]

seems like a quite bad algae problem.

fill out the details in the help request form and the bros will help

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...ad.php?t=15348

[clouser_minnow]

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH, specify units): 4x1.5x1.5

Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 36Wx 8
Number and type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
Age of light bulbs : about 6 to 8 months
No. of hours your lights are on : 8 hours

CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 3BPS
Type of CO2 (DIY/Cylinder) : cylinder
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor) : Diffusor

Liquid fertilisers Used (Product name. E.g. Seachem Flourish) : ferka (the green lable one), seachem flourish, nutrafin NPK
Fertilization regime (Frequency and amount per dose) : 7ml, 7ml and 7ml respectively per week. spread over 7 days.

Other fertilisers (Product name. E.g. Root Monster) : tetra initial sticks, ferka stemma.

Other additives (Product name. E.g. Seachem Prime) : Seachem potassium, 2ml per 3 days.

Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister, Product name/model if possible) : canister, 2x Eheim 2228
When was the filter last washed : 3 months ago
Filter media used : those little pebbles/rocks that came witht he filter and the filter pads.
When was the media last changed : never changed
What was changed : N/A

Age of setup (i.e. since initial setup or last major re-do ) : setup since late may/ early june

Water change frequency : weekly
Amount changed : 30%

Water surface movement (None/gentle/turbulent) : very gentle
Circulation (None/gentle/turbulent) : gentle

Tank Temperature :26-32 deg celcius

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
-------------------------------------
KH (dKH):
GH (dGH):
pH : 6. something
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Number and type of fish and plants)
------------------------------------------

whiptail X 4
Oto cat X 3
apistogramma cacatuoides "orange flash" babies X 8
Congo tetra X 15-20 unsure as sold some and sister took 5
Feeder prawn X4

java fern X6
red lotus X4
green lotus look alike X10
Cryptocoryne retrospiralis X 4
not sure of the rest of the names

Describe your problem :

Lots of algae growing on drift wood and plants to the extent that some of them get choked or totally covered in algae and die. have already cut back on ferts for the past 3 weeks. not sure what else to do to solve the algae problem.


All help is appreciated. thank you very much!

[Weirong]

Looks like you don't have to look for any foreground plants. The BBA will fill it up if this keeps up.

BBA is always a CO2 problem. What is your CO2 injection like?

[Weirong]

You have way too much light and too little CO2. I would advise you to cut down on your lights by 50%. Otherwise you will have to deal with heavy fertilization and much higher CO2 injection.

[PeterGwee]

Ditto to what Weirong mentioned. You are dosing too lean and CO2 seems way off for the amount of algae growth in the tank. You really need to go in and remove all the algae and trim/remove affected plants before correcting conditions which help plant grow well.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[clouser_minnow]

ok. thanks for the advice!! will do that later when i get home and see how i get along. how many BPS do you recommend if i cut back the lighting by 2 tubes?

[clouser_minnow]

ok, just got home, cleared up my tank, everything with BBA has gone OUT! now whats the next step?

[taz_boy]

you do not neccessary need to cut the lighting, if not some high light plants may suffer.

increase your co2 and adjust ur fert regime will do. as for how many bps. you've gotta double check using your test kits, 3bps is definitly too little for a 4ft tank.
my 3ft tank. i just bubble like 4-6bubbles, can't really count cos they are bubbling too fast.

rule of thumb: don't be too stingy when it comes to co2

[clouser_minnow]

hello everyone! thnaks for the help on the tank. i have upped the CO2 bubbles per second to possibly 6 or 7bps.. its uncountable... fert dosages have increased and the algae seems to be dying off.

picture



looking any better??

[Fei Miao]

Glad to see the algae subsiding, but careful with the bps or you find your fishes floating due to CO2 poisoning.

[clouser_minnow]

yup! dont worry! i turn off the CO2 and put in an air pump before i go off to sleep. i will be going to NA soon to get a CO2 topup. down to about 500PSI. or should i go and top up now?