Comment on tank setup & Advice to fight algae

[Osprey]

Dear all,

Sorry to have 2 issues on a single post.

My tank was setup since 1 March and it is about a month old now. The following link brings you to the pics of my tank taken last sunday.

http://www.angelfire.com/pro/osprey/Tank_230303.html

All comments are welcome.

As you can see, my water is greenish and I have been combating the algae since then.

My tank parameters as follow:

Beginners Info Sheet
--------------------

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 3x1.5x1.5 (ft)
Tank Volume (litres or gallons): 180(l)
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 4x36W
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
No. of Hours your light is on : 10 (9am - 7pm)
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : 2bps
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : Tank
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): Reactor
Substrate Used : JBL
How Thick is your base fert : 4 - 8cm (sloping to the back)
How thick is your gravel : 4cm
Liquid Fertilizers Used : Secham (Flourish, Potassium, Iron)
Frequency of fertilization : Weekly
Tank Temperature : 29-31 degree C
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : Canister
Filter media used : Course filter pad + Bio-Rings (Base),Ehiem Substrates (Middle), Ehiem Substrates + Fine filter pad (Top).
How long has your tank been set up : 3 weeks
Other equipment : NIL

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------
Carbonate Hardness (KH): 3-4
Total Hardness (gH): ?
pH : 6.5 - 7
NH4 (ppm): ?
NO2 (ppm): ?
NO3 (ppm): ?
PO4 (ppm): ?
Fe (ppm): ?

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------

1x Puffer, 4x Otos, 2x Chinese AE , 4x pencils, 8x cherry barbs, 5x Malayan shrimps

Sorry but I really do not know the names of most of plants I have. I only know the Christmas Moss on the wood, glosso in foreground, bunch of MU at the back.

Describe your problem :

As stated earlier, ALGAE causing greenish water. Glosso greatly affected, all growing upwards.
-------------------------------------------------
What I have done:

Morning of 23 Mar, 30% water change. 25 Mar night, I did another 50% change. Reduce intensity by 50% from today onward (ie on only 1 stretch instead of 2). Stop liquid fert.

What I intend to do:
Get 100 Malayan shrimps. Is it too many? I know they will not clean the water but hopefully can clean the wood for me.
Get more fast growing plants. Anyone with recommendation?

All advice will be useful. Thanks.

[loupgarou]

green water is usually presence of detectable ammonia .

your solution.
change water like crazy (nutrient control)
+ black out

OR

uv filteration if your tank is considered matured with cycling bacteria etc.

[Allen_1971]

Osprey,

I wouldn't worry too much about your glosso growing upwards... its due to insufficient light atm...

My suggestion is this... ask about to see if anyone near you is willing to lend you a UV filter... If you can, borrow one, and start killing the green water... at the same time, continue your water changes... you basically wanna get rid of excess nutrients in the water. Finally, add more fast growers... UV will resolve your green water problem, but unless you resolve the underlying problems, it will come back again.

[hippo]

I suggest getting a UVC or have more fast growing plants.

[Osprey]

Thanks all for the advice.

Allen, can I ask if UV filter is effective, why not I just heed the advice of the others and go buy one. Do you have any reservation towards it? Also, you mentioned about the underlying problem that might cause the "green water" from returning, can you enlighten me on it. Thanks again.

[cheeboonyong]

i think the UV is not meant to be used on a long term basis. I think the UV will cause some reactions with the nutrients in the water, as a result, your plants will not be able to absorb the nutrients. hence, the UV light is used only as a short term measure to get rid of the algae.

since it's only for short term, better to borrow then to spend so much money to buy.

just my 2cts worth[]

[Osprey]

Just to inform that my tank has finally cleared after a week of "greenish water". I gave myself a week before going for the UV. over the week, I changed 1/3 of the water every alternate days, give 50% light and also introduced daphnia.

Here's how my tank look like on 29 March 03. Open to all comments for me to improve. Thanks.