dying plants,algae boom,high nitrate

[enhanzed]

Tank : 2ft
Lighting : 14wx 2 Dymax (12 hrs a day )
Filter : ehiem 2213 top to bottom ( coarse sponge->coarse sponge->ceramic ring mixed with bio home about 1kg) ->water softerner-> fine sponge )
fauna: 25 cardinal , 5 guppies , 4 otos
flora : mixture of plants about 90% of tank bottom
Co2 : NONE
GH :30 iirc
KH:0
PH:6.0-6.5
Nitrile : 0
Nitrate : 80!!!!
temp : 26 celcius

Problem : Algae boom and plants starting to yellow and rot , fishes are doing fine. seems like problem started after i added water softener and dymx ceramic rings and started using API water purifier .

Plants were initially growing very very well , till the extend i have to trim every week or so.

what can i do to reduce persistant high nitrate levels ? even if i use alot of those bottled beneficial bacteria and add more ceramic rings also doesn't help

[FishSoup]

Hey there... nitrate cannot be gotten rid of by beneficial bacteria.. only nitrite and ammonia can be handled by BB. The introduction of ceramic rings thus will not solve the nitrate problem.

There are only 2 ways of decreasing nitrate levels: either through partial water changes, or uptake and assimilation by water plants.

The algae bloom can perhaps be controlled by improving the conditions for growth of the water plants and allowing the plants to out-compete the algae. Examples include adding CO2 or Seachem excel. Excel also has algicide properties which might help in controlling the algae. Fast-growing plants such as hornwort and floating duckweed are especially effective at removing nitrate from the water column. Also, i would recommend introducing snails (Neritina snails, Clithon corona horn snails work well) and the always helpful yamato shrimp as additional algae-controlling crew. They helped clear my tank of algae.

Also, try not to overfeed your fish, or maybe lessen the feed for now, til the algae bloom has subsided.

There are other methods of algae control, including blackouts (no light for a few days) as well.. you can read up about them on the "Fertilisation and Algae" section of this forum, or on the web.

Good luck with the algae bloom

[enhanzed]

im not so worried about the algae boom , im more worried about why my plants are dying...is it because of the low GH ? hence lack of things like potassium all that ?


btw does TetraAqua NitrateMinus work ?

[dcwk]

Have you tried dosing Flourish?

[rc311]

Hi bro,

I used to have high nitrate < 100 in the past, but after I replaced my declorine conditioner from new water to Seachem Prime and dose x 5 times the recommended dosage, my nitrate drop close to 70%, and after some water change, my nitrate now is controllable. There is also a de nitrate from seachem which works too, but I never try that...

Cheers.
rc311

[enhanzed]

im actually using a API tap water filter also ...so the water is basically zero minerals ... will this cause death to plants ?

[jacian]

The plants could be dying due to the following reasons:
1. Low lights, depending on your plants. 2x14W is low for a 2ft tank.
2. Low CO2, again, it depends on your plants CO2 requirements
3. Lack of nutrients especially on trace elements

Lastly, the dying plants is also contributing to the high nitrate.

[enhanzed]

they were initially growing very well with the same lighting

[valice]

Do huge water change. Cut off the dying leaves and siphon out whatever dead matter you can to reduce the ammonia producing sources. Manually remove the algae as well. And like FishSoup suggest, introduce more algae eaters.

Cut down also the lighting. Up you trace and Potassium to promote growth of the plants.

Btw, what type of algae are you experiencing?

[enhanzed]

errm green spot algae ??? dunno whats the name but its like green spots on the tank walls and on the leaves of some plants

[FishSoup]

For green spot algae i have found Neritina and Clithon snails to be very effective.. otos are very good against brown diatomic algae. SAE and yamatoes are great for hair and staghorn algae... and Seachem Excel works against everything!

[enhanzed]

looks like im gonna start buying seachem excel

[valice]

Seriously, for green spot algae, the best form of cleaning is your credit card and hands and a pair of scissors.

Using Excel introduces another set of problem in the future when you do not consistently dose it. Also understanding why you use Excel will help to sustain the tank longer.

[Biotopeshop]

mind if we ask what plants you have planted and how old is your tank?

regards

[enhanzed]

i dunno the names of my plants and they are about 3-4 mths old

[sonique]

if you can get a picture of your tank, maybe some of us can help you to identify the plants..

[dwgi32]

Try to inject trace into your tanks to improve the uptake of mineral for the plants.

[torque6]

plants have to outcompete aglae if not sure bloom. Im using shawn's method of using theben timer to control lights at 2x 4hourly intervals. 8am-12pm [ON] + 3pm-7pm [ON]. Im covering my tank with newspaper so external light doesn't affect its cycle.