Newly Set up 3ft tank, is that green water syndrome?

[bleu]

Hi there,

Last weekend i just started a 3ft tank for my loaches and dory tank. Below is my set up and some of the photos taken today

1. Tank - 3ft x 1.5ft x 1.5ft
2. Filter - New Boyu Canister filter with built in UV
3. Substrates - 2.5inches of Aqua soil and 1cm of ultra soft sand
4. Plants - Mixture of hardy plants due to destructive nature of clowns

Photos

With my Aquazonia lights on



Photo of tank with filter






Image of tank with lights off


Uploaded with ImageShack.us

My questions are

1. The water is rather green and i'm not sure whether is this due to reflections of the plants color from the white sand. Is this green water syndrome? How can i solve it?

2. The substrates are super fine and as my fishes are loaches and corys (they loves to dig), will this fine sand create health problems for them?

Appreciate any kind advice in advance

Regards

[Shadow]

you have non aquatic plant in your tank. Also do not burried Fern rhizome otherwise it will rot

[shyta]

I used to have cories and super fine white sand. they did fine, in fact, kinda like them.

[bleu]

you have non aquatic plant in your tank. Also do not burried Fern rhizome otherwise it will rot

Hi Shadow,

Thanks for your advise, all my plants were purchased from seaview and the person mentioned that they are all suitable for fresh water tank. Can you please advise which plant is not aquatic?

With regards to Fern rhizome, if i don't plant it into the substrates, should i let it float?

Thanks for your time in giving precious advise

I used to have cories and super fine white sand. they did fine, in fact, kinda like them.

Thanks for sharing your experience, your words have definitely put my mind at ease!

[rafimo]

the tank water look clear to me, your canister with built-in UV with eliminate any green water(if any). Rhizome plant can be tie to driftwood. Only the roots of rhizome plant can be bury into the subsrate but not those thick rhizome.

[Fortessimo]

bro, care to share what brand is your white sand? And where you bought it?

[Aquanoob]

Hi Shadow,

Thanks for your advise, all my plants were purchased from seaview and the person mentioned that they are all suitable for fresh water tank. Can you please advise which plant is not aquatic?

With regards to Fern rhizome, if i don't plant it into the substrates, should i let it float?

Thanks for your time in giving precious advise

bleu, the plant at the left inner corner and the dark-light green long leaf plant at the centre belongs to the Draceana species. They are commonly call as 观音竹 and are not aquatic plants.

[bleu]

bro, care to share what brand is your white sand? And where you bought it?

Hi bro its no brand self package sand from seaview, cost is 8 bucks/5kg but there's a 15% discount if u spend more than 10 bucks in a single receipt. To be honest the sand is so fine and looks real impressive in the tank.

I lay 3 packs to get about what you see in the photo.

bleu, the plant at the left inner corner and the dark-light green long leaf plant at the centre belongs to the Draceana species. They are commonly call as 观音竹 and are not aquatic plants.

darn if they are not aquatic plants why did seaview sell it and tell me its ok for the tank #@$%^&

Hehe but bro now that u mention it yah its really guan ying zhu... i have it in my hse every year during cny and yet i can't recognize it. However i do have to note that i kept the same plant in my 2ft tank for almost a year and nothing happen to them (Roots got longer though) and its a rare species that my clown loaches left alone.. so even though its not aquatic plants, i may still consider leaving them there as it won't affect my fishes and yet still grow (very slowly though)

[shyta]

your white sand is exactly the same as mine, bought from the same place as well.
i loved it, but it was really hard to maintain. try to avoid shrimps and snails. their poo will just give you a headache everyday.

[benjidog]

The sand and water quality looks fine! Great job!

Your fish must love to dig in the soft fluffy sand!

If you are still bothered by the green water and have the time,

Do water change of one pail of aged or anti chorline added water 3 times over this weekend.

Observe water quality after water change.

You could plant one or two pots of fast growing plants to compete with any possible new tank algae suspect issues. Remove after one week to prevent total destruction from clown loach. If the lights are switched on for 8-10 hours continoudly, you can try to cut down on the light over this weekend or install timer switch for alternate 3 hours lights on followed by a break of two hours and another 3 hours lights on. Observe over one month. Put the java fern on driftwood with suggested placement in mid or back of tank.

[bleu]

The sand and water quality looks fine! Great job!

Your fish must love to dig in the soft fluffy sand!

If you are still bothered by the green water and have the time,

Do water change of one pail of aged or anti chorline added water 3 times over this weekend.

Observe water quality after water change.

You could plant one or two pots of fast growing plants to compete with any possible new tank algae suspect issues. Remove after one week to prevent total destruction from clown loach. If the lights are switched on for 8-10 hours continoudly, you can try to cut down on the light over this weekend or install timer switch for alternate 3 hours lights on followed by a break of two hours and another 3 hours lights on. Observe over one month. Put the java fern on driftwood with suggested placement in mid or back of tank.

Color seems to be getting worst for the past few days... maybe caused some water lilies i put (which already taken out).

Though nothing is sticking on the tank surface, i do agree with you this could be a case of algae boom. May i know which fast growing plant are you recommending? i've been wanting to get hornwort but none of the shops seems to be selling... is this a good candidate?

I am still cycling the tank and have no intentions to introduce any fishes until everything has been stabalized.

[bleu]

the tank water look clear to me, your canister with built-in UV with eliminate any green water(if any). Rhizome plant can be tie to driftwood. Only the roots of rhizome plant can be bury into the subsrate but not those thick rhizome.

Sorry for being noob, i tried searching for Rhizome plant and googlemap and didn't get a definitive result, is this the plant that you are referring to?

[aquascaping1982]

Your Java fern should not buried below the sand if not it will start to rot. Refer to your first photo the extreme left plant and the middle one too.

[bleu]

Your Java fern should not buried below the sand if not it will start to rot. Refer to your first photo the extreme left plant and the middle one too.

so are you referring to these?




I actually dump the wood that they were tied to previously... so this means i need to tie them again to another wood?

So this is Java fern now i get it, now about Rhizome plant? Is it what i have indicated in my previous picture?

[aquascaping1982]

Yes, You need to tied the Java fern to the wood so it will not rot. Rhizome plant refers to Java fern and the anubias that is sitting on the large wood inside your tank.

Hope it helps...

[bleu]

i suspect the culprit now is indeed algae... despite not switching on the lights at all, situation doesn't seem to improve.

Can any nice bro here suggest any fast growing plant to counter this issue?

[benjidog]

Some possible fast growing plants -

1. Carolina fanwort - cheap and grows easily. Three bunches/pots for $2? Plant as Background plants.

2. Water wisteria - grows like a upside down Christmas tree. Light green leaves should contrast well with the darker green leaves of the java fern and anubias. 2 pots. Plant as background plants.

3. Water primrose (Ludwigia repens)- upside olive green and underside red leaves constrast well with fanwort and water wisteria. Plant in middle area. Needs good light and liquid fertiliser.

4. Oriental water fern - Beautiful water fern that grows easily and rapidly. Do not plant too deep. The point where the roots start must be visible above the substrate. Mid to background plant.

5. Java moss on driftwood. Java moss should thrive well in your tank setup. Get about 1-2 tau huay tubs and tie to driftwood and place in foregound area. You can buy from other forumers in the marketplace.

For new plants, leave them to root for about 1 week.
Once the initial nutrients present on the water has been absorbed,
The plants will need additional CO2 and liquid fertiliser otherwise you will see yellow leaves or curling around leave edges.

If you do not want to incur too much cost, you can remove or give away some plants after the water clears up.

If you want to keep the plants and want them to do well, you will have to add CO2 and liquid fertiliser to your set up.

[newtank]

i suspect the culprit now is indeed algae... despite not switching on the lights at all, situation doesn't seem to improve.

Can any nice bro here suggest any fast growing plant to counter this issue?

just throw a bunch of floating plants into the tank, this is the best way without disturbing your current scape.

[sthh]

Do you have any rotting plants in the tank? It can colour your tank. Your tank doesn't look established enough to have cultivated green water.

[dannyfish]

By right with UV light, it should be the fastest way to get rid of green water problem...but you still facing it...UV light not power enough or not working as it suppose to be?

Sorry for being noob, i tried searching for Rhizome plant and googlemap and didn't get a definitive result, is this the plant that you are referring to?