My low-tech 1-feet rockscape

[cherabin]

Black brush algae aka BBA.

[gid]

oh yes, i believe it is bba. They are coating my hg like pieces of black cotton wool-like material.

so what should i do? i hear overdosing excel might help...and since I have no fauna yet, I think will be double-dose my excel.

[cherabin]

Yes, Excel is indeed an algaecide. Applying spot treatment via injection from a syringe on affected areas will be more effective.

[ignatius05]

Hi Gid, where did you buy your dragon rock from and how much? Very nice rocks. Thanks.

[Shadow]

Just trim your hairgrass

[gid]

ignatius: they are from seaview, $5 per kg, with 15% discount for purchase abv $10. What you see in my tank is around 2kgs

shadow: i dont think trimming will help man. they are already very short cos I trimmed them before planting, and the bba sometimes warp the entire clunster from root to tip

[Shadow]

ouch, that bad, I guess no choice spot treatment using excel

[felix_fx2]

Gid, I have a suggestion.

Nuke the carpet with Hydrogen predoxide 10 minutes before water change. Then your algae team need to be starved pior to the nuke.

My tank mostly filled with algae crew. Yamato, red nose, cherry, baby SAE & snails.

Realize they do keep on trying to clear the bba that I have.

[xconnect.]

i suspect is the algae that is in the tank in gc behind the laptop what algae is that? im a total noob with algaes

[gid]

Felix, whoa hydrogen peroxide is abit drastic...moreover i'm still quite noob, i wouldnt know what to do with h2o2 man, not as pro as you yet (i only only that h2o2 is active ingredient in my pimple cream...heh)

A combi of overdosing excel (been double-dosing daily for 3 days) and painstaking physical removal seems to help. The BBA has turned from black to brown, and not growing as fast.

For algae eater, I intend to have 2 yamatos, but I dont think its safe to add them yet. The hg is not yet matured, and tank has been cycling only for 2.5 weeks. Maybe 1 or 2 SAE too, my otos in my other tank is quite useless, but its quite hard to find true SAEs...

Gid, I have a suggestion.

Nuke the carpet with Hydrogen predoxide 10 minutes before water change. Then your algae team need to be starved pior to the nuke.

My tank mostly filled with algae crew. Yamato, red nose, cherry, baby SAE & snails.

Realize they do keep on trying to clear the bba that I have.

[gid]

An update: DAY 15

* I have planted 2 types of stem plants behind (maybe you can held ID too?)
* jap HG is rooting and growing 1 or 2 new shoots per cluster...but very slow
* blyxa is growing powerful root systems (i know cos i replanted one of them)
* BBA outbreak seems under control with excel overdose
* now im thinking of plans for the fauna

[felix_fx2]

Felix, whoa hydrogen peroxide is abit drastic...moreover i'm still quite noob, i wouldnt know what to do with h2o2 man, not as pro as you yet (i only only that h2o2 is active ingredient in my pimple cream...heh)

A combi of overdosing excel (been double-dosing daily for 3 days) and painstaking physical removal seems to help. The BBA has turned from black to brown, and not growing as fast.

For algae eater, I intend to have 2 yamatos, but I dont think its safe to add them yet. The hg is not yet matured, and tank has been cycling only for 2.5 weeks. Maybe 1 or 2 SAE too, my otos in my other tank is quite useless, but its quite hard to find true SAEs...

Actually my preference of using "HP" comes from it being cheap ..
Excel also will work well with spot treatment. (but you also have to turn off filter and let excel take some time to take effect.)
Every now and then Y618 will have juveniles, NA will have young adults. Learn to ID them.. SAE V.S Flying fox there are tell tale signs.

P.S: the new plants look like rotala family, likely SP. Green or wallichii (right side), nanjenshan for left (wild guess only likely wrong for this)

[gid]

Anyway bros, where can I get GOOD quality tetras?

I'm thinking of:
* Green Neon Tetras, 'true' ones that are almost 100% blue or...
* Cardidnal Tetras, good quality ones with striking bold reds and blues

Many of those I see outside are not much different from regular Neon Tetras.

[gid]

Here's an update after about 2.5 mths.

*I have grown a background of Luwidja Bevipes
*There are now 18 green neons, 3 yamatos, and 2 SAEs
*Jap HG is carpeting slowly, but surely. So low tech works!

[unpluggedmusic]

I sure agree it is time u trim ur hairgrass by half the height to make it bushier..

[mincedmeat]

Yes, low tech works but it would take awhile to carpet.

[felix_fx2]

Here's an update after about 2.5 mths.

*I have grown a background of Luwidja Bevipes
*There are now 18 green neons, 3 yamatos, and 2 SAEs
*Jap HG is carpeting slowly, but surely. So low tech works!

Trim your ludwigia and replant the cuttings. They look good when bushy

Look at my last update of the tanks outside my place.

Jhg, give them a trim leaving 1 inch remaining.
It will induce more growth.

Low tech is slow but steady.

[mincedmeat]

I also agree that the ludwiga has to be trim. It looks a little messy right now, so you should try to trim. Like what Felix had said, they are stem plants so just trim and then plant the shoot into the soil. It will soon see new shoots sprouting out in the new and old plant.