10 Gallon Tank Problems EEK! Help!

[Cammywammy]

After having my 10 gallon set up for a year and then switching fish, my fish tank has taken a LOT of abuse. Although at once I had a mature tank with stable water conditions and bb I believe everything is just totally out of wack.

Light: All Aquarium Hood with 2 18 watt whiter & brighter daylight bulbs ( 1170 lumens & 6500 K, left on 12-14 hours a day)
Temp: 78-80 (either a 50 or 75 watt heater)
CO2: 2 liter DIY( possible upgrading to two 2 liters, Should I??)
Filter: Aqueon 10 (hate this filter)
Substrate: Petco Black Sand with Root Tabs
Plants: Hygro. Sperma, Green Combomba, Rotala, Narrow leaf Ludwigwa,Xmas moss, Narrow leaf Java Fern, Water Wisteria, Anubia, 5 unknown plant bulbs.
Fish: At the moment 2 mickey mouse platies. I was just going to keep 1 in the 10 gallon to keep it cycling but the male just went nuts being alone so i felt bad for him and put in a solitary female. ( I have 3 other platies one male and two female with a friendly male betta fish in a 20 gallon long that is cycling)

Readings:
Ph:6.4
Ammonia: 2.0-4.0 ( has been 8.0 at one point)
Nitrite:0
Nitrate:0-3.0

Problem #1: Mini Cycle/ Cycle
So I before I moved 3 platies and a betta out(3 days ago) I was overstocked and defiantly pushing my filter past its limit. I already had plans on buying a new tank for fish but I also wanted to transform this tank; I changed the substrate, and downgraded my filter(using used media to seed) so there wasn't too much flow. In result this almost completely wiped out any bb in the tank. This tank is eventually going to be a shrimp only tank with 1 possible nano species of fish, of course after everything settles out. The overstocking caused high ammonia levels which then caused stressed fish, wilting plants, and constant water changes which didn't help my tank get through its mini cycle. Now that everything is changed to how I like it (except the temporary stock) I need my bb back to eat my high ammonia, but after doing several back-to-back 50% water changes + changing my filter media (keeping some to seed the new media) I don't know where I am at in terms of cycling. So advice is needed on what to do with this issue please!

Problem #2 Plants/CO2/Nutrients/Light/Algae
One of my main goals for this 10 gallon tank was to have a beautiful planted tank like many of the pros here. I thought converting to a planted tank would be hard, just not this hard. I started out with just root tabs and plants in my sand. After a week the plants weren't looking too good so I started DIY CO2 and surprisingly my plants did "perk up" a tiny bit. Still unsatisfied i ordered dry ferts and replaced my 2 14 watt bulbs with 18 watt bulbs. Now everything is doing better but I still don't know why my plants aren't as green as I would like it. My thoughts were : Algae taking nutrients from plants/ Not enough light/ Too much light/ Not enough CO2/ Not enough nutrients/ High Ammonia levels. If anyone could offer me advice as to what to do to make my plants thrive and how to kill green hair algae ( lightly covering almost all of my plants) please give me tips or suggestions!

I know its a lot to read but for any who decide to read and help out I really really do appreciate it and if you do please point out any problems with causes and/or solutions.

Thanks again, Cam

 

[aqua_chem]

Regarding #1: How long has the filter been running?

Regarding #2: The algae is probably being encouraged by the ammonia and long photoperiod. 8 hours is usually enough for planted tanks. Any more than that and you run into issues with algae in most setups.

Your light... are these CFL bulbs?

 

[Cammywammy]

The filter has been running for about a month and a half.

The bulbs are daylight cfls sorry I meant to mention that.

 

[aqua_chem]

That's going to be a crapton of light for a tank that size. I would actually recommend going down to 10w or 13w CFLs until you get the BBA under control. That's still a good amount of light for a tank that size. Do you have a drop checker?

 

[Cammywammy]

Would using excel work better for algae too? And I could switch to 14 watt bulbs of the same K. I have no drop checker. What do you suspect the cause of the problems with my plants are?

 

[aqua_chem]

Did you ever say exactly what your plant problem was?

 

[Cammywammy]

I just want better growth and I feel like something is stunting their growth whether it be the algae or a deficiency.

 

[aqua_chem]

Until your ferts arrive and you get a drop checker to measure CO2, it will be hard to maximize growth. Are you seeing any signs of deficiency?

 

[Cammywammy]

My ferts have arrived I have been dosing what Rivercats has told me to, this is my second morning of dosing. I don't really know the signs of deficiency. But my plants tend to curl sometimes and the leaves are a little brown, not GREEN especially when i compare like my green combomba or hygro sperma to my water wisteria which is like grass green. My narrow leaf ludwigwa's leafs have constantly been falling off.

 

[aqua_chem]

This infographic is a good place to start for diagnosing deficiencies


Your low nitrate is probably contributing to your problems somewhat, but that should be fixed with proper dosing.

 

[Cammywammy]

Me and Rivercats also figured out I have really low ph in my tank but very hard tap water so I'm testing ph in the morning when levels are higher from co2 to find out the cause of the low ph which can stop or slow my cycle

 

[Cammywammy]

I'll look tomorrow for deficiencies I guess I'll order a drop checker and Gh and Kh tests soon

 

[aqua_chem]

I don't think GH/KH tests are all that necessary. Have you tried to get a local water report yet?

 

[Cammywammy]

How do I obtain a local water report?

 

[Cammywammy]

My water parameters are still messed up. I put crushed seashell in a nylon bag in the outflow of the filter to raise the ph. This has caused the ph to slowly rise and is now at 7.2 after being 6.0 My tap is about 8.2 and my other cycling tank is at 7.4. I used a product by Tetra Aqua called easy balance that balances pH levels over the weekend. I had no idea this would cause my pH to fall so low and cause my bb to stall. The nitrates are almost .25 so I assume my bb cycle has started back up again! When should I remove the seashell bag? Do I want the ph to be equal with my tap water?