A planted failure

[sunrisor]

Hello all, my first post, so here goes:
My current setup:
A (currently empty) 55 gal planted tank with T5 6700K in 2 24" standard hoods. Lights are on for 9 hours. I had 2-3" of gravel, and used only distilled water. Java ferns were the only thing that seemed to survive. Marineland canister filter 350 with double bio-wheel.

Initially put some fertilizer pellets in the gravel, but nothing after that. After a few months a thick spider web-type algae started growing. Anything I did to remove it, was useless. It was back in a week or so.

Water testing (ammonia, nitrates, nitrites) always showed normal. I never had a large number of fish at any one time. I've had this setup (minus the 6700K lights) for more than 10 years and never had an algae issue til I brought in live plants.

I completely emptied my 55 gal., flushed it, then added 6-8 oz of bleach, let it soak overnight then flushed again. I trashed all the ornaments, gravel and all the plants (still have 3 fish, lost several during the winter power failure!)This is not something I wish to do again.

After some research on this site, it appears, given the light I have, I should've added CO2 injection and a proper substrate. Obviously I jumped in without doing enough research. Didn't know about the substrate, and CO2 seems a bit expensive and labor intensive.

I was hoping someone could convince me (and therefore my spouse) that live plants is worth the investment. Right now I am leaning toward returning to an artificial environment.

 

[rhsoto94]

Co2 and a plant substrate is really optional and probably more for medium-higher light plants. You can have a good looking tank and keep it low cost/low tech.

 

[DMunoz84]

Yes witch plants you have or want make all the Difference.

 

[rhsoto94]

I have a lot of low light and medium light plants. Slower growing plants like anubias, java fern, and crypts tend to get algae a lot easier in my tanks because there slow growers. Some plants you can try out that I don't have algae problems with are amazon swords, wisteria, Ludwigia, and hygro corymbosa

But if you are having algae problems if could be a number of things how long is your light on? How often and how much water do you change? Also were you adding any carbon like API booster or excel?

 

[venymae]

Also, you can reduce your cost by doing DIY CO2 injections (both the yeast and paintball examples can be found on youtube) and doing easy to grow plants, you shouldn't really NEED a heavy duty substrate. Many people get by on just gravel, I personally do a dirted tank (for the cheap, dirt on bottom with sand/gravel cap) but I've been told it can get messy if you rearrange a lot or are a beginner, though I've personally never had problems with it.
Algae a lot of times is a "too much light" problem. You can also consider getting shrimp or algae eating snails to help keep any light algae growth under control -they like to snack on it!

 

[Coursair]

Also only distilled water is Too clean. You'd need to remineralize it. Or I do part tap/part distilled and Prime. You only need distilled if your PH is super high and you have sensitive Fish or Shrimp.

I add Ferts weekly after PWCs.
I do use root tabs every 4 months for Swords and Crypts.

Lights for planted tanks usually on only 6 hours daily.

Do you have Normal or High Output bulbs ?

Algae takes over when you have an imbalance.
Too much light.
Too much fish waste
Not enough ferts for plants to compete
Not enough PWCs


Smoke signals from my iPhone using Tapatalk

 

[FishCr8zy]

Also check your phosphates, algae will they to grow more if phosphates are high. Keep your light on for only 6-7 hours. Especially if the t5's were HO. Which plants did you keep other than the java fern?
Like coursair said, distilled water does not have enough minerals to support a planted tank. I always use tap water then add some prime/other tap water conditioner.
If you had more fish, they plants could also have some natural fertilizer. If you don't have the money to set up a co2 system, I suggest going for 1) DIY co2 system 2) paintball co2 system 3) dosing glut (excel, metricide14, flourish, etc)

 

[Mebbid]

Could you post some pictures so we know what we are dealing with? That will definitely help point us in the right direction towards helping you with your planted tank problems.

 

[sunrisor]

Wow! lots of input and questions...thanks for all of it.

Let's see, light is 6700k (lumens I believe) and on for 9 hours. I thought that was considered on the medium side. When I looked at the available plants, it seemed there was more to choose from with medium light. I leave the light on for 9 hours because that's the time we are home. Hard to enjoy a dark aquarium.

Water: I started using distilled because our tap water is terrible. We live in a rural part of Pa., and the resevior gets a lot of runoff from the farms around. Nitrates are a big problem. Water we drink now comes from an RO system. We (and our pets) were getting sick alot til we stopped drinking the tap water. Which explained the constant fish-loss.
So I do water changes with distilled water. Which didn't include vacuuming the gravel. People have told me that I should.

Plants: When I first put live plants in, I put fert tablets in. But I didn't do it again, since it seemed as though they were growing fine. I honestly don't remember what types I had. Only the Java ferns (long spear-shaped leaves) survived. I will check to see if I can figure out which ones I had. Thinking back at it now, maybe what I thought was the fish eating the plants, was actually the plants dying off.

What is "PWC"?...sorry

I don't think the stardard water test kit checks for phosphate. I thought I read testing PH level would tell the amount of CO2. Not sure if it's the same thing (geez... do I have to be a chemist too?)

Sorry, I have no pics since the tank is completely empty. I'm looking to learn a bit more before I start again. My time is prescious, as is my money.

Again, thanks for all the input!!

I think I got everyone's question...really appreciate the help.

 

[FishCr8zy]

PWC's are partial water changes. People usually do them every day, every other day, or every week with 25% of the water being changed.
Some pictures of the plants/tank will help us identify them and how things are.
You can get the API phosphate test kit:
http://www.amazon.com/API-63L-Phosp...97839094&sr=1-1-spell&keywords=api+phostphate

 

[FishCr8zy]

Seachem Stability could help with the tap water though I am not sure how good it is:
Amazon.com : Seachem Stability 500ml : Aquarium Treatments : Pet Supplies

If you keep using distilled water, I would recommend dosing fertilizer, otherwise the plants cant flourish from part of the water column.

 

[sunrisor]

Every Day?!, I feel like a slacker! I usually add water when the level goes down (about every 2 weeks). Which usually is 2-3 gallons...a far cry from 25%!!

So is 6700K medium/hi?

 

[sunrisor]

I never thought of water being too clean, but I guess it makes sense for plants.

 

[sunrisor]

So I guess with the light I have, if I keep the water properly balanced, and put fertilizer in the substrate (probably gravel, maybe sand), I shouldn't need CO2?

 

[Mebbid]

Okay, after rereading through this thread I have some thoughts:

1. Lighting - You have low light. 2 24" T5 lights won't bring you above that at all (even if it's t5ho) Shoot for plants that match this - Crypts, Anubias, Java fern, java moss, and bolbitis

2. Photoperiod - 9 hours daily should be perfectly fine for a low light tank

3. Substrate - Makes no real difference for a low light planted tank. Sand is easier to clean and keep plants in though.

4. Water changes - 50% weekly is the standard for aquariums

5. Fertilization - Unnecessary for low light planted tanks

6 - Root tabs - Out of the low light list Crypts will need regular substrate fertilization.

7 - CO2 - Unnecessary for a low light planted tank.

The problem likely stems from the mixture of source water and plants. It's likely a form of cyanobacteria or some other algae was brought in on the plants and with your source water being devoid of many of the essential plant nutrients that are found in tap water caused it to grow.

Try cutting your tap water 50/50 with the distilled and see how the levels are.

 

[clarkm]

For a planted tank it's good to change 50 percent of water once a week. It's my Saturday morning routine every week. Look into excell or for cheaper metricide 14 is good carbon for plants

 

[Rivercats]

Honestly with the type of tap water you have I would just use the water from your RO unit BUT if you go planted you need to use the proper amount of Seachem Equilirium for planted tanks to remineralize the water.

In a planted tank you want levels to be 10-20ppm nitrates (I prefer 10ppm) and 1-3ppm phosphates. It helps to get an API Phosphate test kit and also a API Kh and Gh test kit which has both tests in one kit. You want Kh and Gh to be at least 4 in planted tanks. This kit is very handy when using all RO water that is being remineralized. Algae is caused from an imbalance between lighting, CO2, and ferts. Since you have a low light tank using a liquid carbon at a rate of 1ml for every 2 gallons of water, unless you are keeping delicate shrimp, will help plants utilize the available light plus help act as a algaecide. I suggest using Metricide 14 Day Solution which is about $20 online for a gallon. It is 2x the strength of Excel so you would use half the amount I listed above.

 

[sunrisor]

Wow!! Alot to take in. I already reread twice. Shoulda came here a long time ago!!

Looks like I will get the test kit(s) and see how bad (or good) my tap water really is. Half my tank once a week is alot of water. I think I would rather try to use tap water then re-mineralize my RO water.

The spouse will appreciate not having the expense (or apparatus) of CO2.

 

[Rivercats]

Using the Metricide 14 is all you need with that light. I have several tanks and all get 50% WC's weekly, even my 220g tank. I do use an Aqueon Water Changer so don't have to carry buckets.

 

[fish jihad]

Trust these guys. Weekly water changes are essential. Your plants probably ran out of nutrients and stopped photosynthesis and that may contribute to algae growth. Get some easy to care for plants ( ie.. no co2 required plants), some dry or liquid ferts ( usually added every other day) and you should be ok.