algae

[Cichlid Kid]

I really like the layout of your dw and plants. Looks really nice, it'll look even better when the plants fill in!

 

[mr.sam]

Thank you but ill feel much better about it when I finally get this algae under control

 

[Cichlid Kid]

What timespan was there between pics?

 

[mr.sam]

I would say about two months. I live in jersey and super storm sandy really did a number on my area. No flooding are damage to the house but I was with out power for about 3 weeks. Lost most of my fish and a few plants

 

[Philly33]

I too have a 90gal but w/o CO2. I have 3-4 t5ho that run for 7 hrs. My plants out compete the Algae. I make my own RO/DI and add Kent's RO right. The one thing different is that I do a 35-40gal water change weekly to replenish.

 

[mr.sam]

Wow! I was always told that doing that much of a water change is not good for the fish.

 

[mr.sam]

By the way beautiful tank.

 

[mr.sam]

Thank you every one for all the ideas. I think my plan of action will be as follows. First and foremost I'm Definitely getting T5H0 lighting. I don't know what kind yet but ill do the research before I get it. I'm going to reduce the amount of time I leave the light on in my tank by us of a siesta period. I'm not sure about the nerite snails but ill do the research on that before I make a Decision. I'm also going to look into the Pros and Cons of doing a heavier water change 30 to 40% using R/O water. Any other things I should consider?

 

[Rivercats]

I've been trying to send a pic of my tank to my page on this forum but it doesn't seam to be working. Ill try it again but to answer your question I would say my tank is heavily planted. Rotala macranda,Ludwigia glandulosa,red flame sword, anubias barteri, baby tears, nesaea golden, nesaea red and a few others.

That is a good plant list. My question is besides the algae issue how are the non-green plants looking color wise? Especially the Rotala macrandra and the two Nesaea's?

Personally I like the T5HO's but my next question is how deep is the tank? My 220g is 30" deep and I knew I wanted alot of high light non-green plants which is what drove me to the Coralife fixture I have. It has 4x39W 6700K T5HO's that are left on 10 hours for low light, then 3x150W 6000K HID Metal Halide's that I can only run 6 hours daily or I start to have algae issues. So that being said IMO I think your tank would do good with a 4 bulb T5HO fixture.

I do 50% WC's weekly on my 220g and I feel they are actually beneficial for both the plants and animals. I dose liquid carbon and dose PPS-Pro with dry ferts.

 

[mr.sam]

If you have a Standard 220 tank I believe the only deference between your 220 and my 90 is Length the nesaea golden and red are doing beautifully but I am having some trouble with the rotala macranda. Out of the 12 stems I had I lost more then half but I do have two stems that are doing very well. Ill try and send you a pic of the plants you asked about

 

[Rivercats]

Rotala Macrandra can be a difficult plant. Mine grows like a weed and you can view the tank via the at the bottom of the post or on the home page under Rivercats 220g TOTM.
Did your nesaea come as emmersed growth as mine did?

 

[mr.sam]

Rotala Macrandra can be a difficult plant. Mine grows like a weed and you can view the tank via the at the bottom of the post or on the home page under Rivercats 220g TOTM.
Did your nesaea come as emmersed growth as mine did?

Nesaea golden

 

[mr.sam]

Rotala Macrandra can be a difficult plant. Mine grows like a weed and you can view the tank via the at the bottom of the post or on the home page under Rivercats 220g TOTM.
Did your nesaea come as emmersed growth as mine did?

Nesaea golden

 

[mr.sam]

Rotala Macrandra can be a difficult plant. Mine grows like a weed and you can view the tank via the at the bottom of the post or on the home page under Rivercats 220g TOTM.
Did your nesaea come as emmersed growth as mine did?

Rotala

 

[mr.sam]

Rotala Macrandra can be a difficult plant. Mine grows like a weed and you can view the tank via the at the bottom of the post or on the home page under Rivercats 220g TOTM.
Did your nesaea come as emmersed growth as mine did?

mesaea red

 

[Rivercats]

None of these plants like alot of nitrates and prefer higher phosphates but since you have discus which if I remember right don't like high phosphates. What are your nitrate and phosphate readings?

 

[mr.sam]

I have to check on that