Bulb Plants and Algae Questions

[vcorey04]

i recently added to Red Tiger Lotus Bulbs to my tank, and while i siphon almost every day to clean up left over blood worms, i am thinking,

as the bulbs become bigger, will i have to worry about disrupting their root system??

they are so small, now, that they can fit in my siphon and get sucked right out! but in time, i hope they get bigger.

 

[Purrbox]

Once it starts growing the bulb with put on both roots and leaves, the bulb is simply a place to store nutrients and can be used to start a new plant after it goes dormant.

 

[vcorey04]

Algae!!

omg, purrbox..

so glad your looking...

i have the WORST algae problem .. well, it's not the worst but it's ugly..

there are brown diatoms on the glass, ornaments, heater, filter, and my anubias...

now i also have a form of a cyanobacteria on the anubias and heater...

it's dark blue, slimy to the touch, and grows like moss...

it's made my anubias leaves crinkly, but the plant continues to sprout new leaves that inevitably get taken over by the algae!!

i want to get an algae eater, but i admitedly am not the best at being home often enough to do PWC..

i'm getting better at it, and i have managed to remove the residual ammonia that existed..

my pH is 8.0 stable....

what should i do?!

 

[rich311k]

The diatoms should go away by themselves. The cyano is lack of Nitrates or poor water movement or both. Are you dosing anything? How much light etc?

 

[vcorey04]

def not either of those issues.
this is a high flow tank, with a bubble wand running the length
5.0 Nitrates
NOVA extreme - 2x 10,000K T5 that run 7 hours a day

i do not dose anything, but i have florite gravel about 2-3 inches deep

i've had this up since june, and the diatoms have been around in the last month

 

[Purrbox]

You'll probably need to start dosing Nitrates. What are your Nitrate levels?

 

[vcorey04]

5.0 Nitrates... just did a PWC...

don't too many nitrates contribute to algae growth?? how can i have too little with a need for more???

"dosing" = ?

 

[Purrbox]

Definately too low. At levels under 20ppm it's entirely possible for your kit to report higher levels than you actually have. It's entirely possible that you aquarium currently has 0ppm Nitrate.

It's not excess nutrients that cause algae, but rather imbalances. You'll need to start dosing Nitrates to get rid of the BGA. Aim for 20ppm. You can use Flourish Nitrogen or KNO3.

 

[vcorey04]

but nitrates occur naturally as the fish release their excrement into the aquarium.

ammonia levels increase with nitrate levels just from not doing pwc....

nitrates and ammonia should be low??!

rather than dose artificially, and run my levels up to an uncontrolable level, shuldn't i let the tank run it's course??

5ppm Nitrates is good!

seems that 20ppm is too high??


also, can you edit the title of this thread so i can attract more AA regarding my algae problem and nitrate level questions?


where does it say that nitrate levels should be that high??

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

ammonia(waste) gets converted indirectly into nitrates

Plants use nitrates for food, its one of the things they consume the most of. Having low nitrates(plants using up all) means they wil be stunted and algae is not effected much at all by low nutrients like plants are so can start to overtake

You deff need to do some reading, 5ppm nitrates is not good and 20ppm is perfectly fine for fish and great for plants(so they dont run out)

I can tell you for sure that you have decent lighting, not sure the specs(watts and size of tank) or if you are using CO2. You deff need some ferts and prob CO2 for that lighting. Or you can reduce the intensity by raising the fixture off the water 3" or so, but will prob still need ferts

 

[vcorey04]

ammonia(waste) gets converted indirectly into nitrates

Plants use nitrates for food, its one of the things they consume the most of. Having low nitrates(plants using up all) means they wil be stunted and algae is not effected much at all by low nutrients like plants are so can start to overtake

You deff need to do some reading, 5ppm nitrates is not good and 20ppm is perfectly fine for fish and great for plants(so they dont run out)

I can tell you for sure that you have decent lighting, not sure the specs(watts and size of tank) or if you are using CO2. You deff need some ferts and prob CO2 for that lighting. Or you can reduce the intensity by raising the fixture off the water 3" or so, but will prob still need ferts

what should i do? dose? or cycle?

how do i let the nitrates increase without having too much ammonia?

i don't have CO2. my lights are raised 3 inches about the water..

Raising the nitrate level so the plants have fuel will decrease the algae??

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

how do i let the nitrates increase without having too much ammonia?


Raising the nitrate level so the plants have fuel will decrease the algae??

ammonia is quickly used up by bacteria and also by plants. Then turns to nitrite, then to nitrate which again the plants use as fuel.

It wont necessarily kill the algae that is currently growing, you need to do some manual removal of the algae. As if rubbing the glass/leaves that have algae, then doing a water change. Or getting some algae eating fish/shrimp/snails that will keep it under control. Also if there are some leaves that have bad algae, cut those off and remove.

Keeping the plants fed for the conditions(light/CO2) will, in a widely used general term "out compete" the algae for nutrients, basically starving it out. You will always have some slight algae, but algae eaters/cleaners will clean up things and prevent it from getting a hold.

Here is a great site with info: read all the "links" at the bottom to get an idea
DFW Aquatic Plant Club Articles-- Beginner Basics: Introduction

 

[Purrbox]

A planted aquarium is all about balance. You don't want to have overly high Nitrate levels as this is bad for fish, but if your Nitrate levels are too low your plants run out of food stop growing and the algae takes over. So the idea is to keep the Nitrates low enough that it's safe for fish, but high enough that your plants have plenty of nutrients. Aiming for 20ppm is a nice middle ground. The same goes for the rest of the nutrients, but since you've got BGA that a sure indicator of poor current and/or Nitrates bottoming out. Since your flow is good and your Nitrate test is showing 5ppm (which could easily be 0ppm if you haven't calibrated the test), then dosing Nitrates is the solution. Without dosing Nitrates you will continue to fight the BGA.

 

[vcorey04]

thank you so much purrboxx. will do. going the fish store this weekend hopefully... your advice is always concise.

and thanks for changing the title

 

[vcorey04]

hey guys?

to raise my nitrates can i just drop extra flake food in the tank??

if not, what should i be looking for at my LFS?

how much should i dose for my 20g??

 

[Purrbox]

The most economical way to dose Nitrates is to use KNO3. You can buy it locally as Tree Stump Killer, but make sure to look carefully at the label as not all brands are pure KNO3. You can also order it online, but the shipping will be quite high due to the weight. If you decide to order it online, I highly recommend ordering a full complement of ferts and not just the KNO3. The Combo Pack from Rex Grigg would be a good starter set. You can also use Flourish Nitrogen, but you would probably have to ask your LFS to special order it as most don't carry it as a part of their regular stock. It's also very dilute, so it will be expensive in the long run.

 

[vcorey04]

totally bummed.

can't i just put too much food and run the nitrate levels up?

o, i came home from class and found my German Ram stuck under the suction cups of my filter, upsidown, and dead.

it's really odd because he never goes there, there's no suction where he was stuck, and my water levels are good for the fish

i'm stumped as to why he died. he was the star of my tank. until i get everything resolved though, i'm not getting any new fish.

so KNO3, pure tree stump killer, huh? i'll look into it..

 

[Purrbox]

The problem with adding excess food is that it's imprecise and can lead to other problems since it wouldn't just be adding Nitrates. It would have to rot first and go from Ammonia to Nitrite to Nitrate. This could cause additional problems for your fish. Also if you have snails it would spur a population explosion. There are no calculations out there that say to add x amount of food to achieve 20ppm Nitrate. Since Fertilizers are specifically meant to add certain nutrients there are formulas that tell you exactly how much to add.

 

[vcorey04]

right,...

any idea why my german ram died?

 

[rich311k]

They are not long lived and a lot of the stock is pumped full of hormones for faster growth and better color. They like warm soft water. It happens. If you want to try again, I love my rams, buy stock from a local breeder or on aquabid.com.