Great progress but need help

[Rivercats]

You could add a fish that loves mesquito larve. Most do! Otherwise you can net as many out as possible and as a last resort treat the tank. As for the algae if you've been gone I take it no ferts or WC's have been done and how long were the lights running daily? I'd only run my lights about 6 hours right now, do a couple good WC's, get your fert's back on track and possibly treat the tank with H2O2 and or Excel. Do you know what kind of algae it is or can you take a picture?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

If you have mosquito larvae that's usually a sign that the water is stagnant. Do you have enough flow? You could always add a fish known to eat that type of algae. Believe it or not I've had great success in the past with black mollies eating filamentous algae. Remove all the algae you can manually, try a normal black molly (just temporarily) to see if it eats the stuff and maybe increase the water flow. I wouldn't add a sensitive fish but mollies can do well in these conditions. Sounds like odd advice but it'll make sense if you give it a shot.

 

[jetajockey]

The mosquitoes here will lay in anything, I get them in my daphnia tubs all summer. Personally I wouldn't get a fish to eat algae, you really should figure out the cause of the algae in the first place.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

As part of a measure to clean up the algae and eat the mosquito larvae adding something that'll eat it is reasonable and consistent with nature. Having an algae eater doesn't mean that you don't fix the underlying problem. It isn't a one or the other suggestion. We have so many algae eaters available in the hobby because nature uses them to do the same job we ask them to do. They don't fix an unbalanced system. They help keep a balanced system clean.

 

[Bcuzimbatman]

These are some of the pics I was able to get. Lights are on 6 hours a day and there is a powerhead in the tank. It's a mineralized soil tank so I wasn't dosing ferts. I have a bottle of API leaf zone I was using but because of the algae bloom I figured it would make matters worse. There is a DIY c02 running in the tank now. And I added some rosy red minnows to eat the larvae but they appear to be ignoring it. I want those bu

 

[Bcuzimbatman]

Bugs out tho. Because the tank is in my bedroom. Any ideas? I put plastic wrap on the top so they wouldn't get out

 

[jetajockey]

Did you reduce light intensity at all? 4 Bulb t5ho over a 10g right?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Did you reduce light intensity at all? 4 Bulb t5ho over a 10g right?

Becuzimbatman, ^this is really important. I can't imagine any situation where 4 T5s over a ten wouldn't make fighting algae an uphill battle. 2 T5s would still mean you would need a fine balance of ferts, plants, co2/glute and light cycle.

 

[Bcuzimbatman]

I reduced to 3 but I will drop to 2. I'm just scared for my dhg

 

[jetajockey]

I know people who keep DHG in a 10 under CFL's, you'll be fine. As it is they stand more of a chance of getting choked out by algae growth anyway.

The lighting on that tank is extreme IMO, even a 1 bulb t5ho is on the high end in such a short tank. It would be interesting to see the par data on it.

Here's an example of someone using far less lighting with success on DHG. http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/optimum-dwarf-hairgrass-growing-conditions-216780.html

 

[Wroberson]

I didn't see a filter. If the water isn't filtered, it will cloud up really fast. If it's under filtered, the water will cloud up too. People who monitor bodies of water, like ponds stream and lakes check for NO3 and PO4. It was suggested to me to try to get a ratio of 10:1 NO3O4. I haven't gotten there yet and I've been working on it for nearly 3 months. It has slowed down, and I admit I've slacked off once I hit the 20ppm mark for NO3.

Just a suggestion...

 

[Bcuzimbatman]

I'm really more concerned by these mosquito larvae. I added some minnows to the water and they died the same day. I haven't tested my water but last time I did my nitrite and nitrate were extremely high. How do I solve this problem? I need fish in the water that will eat these larvae cuz the minnows didn't do that

 

[jetajockey]

Do a big wc or two.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

What kind of filter are you running? And yes, a couple of water changes and a thorough testing is definitely the way to go.

 

[Bcuzimbatman]

No filter. Just a small powerhead. What do u guys recommend?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I'd pick up an AquaClear HOB filter. For a 10 gallon it would be all you need.

 

[Bcuzimbatman]

Unfortunately the bugs have taken over the tank as well as the algae. I've taken it outside and have decided to empty it out. I'm gonna re-use the soil however for the Dry Start Method. Would this work?

 

[Rivercats]

I think you are going to have to completely dry the soil out first. Then your going to have to figure out how to keep the mesquito's from getting in the tank or it's going to happen all over again.