OK, Ready to Give UP!!!

[indrani987]

hello,

I have a 10 gallon freshwater,planted tank with 5 zebra danios and one african dwarf frog.

I've been having huge problems with algae for 6 months or so. I can't tell if it's red or brown - kind of rusty colored. I feed sparingly, I gravel vaccuum and do partial water changes every week, I leave the 15 watt fluorescent light on for 12-14 hours perday. I just replaced it today, wondering if something was wrong with it, as I've heard red (or brown?) algae thrives under low light levels. I've tried changing out everything from the tank, scrubbed everything down, adding lots of new plants, and now they are all covered in the algae again I didn't use bleach, cuz my friend did that and couldn't get it all out and killed her fish. I was hoping that my green plants would outcompete the algae for nutrients, but it doesn't seem to be working. I was going to use this algae killer stuff, but the lady at the pet store said she had tried them and they weren't very good at killing this type of algae....

any suggestions? If I were to start over, how could I have prevented this? is it easier if you have a bigger tank with a stronger light? Should I have just bought algae eaters from the get-go? Getting really tired of scrubbing off this nasty algae....(sigh!)

~indrani

 

[Fruitbat]

indrani...

Even with a 15 watt fluorescent light on your 10 gallon you're still in the low-light category (1.5 watts per gallon). What kinds of plants do you have in your aquarium? If you have high-light plants then they won't grow fast enough to complete for the nutrients. You might try to find some Hornwort, a stem plant that will grow quickly enough at the light level in your tank to give the algae some competition.

Some Otocinclus catfish (maximum size about 2 inches) will help with your algae problem but won't solve it completely. You might also consider adding some snails...but be careful because snails will usually munch on your plants too!

 

[LAGlocker]

I agree with Fruitbat about the Hornwort(even though I cant keep it) and the snails. You could also try a few plants that grow in almost any conditions and will definetly eat up all your nutrients, if you can get it there. I know alot of people dont like it, and cant get rid of it, but duckweed will really eat up all the excess nutrients in a tank, and it floats so you dont plant it. Its just a thought. Not sure if hygro would grow at that wattage, but you can check.

 

[TheMadNucleus]

I'd like to suggest one other thing. It sounds like this might be a diatom bloom. Daitom "algae" (there is some controversy over whehter or not you can call this algae or not) uses a different profile of nutrients from your other plants and this is perhaps why you are having this problem.

I'm not sure about the oto's (haven't had much experience with them) but perhaps fruitbat can tell us if the eat diatoms as well.

None the less - the key nutrient for diatoms is Silicate, for other algaes (the greener varieties) it's phosphate and Nitrate. I know that alot of public water systems specifically add silicates (something to do with preventing pipe errosion - I think) and many wells are loaded with the stuff.

You might want to consider asking your LFS to test your tap water and tank water for Silicates - if they are high, you may have another solution route to persue.

Is it dusty when distirubed in the water?

Anyway - just some thoughts.

Tom

 

[Guest]

Otos love diatom algae.

IMHO the minimum amount of light for a 10 gallon planted tank starts at 36 watts. Basically an AH supply 36 watt kit or other means of getting to around the same level.

 

[Fruitbat]

Don't let Rex Grigg fool you....there's NOTHING humble about his opinion!! (Just kidding, Rex). Thing about ol' Rex is that (for a jarhead) he's usually correct! 36watts on a 10 gallon tank would definitely put you up in the high light range and then you might even want to start thinking about DIY CO2 injection.

Oh....Rex is right about another thing....Otocinclus DO love diatoms!!

De Oppresso Liber!!

 

[brotherd]

Don't give up just yet.I had the same problems as you and I finally have a beautiful planted tank.I did however tear it all down when it was really bad and start over.The only things I kept were the fish and the fully cycled filter.Also about a third of the original sand substrate and 5 gallons of tank water.I got my lighting up to 4 watts per gal. and added diy co2 system.The new substrate is over top of the old sand.I have no bad algae and any that starts is eaten by the pleco.I felt just like you and now that it finally works I really want to do this on a huge scale (like125 gal!)I'll try to post a new pic asap.

 

[TankGirl]

Well, I am going to suggest a simple thing to try, and at the same time keep your current lighting. I have always kept a few low-light tanks that include plants, so I know what you are going through. The very first thing to do is to increase your water changes (major assumption here that your tap/well does not contain high nitrAte) to twice or thrice weekly until (or if) you see a difference, then back off to determine how frequently this should be done (probably at least once a week). It is not so difficult with a 10-gal, and this helped me defeat an algae problem in my earlier aquarium keeping days, without doing anything different other than that. Be sure you are not overfeeding, as well.

If this does not help, then you have to look into changing things. Your plant selection needs to be made with care, so let us know what you have in there now, as that might make a difference. Crypts, watersprite, anubias, java fern and java moss are a few plants that should do well in your current setup. It is tempting to scrap the whole thing and start over, but don't give up just yet, because if you can nip this issue you will have learned how to avoid it in the future, and if you just start over it might go right back to where you are now, if you don't do anything differently.

 

[brotherd]

new pic

Here is a new pic.You can do it!

 

[brotherd]

pic

Oops!Pic didn't go through.Trying again.

 

[brotherd]

Ok.No pics I guess.Sorry about that.

 

[indrani987]

thanks

Thank you all SO much for your advice!

About the light: I suspected it was too low. I went to two different pet stores, and the only output I could find for an 18" bulb was 15 watts. They also sold 24" bulbs that were 20 watts. Where can I go to get a more powerful light? Should I check a hardware store?

About the algae using different nutrients: that would make sense too. I don't use tap water, just that "great value" spring water from walmart; maybe I should try switching.

About the plants: hmm....don't remember what they are called. The ones I first started with were sold to me as "low-to moderate light" (actually, these were the plants which contaminated my tank with the algae to start with). When they got totally covered with algae, I cleaned/replaced everything in my tank, then got some medium-bright light ones, just cuz all the low-moderate ones had algae on them....guess I should stick with those anyways, once I find a store without algae all over their plants!

About the water changes: at least that part I was doing right

 

[medge00]

stick to low to med if you can. try ahsupply.com for lights.

 

[TankGirl]

You will have to upgrade the light fixture, in that you will remove the guts and replace them with "retrofit" kit (AHSupply.com - wonderful resource) in order to get more light.

It is not that the plants themselves carry algae along with them, like a parasite, per se, it is that algae is more efficient at getting available nutrients than plants, and the plants need to have optimal conditions to use up the nutrients and starve the algae. I have low light tanks with low light plants and zero algae problems, because I keep excess nutrients at a minimum. Once you upgrade your lights and get higher-demand plants it is harder to control algae, as I know only too well. I would recommend mastering the low light plants with the lights you have, and learn how to control the algae there, before you upgrade. In general this can be done easily with frequent water changes.

 

[Guest]

Ottocinclus are awesome. I don't know if they specifically eat those types of algae, but I don't have any visible in the tank where I have them. They are my favorite. They are always hungry. They won't bother your plants. In fact they will eat the algae directly from them leaves.

 

[madasafish]

Otos are fantastic algae-eaters, and are really my first choice for getting rid of rust algae. I've gotta warn you in advance, though, that they are notoriously sensitive in transit, and many batches of them die slowly over the process of weeks in ppl's tanks.

My first batch of otos was absolutely fine. No casualties, still none. My second batch died off very slowly. Others here may not have experienced this, but I've read around the internet, and see that plenty of other ppl *have* experienced the same problem, precisely as it happened to me.

So if you get otos, make sure to be extra careful about QTing them, and transporting them in the least-stressful manner possible. (Truth be told, most of the stress occurs when they're caught and shipped to the US, but...)

Just a caveat.

 

[TankGirl]

This has been true in my experience, too, Madasafish. I like to get the last remaining ones in a shipment at the LFS - because if they have survived at the LFS for a week or two then I am more confident.

It has something to do with when they are starved even for a short time, which is typical when they are caught and shipped, certain bacteria die in their guts so when they do get food, they can't digest it.

 

[madasafish]

Oh, really? Wow. That really makes a lot of sense--as their bellies appear to swell up when they first get into the aquarium. I assume this is a gas build-up due to enzyme and bacteria deficiencies.

Thank you for the note--that's a really important bit of information. I wonder if there isn't anything consumers can do about this--either a) encourage shippers to ship the fish in algae-ridden containers, and to change the water a little more often or b) enourage industry to come up with an enzyme-infused food type which aids the bacteria which *is* left in their guts to digest the algae efficiently. Or a sort of bio-spira for consumption deal... Hmm.... This is a fairly major issue. I feel we should come up with some sort of solution. It's criminal how many of these poor fish die in aquaria.

 

[Guest]

I have heard that they can die mysteriously, but I haven't any trouble with any that I bought.

 

[TankGirl]

I wonder if there isn't anything consumers can do about this--either a) encourage shippers to ship the fish in algae-ridden containers, and to change the water a little more often or b) enourage industry to come up with an enzyme-infused food type which aids the bacteria which *is* left in their guts to digest the algae efficiently.

I think this is a good idea, because whenever I go over to the otocinclus tank at my favorite LFS, someone comes over with a notebook to check the mortality rate list they keep for the most recent shipment. If it is high, they warn me off and recommend I wait a few more days. It is like they factor the oto losses in ahead of time.

We should write a letter or two, because it is a sad thing when someone asks about a good algae eater for a small tank, and several people recommend otos, but at the same time they will warn them about the high death rate. You see that over and over.