Still having some issues

[Talon242]

I havent added fertilizers in over a few months. The fertilizers I own are Seachem flourish, iron, and potassium.

My plants are ickky looking they have some green spot algae on them and also brush algae I believe.

I recently changed my lighting to 10 hours, like 2 days ago. I forgot what site it was but it had a formula to figure it out the appropriate lighting hours.

I tested everything today. I have a feeling I need another test but I could be wrong.

Ph - 7.8
[acronym:17315e6e8b="Carbonate Hardness"]KH[/acronym:17315e6e8b] - 5dkh or 89.5ppm
[acronym:17315e6e8b="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:17315e6e8b] - 2.377 [acronym:17315e6e8b="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:17315e6e8b]
Nitrite - 0 [acronym:17315e6e8b="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:17315e6e8b]
Nitrate - 0 [acronym:17315e6e8b="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:17315e6e8b]
Ammonia - 0 [acronym:17315e6e8b="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:17315e6e8b]

Any help would be greatly appriciated. I think I should have waited on the plants cause I'm not doing to well with em.

[TankGirl]

Nitrate 0ppm?

Are you running [acronym:281f2e7ac5="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:281f2e7ac5] pressurized or [acronym:281f2e7ac5="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:281f2e7ac5]? That is a low [acronym:281f2e7ac5="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:281f2e7ac5] if you are dosing the tank. What are the wattage of your bulbs?

Sorry for so many questions but I am sure we can get to the bottom of this - it is a question of balance, and the plants are lacking something they need, so we can certainly help you figure it out.

[BrianNY]

Exactly. Nitrates should be around 10ppm and [acronym:49909b1c55="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:49909b1c55] around 15ppm if you're using at least 2 [acronym:49909b1c55="Watts Per Gallon"]wpg[/acronym:49909b1c55] of lighting.

[Talon242]

Heres a little more information for you. I have a 96 watt 6700K bulb. I dont have a [acronym:50da6b399d="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:50da6b399d] system. Would a [acronym:50da6b399d="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:50da6b399d] be okay becuase I was planning on doing that a while ago but it got a little confusing. What should I use to dose Nitrates?

[TankGirl]

Without [acronym:a41c752e43="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:a41c752e43] added I am wondering how you have no nitrate with the low lighting situation - I don't think you need [acronym:a41c752e43="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:a41c752e43] at all. I'd check the nitrate, maybe getting a new test kit or having the [acronym:a41c752e43="Local Fish Store"]LFS[/acronym:a41c752e43] test it for you to be sure. It is not a huge issue but is curious.

Talon,

In all honesty. I'd have to agree with you. Perhaps you should have waited on the plants.

Seeing how you've neglected your planted tank for a couple of months now and you have a couple of varies algaes. Are you willing to devote the time needed to learn and maint a planted tank, or are you going to continue to neglect it?

If your willing to research, learn, maint. a planted tank DAILY, continue on. If not, tear down the tank and place it in your next yard sale.

A couple of months of neglecting ANY tank is unexceptable. You really need to make a decision.

[Talon242]

I have been trying to get ride of the algae for quite awhile now its not like I just decided to do it, its been a pain for months. I've tried lowering lighting to as low as 4 hours a day but then read somewhere that it isnt enough time for the plants to photosynthesize. I put in a few hour break in the middle of the day as some people suggested. Also trying different amounts of fertilizers. When things were changed they are not instant so what seems like months of neglect are just trying out different methods which haven't worked.

[malkore]

The reason nitrates are 0ppm is because this is a larger tank (50g) with relatively few fish, and Talon is apparently not overfeeding (good job!).

Talon, you need a phosphate test kit...that's the one you're missing, and phosphate levels are probably the source of your algae blooms.
For every 1ppm of phosphate , you want 10-15ppm of nitrate...a 1:10 ratio is the minimum for a balanced tank. And a little extra phosphate will quickly (overnight) cause algae blooms of doom.

What I would do at this stage is get your phosphate kit and determine those levels. You have almost 2wpg, but I think 50g tanks are 36" long and taller than 'normal' right? In that case you can get by without [acronym:bba728ac9a="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:bba728ac9a]....although a little [acronym:bba728ac9a="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:bba728ac9a] [acronym:bba728ac9a="Carbon dioxide"]CO2[/acronym:bba728ac9a] wouldn't hurt things (you have sufficient dKh to buffer against pH swings, esp. with [acronym:bba728ac9a="Do it yourself"]DIY[/acronym:bba728ac9a]).
Next, get some Potassium Nitrate (KNO3) from www.gregwatson.com a pound will be enough.
Then head to Chuck's Aquarium Pages to determine how much KNO3 to add to get your nitrates to 10ppm. Keep in mind that dosing KNO3 also adds some potassium. When your Seachem potassium runs out, by potassium sulfate from gregwatson.com too. It's about 10 times cheaper than SeaChem.

[Talon242]

Yeah the tank is like 20" tall. I will be picking up a phosphate kit on my way home from class but that won't be until around 7pm. And well see what the readings are. Thanks for the help.

Edit: I went to Petsmart, petco, and petworld and none of them have a phosphate test kit so I will have to order one online tonight.

[Talon242]

Originally Posted by malkore

Then head to Chuck's Aquarium Pages to determine how much KNO3 to add to get your nitrates to 10ppm. Keep in mind that dosing KNO3 also adds some potassium. When your Seachem potassium runs out, by potassium sulfate from gregwatson.com too. It's about 10 times cheaper than SeaChem.

I'm a little confused on how the KNO3 will be added. The way it seems to me is that I mix a little bit of it together with water in a container. Then for every ml I put in the tank it will raise it that much.

So one teaspoon mixed with 20ml of water would give me .91 [acronym:4341bfb8ce="Parts per Million"]ppm[/acronym:4341bfb8ce] nitrate for every ml added?