Need Help with my 55

[Huro]

Hello everyone,

I am new to the forum and am looking for some advice/help with some issues I am having. The first and by far the most annoying problem is that my water recently began having white particles/specks floating around and I cannot seem to figure out whether its a filtration issue, overstock issue, or something else. The second problem is algae and it seems I have several types I am contending with, since I do not know their proper names I will let the attached photos speak for themselves.

My current setup is about a year old and I do weekly water changes at 50%. I never replace media in either of my filters (just rinse/reuse with tank water)with the exception of the top two baskets in the canister in which I use bulk stuffing from a fabric store, these I change weekly.

edit: I tried to include a clear video of the particles but could not upload it, the photo isn't that clear but my water isn't murky and the specs are more noticeable

Here are my tank specs
Overstocked: (1) sailfin pleco, (1) whiptail cat, (2) Silver Dollars, (2) Bala Sharks, (5) Tiger Barbs, (1) Zebra Danio, (1) Dojo Loach, (3) Rainbows, (3) gourami's
55 gallon uncovered/I have well water
Filtration: Roughly 783pgph (canister and HoB)
Lighting: 48" Lumenblaster LED
PH: 6.6- 7.0 (Testers cant agree, Though the Milwaukee PH600 says 6.9 )
Temp: 78
DYI Co2 (1) 2liter with internal reactor
Substrate: Eco complete plant substrate
Additives: API Leaf zone 25ml(weekly), API Co2 booster 5ml(Daily), API Stress coat 25ml(weekly), AquaFertz Total substrate pellets (monthly)
Fish Food: Tetra Min Tropical crisps (once daily), Tetra Veggie algae wafers (once daily).

Thank you in advance and I hope I included all relevant information.

 

[Thumper828]

Welcome to AA....how long do you keep your lights on?..Also I think a higher quality food would be beneficial such as Omega One.....

 

[Huro]

Thanks, my lights are set to a 10 hour timer...I will look into your suggestion of food

 

[Dallascowboys16]

Hi welcome to aa! i think that one of your problems is that you are very over stocked. Almost all of the fish are also incompatible. I recommend removing the sail fin pleco ,the silver dollars, the bala sharks and the whiptail cats. all of these fish will outgrow your tank very quickly and their high bioload may be causing your problem. how often do you clean your filter? (swishing media in tank water) you could have too much trapped in our filter. Cut your lights down to 8 hours. also add some filter floss to your filter as it will remove fine particles fro the water. Hope this helps!

 

[Fresh2o]

I do see the white specs in pic #4. The addition (as previously mentioned) of floss should help with that. I see green spot algae in pic #1, possibly Staghorn algae in pic #2, and Blackbeard algae (BBA) in pic #3. These are most likely an indication of some type of imbalance; fish are producing too much waste, too much light, not enough CO2, or a combination of the above. The over stocking might be taking its toll on water quality. You can use hydrogen peroxide or Seachem Excel to spot treat the BBA. Not sure how to remove the other types. Hope this helps.

 

[Huro]

Thanks for tips, I clean my media with tank water weekly with the water change, the only media I replace is the bulk stuffing from a fabric store that I use in the top two baskets in my canister filter. And I will definitely drop the timer for 8 hours

 

[Huro]

Thanks, Yes I believe a lot of the algae is stemming from inadequate Co2 at least that is what my research indicated.

 

[josh7]

I'm just going to say it you don't have to take my advice and be insanely overstocked that's your choice. But you need to rehome the sailfin pleco they get 18 inches long and need a minimum of a 125 gallon.

These 2 species alone are going to overwhelm your bioload and soon you will just have dead fish.

The Bala sharks need groups of 4 at least. That doesn't mean go buy more they get 12-14 inches long and are active they need at least a 6 foot tank but an 8 footer is better.

 

[Huro]

Thanks, I agree with your advice the pleco is already full grown and the bala's are both starting to pass the 6inch mark but finding good homes for them hasn't worked out so far, but I am hoping for the best.