Plant Health and Algae

[IowaGuy]

Hello Friends!

I could use some input. First off, I have a 30 gal FW tank (my first ever). It is about 12 months old and I have learned a lot so far. My plants are doing okay, but not the healthiest looking. I'm also having issues with algae. Specifics:

- 36" long tank, about 18" deep
- Fluval canister filter
- Coralife Colormax and 6700 T5 lamps, about 9 hours daily
- DIY CO2
- Daily dose of 5 mL Excel
- EcoComplete substrate
- Very low fish load - 5 neons, 1 dwarf Gourami, 2 algae eaters
- 50% WC weekly, canister cleaned every 2 weeks
- Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate tests all at zero

As you can see in the pics, my plants don't look bad but don't look great. Some aren't showing the color and older leaves are covered in some kind of algae. Also, I'm showing a pic of my intake/outflow from the canister filter. These were scrubbed clean 2 weeks ago and you can see the green growth on them already.

I WAS having worse algae problems but backed off the light and additional fertilizers, so this is actually a bit better than it has been. And I went from Nitrates at readings of 20 to 40, to now zero (not sure what the huge turnaround was there).

Any suggestions or feedback to help me out?

 

[Rivercats]

Actually the plants need ferts especially when using a liquid carbon like Excel. A reading of 0 nitrates isn't good. Plants need macro and micro nutrients. How many plants do you have in your tank? And how many bulbs, you didn't mention that. By using Excel your aiding planting in photosynthesis and growth but they also need ferts which yours aren't getting. The algae could easily be outcompeting the plants for the little bit of nutrients your tank has. So you need to get a liquid fert such as Seachems Flourish Comprehensive or if you have several plants buying dry ferts is much cheaper and you can customize your dosing regime. Also do you have a phosphate kit? It also helps to know not only your nitrate reading in a planted tank but also your phosphate reading. A good general guideline is 10-20ppm nitrate and .5-1ppm of phosphate for a planted tank. And as for the algae you can spot treat it with Excel. I would also suggest only running your lights 8 hours a day.

 

[IowaGuy]

Thanks for the feedback. The resource I bought all of my plants from recommended the entire Seachem line of ferts, but it seemed like a really strong dosing. In some cases it was 2 to 5 times the Seachem suggested dosing. I'll start introducing some of that at their recommended amounts.

To answer your question - I have two Coralife lamps. And no, I don't have a phosphate kit but I'll check it out. I didn't think 0 nitrates was good but it seems like I've gone from one extreme with nitrates to the other. I actually tested it twice thinking the first reading was wrong.

 

[Rivercats]

The Seachem line of products is good but that runs into alot of money. Dry ferts cost about $20 and can last a long time, a year or more if its a small tank. They also give you all the ferts macro and micro your tank needs.

 

[mohican]

Dry ferts are a must. I was referred to them from this site in early march and still have plenty left. Check out aquariumplants.com. Look for CSM+B package. My tank is 125G.

 

[Rivercats]

I get mine at Greenleaf Aquarium. They have a micro-macro package deal for $20. I also use their dosing bottles which makes dosing very easy. I also dose PPS-Pro which is easy to do and you can customize your ferts to the needs of your tank. CSM+B is your micro ferts. Your micro ferts are nitrates, phosphates, and potassium.

 

[IowaGuy]

Rivercats, I realized that I didn't answer one of your questions. I have about 24 plants in my tank. Kind of hard to say for sure as some are bunches and smaller, but I would say that is a fair number. It sounds like dry ferts are the way to go so I'll start digging into that subject further and get some on order.

So to clarify lighting, is the suggestion of 8 hours/day while I get algae under control and the tank in better balance, or is 8 hours a long term suggestion? This tank happens to be in a pitch black room so my fish live in total darkness 16 hours a day

 

[Rivercats]

I just posted this info for someone else....

Greenleaf Aquariums... I use this package of micro and macro ferts... Micro & Macro | Aquarium Fertilizer | Green Leaf Aquariums

I use these dosing bottles but I get 3 so I can mix micros in one, nitrates in one, and phosphates and potassium in one. This allows me to customize how much of what I want to dose with. Fertilizer Dispenser | 1000 mL (32 oz) | Green Leaf Aquariums

Then here is a thread about dosing PPS-Pro. Only read up to the dosing, don't bother with all the after posts. Just get the information...
Newbie Guide to PPS-Pro - PPS Analysis and Feedback - Aquatic Plant Central

Also add 5ml per 250ml of micro and macro solution to keep mold/fungus from developing during storage.

What I do in my tank is run 4 39w 6700K T5HO's for 10 hours then a 6 hour light burst with my metal halides. The T5HO's are dim in a 220g but give a nice light and allow for viewing without causing algae issues. I also have LED Moonlights. See if you can get creative on running low lighting longer and high light for say 6 hours.

 

[leftyfish]

Rivercats, what do you add 5ml of? per 250ml to keep away mold/fungus? Thanks.

 

[Rivercats]

Rivercats, what do you add 5ml of? per 250ml to keep away mold/fungus? Thanks.

It was suppose to read 5ml of Flourish Excel to every 250ml of micro and macro mix... sorry... senior moment!

 

[IowaGuy]

Rivercats, that was awesome help! I'm all over it now and excited to get back on track with this.

 

[leftyfish]

It was suppose to read 5ml of Flourish Excel to every 250ml of micro and macro mix... sorry... senior moment!

Awesome, thanks! I have lots of those moments!

 

[IowaGuy]

Tonight is the big night. Just received my dry ferts from Greenleaf, mixed them up, and I'm ready to dose tomorrow morning before heading to work. I did overlook the MgS04 component for PPS-Pro when I ordered from Greenleaf, but I guess I'll have to make due for now.

So...one more follow up question. Should I stop adding Seachem Excel daily now that I have micro and macro nutrients or do I keep adding it as well?? To me it seems like that is different than the nutrients. I do have DIY C02 that is going in and I have been good at keeping that concoction cooking so the bubble count remains someone constant.

Thanks again for all of the help!!

 

[Rivercats]

You do want to continure dosing Excel along with the ferts. As for the MgSO4 magnesium you don't need it unless you have super soft water. A tank normally gets plenty of magnesium from tap water during WC's.

 

[IowaGuy]

I have been dosing the dry ferts from Green Leaf for several days now. Seems pretty simple as compared to my varied dosing with seachem, and definitely cheaper based on how little of the dry I used to mix up the bottles. Thanks for the suggestion!

Question though...I have noticed that when I dose the CSM+B that sometimes I get white flakes coming out of the dosing bottle, and they drop to the bottom of the tank immediately. When I dose from the other PPS-Pro concoction I don't get these flakes. Any idea if this is good, bad or indifferent?? I shake the bottles before dosing, and I'm using distilled water.

 

[Rivercats]

That's normal with the micro mix, some of the ferts don't dissolve well, don't know why. I've been using it for a year now and never had an issue with the flakes, although it does disappoint the fish that the flakes aren't food

 

[IowaGuy]

Following up on this thread and a couple of others talking about dry ferts and PPS-Pro, I switched to dry fertilizers almost one month ago (used to use liquid from Seachem). I'm seeing positive results. One of my plants sprang back to life. Another plant bunch is visibly growing day by day as I have to keep trimming it back to keep it out of my circulation pump.

Couple of follow up questions:
1. My Nitrate readings are higher...maybe around 40 ppm best that I can tell from the silly API chart. Should I cut back or give my tank another month or so to fill in plant-wise? I'm still doing 40% to 50% WC's, clean my canister every 2 or 3 weeks, and barely feed my fish.

2. Suggestions are to dose before lights come on. I dose at 7:00 AM before I leave for work, and lights come on at 2:00 PM. Is that too far apart? Since I'm seeing positive change in plants I'm guessing it isn't, but thought I would ask for an opinion.

 

[Rivercats]

Are your macro's mixed together in one dosing bottle? What I finally went to is mixing my nitrates in one dosing bottle and then phosphates and nitrates in another dosing bottle. This way if I need more or less of one of the macros I can adjust it. Since your nitrates are running alittle high if you did this you could adjust by adding nitrates every other day then check them after a week of dosing right before a WC to see if levels are more on target.

If dosing how your doing is working then just keep doing it that way.