The Sixty Gallon Build :)

[George9]

you can try putting some window screening over the top of your tank to reduce the light intesity, that might affect some of your plants that need the higher light though. you could also buy a supplement like Excell of API CO2 Booster to use. I think if the DIY system was enough to keep it under control then you won't really have to worry about any other supplement.

There are a number of different factors that we can address or tweak here so lets just take it step by step.

Step 1 is to fire up the DIY again and give it a couple weeks. We'll see how the algae reacts to that and adjust accordingly from there.

I've been caught up with the new tank so i haven't really checked in on ya, how's everthing else with the tank? All the inhabitants doing well still?

Okay, we'll see what the diy does, hopfully im getting some bubbles now. If not, ill explore some of the options you posted, thanks

Yes, everyone is great. Its still unknown why those 2 platies died. No one else died since then but yeah, its all good. Im thinking of finally adding a new addition in the next couple weeks

 

[KaeJS]

Hello

Hello, I know I'm a new member here, but I do have some knowledge. I'd like to point out that I don't mean to come across as abrasive, I am just trying to get to the point and be helpful.

First, I read all 186 pages. I'm not sure if she's still around since this thread dates back to 2011, but severum mama seems very knowledgeable (not to say other members are not, because they are, but you definitely should have listened to severum mama more in the beginning of your tank build, specifically about dosing with ammonia).

The tank looks great in terms of aquascaping.

What you really need to do though is just let the tank sit for a month. Don't touch anything. Don't add any fish. Don't move the plants. Nothing.

Just check your parameters and do a 25% water change once a week.

It seems like you are having lots of trouble with this tank. The reason is because you keep changing things. The tank is an ecosystem. Every time you change something, you flock something else up.

About halfway through your thread, you added Co2 and your fish started dying. Do you know why? It's because Co2 decreases the pH level. That's why you woke up and lots of fish were dead.

You know what you're doing, but you're not being patient enough and thinking about all of the variables. Just let things simmer. Wait until Ruby gets better. Let the tank stabilize.

As for your algae, you can fix this easily. Don't reduce the amount of time your lights are on, but instead reduce the intensity of your lights. Take out a bulb or something. Also, there is no reason to have your lights go off in the middle of the day for one hour. That is just going to confuse the fish and flock up the photo period for your plants. Remember, Algae absorb all forms of light, so having the lights go off for an hour is actually doing your real plants and fish a disservice.

I would leave the lights on for 6 hours, with no 1 hour darkness. Dose the tank with an abundance of Excel, keep the Co2 going (watch the pH levels!!!!!! especially at night!) and don't add any trace elements to the tank.

Also, cut back on your fish feedings and siphon the gravel. There may just be too much bacteria/rotting food/poop/etc that the algae can live off of.

As I said, I really don't want to come across as rude or brash, but you need to just let things stabilize.

If you have the time, take out the rocks with the algae on them and clean them. Scrub them HARD in a bleach solution (50% bleach, 50% water). Then rinse them and let them soak in some water with dechlorinator. Then you can place them back in the tank, algae free.

I will keep checking your thread for updates, as I thoroughly did enjoy your thread. I hope everything works out for you and your fish. If you have any questions, you can feel free to ask. I will be starting a 90Gallon build thread in a couple months, and I hope you'll take part in my thread, as well.

 

[skywhitney]

Hello, I know I'm a new member here, but I do have some knowledge. I'd like to point out that I don't mean to come across as abrasive, I am just trying to get to the point and be helpful.

First, I read all 186 pages. I'm not sure if she's still around since this thread dates back to 2011, but severum mama seems very knowledgeable (not to say other members are not, because they are, but you definitely should have listened to severum mama more in the beginning of your tank build, specifically about dosing with ammonia).

The tank looks great in terms of aquascaping.

What you really need to do though is just let the tank sit for a month. Don't touch anything. Don't add any fish. Don't move the plants. Nothing.

Just check your parameters and do a 25% water change once a week.

It seems like you are having lots of trouble with this tank. The reason is because you keep changing things. The tank is an ecosystem. Every time you change something, you flock something else up.

About halfway through your thread, you added Co2 and your fish started dying. Do you know why? It's because Co2 decreases the pH level. That's why you woke up and lots of fish were dead.

You know what you're doing, but you're not being patient enough and thinking about all of the variables. Just let things simmer. Wait until Ruby gets better. Let the tank stabilize.

As for your algae, you can fix this easily. Don't reduce the amount of time your lights are on, but instead reduce the intensity of your lights. Take out a bulb or something. Also, there is no reason to have your lights go off in the middle of the day for one hour. That is just going to confuse the fish and flock up the photo period for your plants. Remember, Algae absorb all forms of light, so having the lights go off for an hour is actually doing your real plants and fish a disservice.

I would leave the lights on for 6 hours, with no 1 hour darkness. Dose the tank with an abundance of Excel, keep the Co2 going (watch the pH levels!!!!!! especially at night!) and don't add any trace elements to the tank.

Also, cut back on your fish feedings and siphon the gravel. There may just be too much bacteria/rotting food/poop/etc that the algae can live off of.

As I said, I really don't want to come across as rude or brash, but you need to just let things stabilize.

If you have the time, take out the rocks with the algae on them and clean them. Scrub them HARD in a bleach solution (50% bleach, 50% water). Then rinse them and let them soak in some water with dechlorinator. Then you can place them back in the tank, algae free.

I will keep checking your thread for updates, as I thoroughly did enjoy your thread. I hope everything works out for you and your fish. If you have any questions, you can feel free to ask. I will be starting a 90Gallon build thread in a couple months, and I hope you'll take part in my thread, as well.

Hello KaeJS, like you, i don't mean this to come across as abrasive. It's just easier to say stuff outright.

I would actually have to disagree about the CO2 being the cause of some issues. George's tank is large enough to where one bottle of DIY CO2 is going to make such a small impact it might not even be noticeable. This small amount would not be enough to cause drastic PH swings. I have personally done pressurized CO2 with daily swings of up to a full point (1.0) without negative effects on the fish, some of which came from George's tank. My build thread documents all of that.

The split photo period has conflicting data. Seeing as how he is experiencing algae growth with it I would agree to leave it on for a constant time. Algae growth is a sign of an imbalance somewhere in the system. The issues we are facing are high light, no added CO2, added ferts. If the DIY CO2 doesn't help then the next step would be to adjust the lighting either by adding screening or removing a bulb all together.

I would also advise not cleaning the rocks. This algae is a great indicator of the issues at hand, use it as a gauge to fix the root cause(s).

Again I am not meaning to sound confrontational or abrasive. I actually am happy you made this post. Putting our heads together, we'll be able to solve this!

Lol get ready George!

 

[KaeJS]

Hello KaeJS, like you, i don't mean this to come across as abrasive. It's just easier to say stuff outright. !

With regards to the CO2, you could be right. Maybe it wasn't the CO2 that killed the fish previously. Who knows.

If he leaves the algae on the rocks and the problem doesn't get solved soon, the algae could start spreading, making it harder to get rid of. That's my only concern. It's a good indicator, but I would still remove it. It would be a huge pain in the butt to get rid of algae that has hooked onto his nice plants! Algae that is stuck to plants is the worst...

It will undoubtedly come back if the ecosystem is still unbalanced.

 

[George9]

Holy crap, long few posts here. Lemme read them lol

 

[George9]

Thanks for reading every page lol! Yes, severum mama is still around

I remember reading that a split photo period will help stop algae growth? Is thus wrong?

Taking out a bulb is not an option, the plants I have need the two bulbs. I guess I'm stuck here, excel will make my crypts melt, and I definately don't have 200 bucks for a co2 system. Like I said, the tanks not covered in algae, its just the little bit here and there that I hate

You're right about how when I change things, I cause more problems. I'll let it simmer for a while longer. I'm not in a rush to do anything.

Edit looked around the tank, my main problem is the bba which is prob. The majority of the algae

 

[KaeJS]

It's BBA? That's the worst kind. Sorry to hear that.

I would strongly, strongly advise you take those rocks out and scrub with a bleach solution. As I said before, it's just going to get worse and worse if you don't act now.

Try to keep the tank as "natural" as possible (with that being said, the middle of the day is usually the brightest/hottest, and the sun does not "go out" for one hour). I am definitely not part of the "1 hour blackout" camp. This is not earth hour...

BBA would continue to grow even if you had your lights off completely. BBA does not really need much light to survive at all. It will continue to stay there even if you had the lights off completely for days and days.

What you need to do is severely dose with Excel and just leave your DIY CO2 going as much as possible.

Do you still have that 10g tank you mentioned before? Put the crypts in that tank (if they don't have algae on them) and then dose your 60g with Excel to preserve the plants. If you can't put the crypts in the 10g, you may just have to sacrifice the crypts. Unfortunately, BBA is a tough cookie to crack. It's like cancer. Once it's there.... it pretty much just continues to multiply.

Here's a post I sourced for you from another forum:

"I recommend you do the following: remove decorations like rocks and what not. Soak them up in pure bleach for about 15 minutes. You rinse them well with water, then you let it dry outdoors for 24 to 36 hours to make sure the bleach evaporates well. Then you rinse them with water again. This will kill the BBA off most of your decorations. While you do this, treat your entire tank with Flourish Excel. This will provide your plants with CO2, and it will kill your BBA. When you see no traces of BBA in the tank, you can reintroduce rocks, etc. This combination of bleach and flourish it's what's worked the best for me. I hope it works for you if you decide to try it out.

You have to remember though, the more you let the BBA to get out of control, the harder it is to eradicate. If your CO2 levels are not stable and you use no external CO2 providers, then you will have to add Flourish Excell on regular basis. Either that or turn your tank Low Tech style..."

^ This is very, very helpful information. This poster basically said what I have already said, though, they used pure bleach (which is fine, but you'll need more rinsing/will need to be more careful).

I've had BBA before and if you don't act now, you may actually end up sacrificing all of your plants due to the BBA if it spreads like wildfire. It is not easy to get BBA off of leaves. Especially if you have plants like Rotala Indica, etc etc where the leaves are thin/fine.

1. Leave Lights on for 6hours continuous
2. Dose Excel with 2.5x recommended dosage each day
3. Take out/clean rocks and anything else that you can

4. Good luck, and you'll be fine.

Oh, and lastly.... If you'd like to "reduce" your light without actually reducing your light, you can try to get some duckweed from your LFS. They will usually give some to you for free or sell it extremely cheap (handful for $2). The Duckweed will float on the surface and absorb some of the light, the plants will absorb the rest, and this will reduce the amount left for the algae down below but should still be high intensity enough for your plants.

If you haven't stopped already, remember that you should not be adding any trace or ferts to your tank at this time. Only Excel.

 

[George9]

Thanks. I will fgure something out with the crypts. Its not all bba, but theres some on the intake and heater, and a little on the plants. The stuff on the rocks is beginning greenish algae.

I know everyone is against this, but what if I tried an algaecide just once, it would kinda give me time to get it sorted before newstuff starts to grow. Id still have todo excel for the bba though....

 

[George9]

Heres an updated pic...plants have grown

 

[KaeJS]

That picture you just posted.... That's a picture you took today?

If so, your tank is beautiful and the algae is not that bad. You do not want to use an algaecide. You will regret it.

Honestly.... just start dosing with Excel.

Is it possible you can get some "closer" shots of where the algae is?

I can see a little bit of the algae on the filter intake. Those crypts do look pretty healthy.... but, your tank would still look great if they did die from the Excel. You'd just have a bit of open space to the left.

The full tank shot looks great! Nice work.

 

[KaeJS]

Do you have just a Black Background taped to the outside of the glass at the back?

 

[George9]

Thanks!

Yep, its just a black background taped to the back.

I can get some shots tomorrow when i do a pwc. Ill clean the tank up good tomorrow.

 

[KaeJS]

I think I might try the black background for my 90Gallon.

In the past, I have always got the Gradient Blue (where it goes from light blue at the top, to dark blue at the bottom). The black looks nice though. I think it helps to bring out the focus on the plants more. Makes the plants appear more vibrant.

I have to wait two months before I can get the 90Gallon, so I guess I have a long time to think about it!

I look forward to the pictures tomorrow.

 

[skywhitney]

another option to combat the bba, and a VERY effective one IME, is to spot treat with Hydrogen Peroxide. just turn off your filter and powerheads, squirt H2O2 directly onto the algae, let it sit for about 15 min, turn your filters and powerheads back on.

H2O2 is safe up to 1ml per gallon. You know about the algae issues i had in my tank and after a few days of doing this all the algae is now gone. I believe this should also be safe for your crypts as well.

Food for thought.

 

[KaeJS]

If you choose to use H2O2 (Hydrogen Peroxide), you should also turn off your lights in addition to the filter and powerhead. Light can break down H2O2 at a faster rate than if the lights were off. Best if you shut the whole system down. Filter, Powerhead, Lights.

Also, if you have shrimp, snails, crayfish, etc... be careful with H2O2, as too much may stress or kill invertebrates.

H2O2 is usually applied when a water change is being done. Example, you empty 25% of the water, turn off your filter, powerhead and lights, apply your H2O2 directly to places where algae growth is occurring, wait about 15-30 minutes (I would wait until 30 to be sure), then you can fill up the tank with clean water and turn everything back on.

It's very effective.

H2O2 is heavier than H2O, so if you have a plant that is covered in BBA, you should place the H2O2 directly on top of the plant, as it will fall down to the floor of the tank, catching all the leaves of the plant on the way down.

 

[George9]

Thanks guys! I think ill use the h2o2 where the bba is heaviest, and use excel for the rest because theres a bunch of smaller patches.

What if i did excel at 75% dose and slowly go up? Ive done this with the crypts and they didnt melt. Id jist hate to move them, and have them melt because they dont like to be moved, especially with the 1.5'+ roots mine have lol

If i just kept doing excel forever, ya think it would keep the algae away for good?

Edit: exce will kill green algae too right?

 

[bud29]

Kind of off topic, but because I for one do not want to read all 188 pages of this thread, what is the stock of the tank?

 

[George9]

Lol
Peacock eel
5 rainbows
2 platies
1 krib
5 kuhli loches
Angel-in qt
Opaline gourami

 

[bud29]

Sound like a cool stock!

 

[George9]

Sound like a cool stock!

Thanks, it is a fun bunch of fish

Just cleabed 90% of the bba off of the intake, output and heater wirh h2o2. Worked great. Dosed the whole tank with 50g worth of excel. We'll see how te crypts react.

Ruby has her fiesty personality back. And shes the only fish who went nuts for the jungle anti parasite food! Im gonna take her off the epsom salt food and feed her the jungle stuff (3x weekly for 4 weeks) so maybe I can have her back in the main tank in early October, whoo hoo!