Two Tank Questions with Pic

[Atlantis]

I have two questions about my planted 10g tank.

1)What kink of algae/bacteria do I have based on my picture? The algae is all over my plants and surfaces. It has 1/4 inch hairs and is very slimy. I stopped adding chemical fertilizers when my tank was covered. It is more under control now, but is still present in some areas.

2)I am accumulating a lot of garbage in my substrate as you can see in the picture. I have a albino bristlenose pleco and some ottos, but there is still lots of garbage. Can I add any cories or anything else to clean the substrate?

 

[Mr Burns]

i'm not sure on the algae, but i'll look it up in a little while. as for the substrate...no fish is going to eat crap, and that's what your "garbage" is. it's decaying fish waste and plant matter. corys and plecs will only eat leftover food bits that get into the substrate, but they will not eat fish waste. you will have to syphon that stuff out...

 

[trenac]

Here is a link to ID your algae: http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

You need to vacuum the gravel to remove fish waste. Corys will only eat left over food. Plecos & Otto's clean up algae not waste.

 

[Keeper]

it's true what Mr Burns said...You will have to vacuum out the *crap*!! We have 2 otos and a pleco in our 10gal and we vacuum out the the *crap* with each water change! We also have some algae on our plants and the otos make a small dent but I have noticed in my other tank that the amano shrimp are awesome at cleaning the plants!



Trenac is too quick for me.....

 

[Atlantis]

Alright then, I'll use the siphon to get the poop out. Sometimes it is hard to get between plants without damaging them, but I should be able to get most of it.

 

[Mr Burns]

if you just use the tube without the big plastic tube to siphon, you should be able to get into some tight spaces around the plants.

 

[betowess]

The green algae on the leaves looks like beard algae to me. But the stuff at the base kind of looks like (I hate to say it) black brush algae. But its so out of focus I can't really tell. You can leave most of the poop for plant fertilizer. Most heavily planted tanks have a fair amount of funky detrius which makes for a rich substrate. Just keep an eye on your nitrates and only surface skim with a siphon, to avoid messing with the nitrifying colonies. On the other hand a little pushing of the gravel around here and there can wipe out unwanted anaerobic places. But the roots, clown loaches and corys ususually take care of that.

Are you injecting any CO2? And are you dosing potassium, iron, phosphates, and micronutrients (like Seachem flourish or Plantex CSM +B), and are you checking the various levels of nitrates, phosphates and the overall "balance" of these nutrients?. That "balance" is the key word. Algae usually comes from either too much light, or an excess of one or more nutrients, and/or, strangely, sometimes from a shortage of one of the macro nutrients. BBA (Black Brush Algae) can be fairly well controled by getting your CO2 concentration up to 30ppm and keeping it there, which isn't always a simple task I have found. HTH... Bob

 

[malkore]

Alright then, I'll use the siphon to get the poop out. Sometimes it is hard to get between plants without damaging them, but I should be able to get most of it.

I highly recommend investing in a second, small diameter gravel vac. I have a 2" diameter one for the bulk of the water change, and a 1" one for getting around the plant bases. The hose itself works well too, but sometimes it's suction is greater adn can be a pain around sand or eco complete due to their lightness.

 

[bungle]

is it possible to just get the smaller tube, and switch between the two with one hose? my tank is cycling now, but i can forsee a similar situation down the road in my tank once its planted and stocked.