lordofworms
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Quick question for you all out there...well actually (2)
1) I know alot of aquarists do not want any algae in their tanks, I perhaps may be an exception but I wanted to get a good understanding of what could happen down the road. I have a large peice of bogwood/driftwood in a 55 gallon that is moderate/to semi-heavy planted. I have 2 t5 HO lights on the standard 4 on 4 off system. my question is this.
I have what I believe to be green hair algae growing upon my driftwood, it is bright bright vivid green and sways within the current of one of my closer powerheads.... and i really like it, I like the look, I like the 'naturalness of it. it seems to be slowly gaining ground on my driftwood but havent seen any of it growing anywhere else.
is this ok to have for the tank? my plants seem to be growing just fine with new growth,etc I am just concerned that if I allow to much of this algae to grow it will outcompete my plants for nutrients and they all will die but I would really like to see this whole chunk of wood covered in this nice pretty green stuff! (and its a LARGE piece of driftwood I would say almost 10-15% of the water volume)
question, concerns comments? for my plants I have mostly anubias and java moss/ferns. a bunch of wisteria too.
my second question, is about dechlorinator.
I used to use that aquasafe dechlorinator you can get at walmart and such stores but upon joining this forum saw so many use Prime. so i switched over and I have been happy with not having to buy so much dechlor all the time (since prime uses so little compared)
BUT it states that it detoxes/removes
ammonia - Yay! (but tank is cycled so I havent had issue yet)
Nitrites - Yay! (again, tank is cycled so I never have readings of this)
Chlorine and chloramine - Yay!
Nitrates! - ummm...uh oh? dont my plants USE nitrate as part of their growing process, and by doing water changes am I hurting anything? I do water PWC about once every week (15%-20%) so is this affecting much or am I being overly cautious?
Thanks a ton, this site is indispensable for info!
1) I know alot of aquarists do not want any algae in their tanks, I perhaps may be an exception but I wanted to get a good understanding of what could happen down the road. I have a large peice of bogwood/driftwood in a 55 gallon that is moderate/to semi-heavy planted. I have 2 t5 HO lights on the standard 4 on 4 off system. my question is this.
I have what I believe to be green hair algae growing upon my driftwood, it is bright bright vivid green and sways within the current of one of my closer powerheads.... and i really like it, I like the look, I like the 'naturalness of it. it seems to be slowly gaining ground on my driftwood but havent seen any of it growing anywhere else.
is this ok to have for the tank? my plants seem to be growing just fine with new growth,etc I am just concerned that if I allow to much of this algae to grow it will outcompete my plants for nutrients and they all will die but I would really like to see this whole chunk of wood covered in this nice pretty green stuff! (and its a LARGE piece of driftwood I would say almost 10-15% of the water volume)
question, concerns comments? for my plants I have mostly anubias and java moss/ferns. a bunch of wisteria too.
my second question, is about dechlorinator.
I used to use that aquasafe dechlorinator you can get at walmart and such stores but upon joining this forum saw so many use Prime. so i switched over and I have been happy with not having to buy so much dechlor all the time (since prime uses so little compared)
BUT it states that it detoxes/removes
ammonia - Yay! (but tank is cycled so I havent had issue yet)
Nitrites - Yay! (again, tank is cycled so I never have readings of this)
Chlorine and chloramine - Yay!
Nitrates! - ummm...uh oh? dont my plants USE nitrate as part of their growing process, and by doing water changes am I hurting anything? I do water PWC about once every week (15%-20%) so is this affecting much or am I being overly cautious?
Thanks a ton, this site is indispensable for info!