=Pics= the ignored tank does better than the fertilized one

[frostby]

There are 2 tanks in this post... pic 1 = tank 1
pic 2 and 3 = tank 2.

Tank1 -----------is a feeder guppy tank that only gets fish food, and water top-offs. 10 gallon, lit by 2 screw in cf's, fluorite.

Other than dirty glass, and some algae on leaves, the plants are normal and slowly growing

Tank 2------------this next 2 pics are from my 55, plain gravel, 2wpg, pressurized c02, greg watson ferts, and it's doing WORSE than the 10. Can anybody help me figure out why these plants have curling leaf tips, many start desintegrating on the leaf ends I also suffer from noticeable GDA on the glass within 2-3 days or scraping it off w/razor.

In the last 4 months since I've added C02, higher light,

fert schedule.
1/2 tsp kno3 3x a week
1/4 tsp k2so4 3x a week
10 mls fleet 3x a week
CSM+B 5 mls 3x a week -on alternate days from the macros


THE QUALITY OF THIS TANK DOES NOT IMPROVE...WHAT AM I MISSING!

PS.... what is the wormy lookin tubular algae on the wood(pic2)? sometimes can grow over 2 inches long?

 

[Purrbox]

GDA (green dust algae) should brush off easily without the need of a razor. If this is the case then you just need to let it run it's life cycle before brushing it off. This takes several weeks, although I don't know exactly how long you have to wait.

GSA (green spot algae) on the otherhand is very difficult to remove and requires the use of a razor or lots of elbow grease. If this is what you are dealing with, then it is an indication that your Phosphates are too low and you'll need to increase dosing.

Test results for the following would be very helpful:
NO3, PO4, KH, pH, and GH.

Some information about your current dosing plan would be helpful as well.

 

[frostby]

OOOOOO YES!!!!!! There's my first problem!!!!!! THanks Purboxx. One of my algaes are for sure now GSA (not what green slime algae - was my interpretation of the acronym). My mistake assuming GDA!

My tests are:

Nitrates 0-5
phosphate - no test kit
kh - 17
ph 7.2-7.0 co2 chart says32-50ppm
gh - 12.

I've updated my original posts to be more clear on my fertilization.

I never bothered to test tank1 - where the plants are not curling and wasting away.

why is GH an important value? It never really seems in many posts to affect much, what am i missing here?

 

[rkilling1]

why is GH an important value? It never really seems in many posts to affect much, what am i missing here?

It's the measurement of Mg++ and Ca++. Both of which your plants need.

 

[frostby]

Can overdosing fertilizers cause any of this?

What is an 'ideal GH' range?

Is this as simple as not dosing enough 'phosphates'?

 

[Zezmo]

Looks like some BBA, which suggests CO2 too low, or not enough CO2 circulation.

The wormy looking stuff...can't tell via the pic...what kind of wood it, and where did you get it? How was it prepped before going into the tank?

10ml of Fleet? Is that Fleet diluted to 10% strength? In which case 5ml is probably more in line. If it is straight fleet from the bottle, then more like 1ml is probably right.

 

[rkilling1]

What is your CO2 concentration?

What type of filter do you have and how often are you cleaning it?

How are you dissolving/injecting the CO2?

I don't see how your NO3's could be that low if you are dosing at the rate you say you are.

That stuff on the wood looks like a type of fungus rather then a type of algae. What type of wood is it?

 

[frostby]

You guys got me on the wood. I'm not sure what kind it is. I just grabbed a bunch of bleached dry driftwood up on the southern lake superior lakeshore...

I have an XP2 cannister, cleaned roughly every 30-45 days. I have a DIY inline reactor on the output of the filter. When the co2 is turned off, my ph jumps a full 1 degree.

I'm starting to get confused on the whole phosphate thing. GSA = low phosphates? And I dose a total of 20 ml per week - straight from the bottle.

AM I DOSING TOO MUCH of everything!?

What is an ideal GH reading?

I have 0-ammonia, 0-nitrite, and 0-nitrate if I do not fertilize. If i drop in a 1/2 tsp, I can maybe get it to rise to 15ppm...


Would I benefit in anyway by adding an additional light? In my 55 gallon, I have the equivalent of 100-120 watts of flourescent...

 

[Purrbox]

Now that you've got a larger pic of the wood, it really doesn't look like algae to me. Possibly some sort of worm?!?

You're only dosing about 8ppm of Nitrates 3x per week. Looks like the tank is tearing through it faster than you're adding it. I'd up your dosing of KNO3 to at least .75tsp, and possibly as high as 1tsp. I'm not familiar with Fleet dosing, so I'm not sure what rate that should be dosed at.

You want at least 4dGH (70ppm GH), which would ensure that there should be plenty of Magnesium and Calcium in the water as long as your GH isn't made up completely by one or the other. Curling leaves can be a symptom of too little calcium. See if you can get a copy of the water report for your area, as it may help you determine what the actual ratio is in your water supply.

 

[Zezmo]

I have the equivalent of 100-120 watts of flourescent

Equivalents aside..how much light do you really have?

If that wood is off the shore of a Great lake..then that is some crazy Great Lake algae/lichen/moss/worm/godknowswhat on your wood.

Fleet is a very concentrated Phosphate solution. 10ml (2tsp) is a lot. My 72gallon high light aquarium uses a solution of fleet diluted to 10% strength. I add 5ml 3x a week of that which is plenty.

This may help you figure out how much you are dosing.
http://webpages.charter.net/zezmo/EI-DoseRoutine_v4_public.xls

 

[frostby]

Thanks Purrbox, rkilling and zezmo.....

Lighting is 2 t8 4ft tubes, OVERDRIVEN. Stock they were 32 watts.

The lighting page on this site says if 1 watt t8 = 1.35w t12.. ignoring this part... here's what I did 2(32x1.5) = this puts me at an actual 96 watts.

if i wanna cushion it... 96x1.35 = 129.6W

So ----I don't know what is correct 130, or 96 watts ... you guys are the ones with HEALTHY tanks NOT ME!!!


OKAY, to summarize, I should, UP THE KNO3, REDUCE THE PHOSPHATE?

 

[Zezmo]

agreed...and make sure you have plenty of circulation.

Oh, and since you are doing EI, it assumes a 50%water change per week.
Your light is on the low side of needing CO2/Ferts/etc.... but since you are doing them already, keep on, you should be able to balance things and be very successful.

Edit: oh and perhaps make sure light is only on about 10-11 hours per day.

 

[Hoovercat]

And throw out that driftwood. The fungus, worms, or whatever that is growing on it as well as spores and such you don't see now will SURELY cause long term problems.

Your primary concern right now should be making sure there is plenty of all nutrients available for your plants. You'll have much better results and less algae by erring to the high side of any estimates in dosing until you get to a very high level of one or more nutrients.

 

[frostby]

Maybe the driftwood isn't an issue anymore... I did a water change and dipped the driftwood into some tetra aquasafe/h2o mix, everything growing on it is now gone!