sustainable planted tank?

[Evaunitone]

So I have a planted tank and it doesn't look very good. It'd my first planted tank so I'm still learning. I have an algae problem and it seems like my filters get super filthy quickly. I have to clean algae off the glass every week and all the leaves on my anubias are covered in a variety of different algaes. I keep my lights on for 4 hours, then off for 4 hours, then on for 4 hours during the day, and off all night. I have 1.95wpg with my HO lights. My plants include the hideous anubias, dwarf hair grass, tiger lotus, and two fairly small blyxa. I had a bunch of anacharis but it was growing like crazy and looked awful so I removed it today. I have all the ferts I need but I don't ever dose the tank because I feed my plants with root tabs and the tank isn't very densely planted yet.

I am planning to upgrade to a 30 or 40 gallon tank, but I'm a little leary about it if I'm doomed to have to deal with algae all the time. I have DIY CO2 and a pressurized CO2 setup really isn't in my budget. Am I destined to failure? Is it possible to have a really nice looking planted tank that doesn't have to be torn down and redone after a year? Any help would be great.

 

[mfdrookie516]

How often and how much do you do on water changes? What wattage are the bulbs, k rating, and how old are they? Sounds to me like there is a nutrient imbalance somewhere causing the algae. I've found that placing anubias and java fern in an area with alot of flow help keep algae at bay. i had the same problem as you when i first set up my planted tanks. I dont even dose any ferts now, my nitrates stay somewhere between 0 and 5, and i do weekly 50% pwc's... I also run my lights on the same schedule as you

 

[Purrbox]

Does the algae on the glass brush off easily or does it require some elbow grease to remove it? Is it brown or green?
brown & brushes off easily = diatoms which is common in new aquariums and usually goes away on its own after a month or two once it's consumed all the silicates in the aquarium
green & brushes off easily = green dust algae which should be left alone for 4-6 weeks after which you can brush it off and it shouldn't come back
green & hard to remove = green spot algae which indicates a shortage of phosphates

Can you describe the algae on the anubias?

 

[Craigthor]

Does the algae on the glass brush off easily or does it require some elbow grease to remove it? Is it brown or green?
brown & brushes off easily = diatoms which is common in new aquariums and usually goes away on its own after a month or two once it's consumed all the silicates in the aquarium
green & brushes off easily = green dust algae which should be left alone for 4-6 weeks after which you can brush it off and it shouldn't come back
green & hard to remove = green spot algae which indicates a shortage of phosphates

Can you describe the algae on the anubias?

That or pictures! Here is an excellent link to an aglae guide and how to fix each type. James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide

Craig

 

[puhlfly]

Check out a book called " Ecology of the planted aquarium" By Diana Walstad. I have had regular planted tanks, but this book has changed my outlook. I just set up a new 75g using her methods and 1 month in the plants are great

 

[mgamer20o0]

its all about a balance. i would get some hygros or other stems that are fast growing that should help.

 

[7Enigma]

Using Flourish Excel along with DIY CO2 is one of the few ways IMO to prevent algae outbreaks. When I was on DIY I had all sorts of algae problems due to the fluctuating levels of CO2. The dual benefit of Excel providing a carbon source for the plants, and a natural algicide for many types of algae can be the difference between a beautiful tank and one not so nice.

Also you very likely have a nutrient imbalance that the anacharis was exploiting to the detriment of the rest of the plants. It is an indicator plant because it grows so quickly, but because of this can sap the nutrients out of a tank faster than the others. I would start dosing small amounts of the major and trace ferts (nitrogen, phosphorus, potassium, and a trace suppliment with iron).

My hunch with no data is that you have a potassium deficiency as that is the LEAST available macro in most situations. That along with the fluctuating CO2 levels is giving the algae a strong hold.

HTH

 

[Evaunitone]

Well thanks for all the help guys!

For lighting I have one 39watt 10,000k white bulb and a blue bulb (I got the blue so that I wouldn't have too much light). Both are just a couple months old. The algae on the glass is mostly green dust algae but also a fair amount of spot algae. I wish it were diatoms lol. The algae on the anubius ranges from green to black to blue/green. With my upgraded tank I actually would like to do a tank that has little to no stem plants in it. I want the black background of my tank to be visible and I want to focus more on a lawn of short plants or mosses. I have some research to do. I will have to get a 2nd 10,000k 39 watt bulb so my wpg will still be 1.95wpg in a 40 gallon tank. I will definitely look into Flourish Excel. Does that replace the powder ferts that I have? Or can I start using those instead? I have the ferts but I don't use them. I was under the impression that I shouldn't use them until the tank is more densely planted, and since I'm starting over I figured I sholdn't use them right off the bat in the new tank.

 

[7Enigma]

Well thanks for all the help guys!

For lighting I have one 39watt 10,000k white bulb and a blue bulb (I got the blue so that I wouldn't have too much light). Both are just a couple months old. The algae on the glass is mostly green dust algae but also a fair amount of spot algae. I wish it were diatoms lol. The algae on the anubius ranges from green to black to blue/green. With my upgraded tank I actually would like to do a tank that has little to no stem plants in it. I want the black background of my tank to be visible and I want to focus more on a lawn of short plants or mosses. I have some research to do. I will have to get a 2nd 10,000k 39 watt bulb so my wpg will still be 1.95wpg in a 40 gallon tank. I will definitely look into Flourish Excel. Does that replace the powder ferts that I have? Or can I start using those instead? I have the ferts but I don't use them. I was under the impression that I shouldn't use them until the tank is more densely planted, and since I'm starting over I figured I sholdn't use them right off the bat in the new tank.

Green dust tend to go away on their own if left alone for a couple weeks. I have found in my experience that both green dust and spot are significantly reduced by dosing the recommended amount of Excel.

The algae on the anubias is it threadlike/hairlike or flat against the leaf like on the glass?

How tall is the 40 gallon tank? With only 2 wpg you will probably have a tough time growing some of the nicer lawn plants (glosso for example) but could definitely get some crypts, ferns, and moss (java moss can be trained onto driftwood objects and looks very nice IMO).

Seachem's Flourish line of products covers everything depending on the name of product. IMO only the Excel product is worth it as the rest can better (read: CHEAPER) be dosed with dry chemicals. So no, to answer your question the Excel does not replace any of the dry fertilizers, it is solely a carbon source to suppliment your DIY CO2.

I think you should start dosing daily (phosphate and iron on different days) in small amounts even with the light plant load (not nitrAte). You had mentioned you removed the anacharis, did you put that back or completely got rid of it? If you removed it completely you *MAY* not need to dose dry ferts if you really have few plants, but I would still recommend dosing potassium at a minimum. It's easier to add a small amount every day and not worry about a potential deficiency than it is to look at the symptoms and guess at what is causing the problem. Large water changes are the single best thing you can do for both your plants and fish. That way you never have to worry about being macro deficient (calcium and magnesium) and also not have to worry about having too much in the tank.

There are only 2 test kits for ferts I recommend: phosphate and nitrAte. Most people already have the nitrAte test kit and the phosphate kit is <$10. Everything else can be comfortably dosed blind as unless you go nuts or never do water changes you can't run into trouble.

 

[Evaunitone]

Thanks for all the responses! Very useful information. So the dry ferts that I have are as follows: Plantex CSM+B, monopotassium phosphate, and potassium nitrate. So, if I use Excel, should I omit the potassium nitrate? As you know I haven't actually been using anything but root tabs up to this point because my tank is basically just dwarf hair grass and an anubias, and a tiger lotus. My blyxa are cool but there are only three of them and they're fairly little. Ideally, when I upgrade in the next several months I want my new tank to be very neat looking. I am not really into big stem plants. I just want hair grass in the background (its in the foreground presently and I'm not into it), something shorter in the foreground like a moss of somekind perhaps, and then my lotus and anubias, and maybe some drift wood. I like an open tank with a nice green carpet etc.