Hey all, this is my 15gal tank and after about 2 weeks I'm having some major algae issues. The lighting is what ever came with the set up, which is just one 20W light that attaches to the top of the hood. I have never really had issues the algae in this tank because it was only 20W but I'm noticing some major differences after adding these plants about a month and a half ago. The plants are not dieting, but don't seem to be thriving as i would assume. Especially the water sprite. I would expect this to be already at the surface of the tank by now after a month and I'm not sure the issue. I attached some pictures hoping i could get some help and some advice. Please help me out if you have a comment or suggestion. The lights are on for 6 hours a day by the way. And i don't dose any ferts, as the only plants that are in there are the water sprite and then a whole bunch of Lutea, along with one Anubias Hastifolia (you'll notice it has some dying at the end of the leaf, I got it like that and it hasn't changed since). Please give me a hand if you can! thanks
tank issue
- Thread starter patola_l
- Start date
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phoenixkiller
Aquarium Advice Addict
Not entirely sure what the problem is. A more powerful light would help. Seachem Flourish is a great fert and relatively inexpensive. Bump up the lighting and you should see a difference. Plants are slow growing IMO, but they will grow. I have a really low watt bulb in my ten, and my plants are really growing. Oh, and ten hours of light would be MUCH better for plant growth. Six is not optimal. Hope I helped!
Not to be rude, but i think its hard to miss the issue. There is algae everywhere, especially closest to where the lighting is. So at this point I'm assuming the culprit is the lighting. I'm no expert, but I'm pretty sure water sprite is fast growing. In fact i have had it before and it grows like a week. I don't want to raise the hours of light as it will only cause a bigger algae break out. As for dosing ferts, ill will try flourish.
Readingexcalibur
Aquarium Advice Addict
I also ran into this problem with my tank. It was my lights. I actually did black out for a few days and it took care of my algae problem. Did not hurt my plants. The thing is, the algae needed to be eradicated in order to get to the root of the problem. Also algae will compete with the plants for nutrients. May be the reason for slow plant growth.
Readingexcalibur
Aquarium Advice Addict
Well the idea is to Get rid of the algae first. Then you can start a different light schedule to ensure it doesn't return.
