Ok, I'm getting big into all natural fish tanks here. I started a 10 gallon tank with some guppies, heavily planted and lit, and with a TON of filtration and it ran for almost a year without much hands on work at all. Ammonia was non existent and plant growth is TREMENDOUS (I'm gonna have one great garden next year from all the plant material going to my compost pile!). I've had to add water to the tank, but in a year I've probably only drained about 10 gallons from the tank.
So I took these lessons and have been transforming my 55 gallon in a similar way. Again plant growth is wonderful, snails work as a great clean up crew along with some loaches and 7 otto's. I have 2 angel fish that happily cruise around with a very skiddish bunch of black neon tetra and a sorority of betta females that more or less coexist happily. I've had to do a bunch of water changes because I'm getting green water alge, you know, the type where your water turns green. I know how to get rid of the alge with water changes and cutting back on light, ect, but does anyone have any suggestions on natural ways to kill it, other than making my hornwort starve the stuff of nitrate. I thought about getting some daphnia cultures, but I'm concerned the fish will eat them and it will be a wasted 20 bucks. Any thoughts?
So I took these lessons and have been transforming my 55 gallon in a similar way. Again plant growth is wonderful, snails work as a great clean up crew along with some loaches and 7 otto's. I have 2 angel fish that happily cruise around with a very skiddish bunch of black neon tetra and a sorority of betta females that more or less coexist happily. I've had to do a bunch of water changes because I'm getting green water alge, you know, the type where your water turns green. I know how to get rid of the alge with water changes and cutting back on light, ect, but does anyone have any suggestions on natural ways to kill it, other than making my hornwort starve the stuff of nitrate. I thought about getting some daphnia cultures, but I'm concerned the fish will eat them and it will be a wasted 20 bucks. Any thoughts?