What's Going on In My Tank?

[lmw80]

Ok, so it went in this order:

Upgraded lighting - from incandescent to pc
waited a week
got live plants

I have a 10 gal with a blue gourami, a school of neon tetras, 2 corys and a pleco. The plants I got were anarchis (sp?) and hogwort. The plants and fish are doing fine, however, since I got the plants, my water has gotten cloudy with a green tint...algae bloom? I am using liquid fertilizer....every time I do a water change....I am using it as the bottle reccomends. I do have a small bubble wall as well...I am running it on low though cause my fish love to swim through it.

Is this algae bloom from an upgrade in lighting? Is it from introducing live plants into my aquarium? Should I do little water changes every couple of days, or let the bloom run its course?

Thanks

 

[Punkymom]

Whenever you are adding plants, you are increasing the light. It's probably a good idea to buy more plants. Basically you want the plants to take up all the nutrients before the algae gets a chance to take root and you do that by having a densely planted tank. My 55 gal has over 50 plants in it and it still has room for more...LOL But because it's stocked like this with plants, I've yet to see but only a tiny bit of algae and the lights are on over 12 hours some days. I also use a liquid fertilizer once a week. It might benefit you to not use the fertilizer for a while and maybe do a big old water change, cleaning any algae off the decorations and glass if there is any. If you can, (if the leaf size allows) you can gently wipe any algae off of the plant leaves themselves if any grows. BTW, how many plants do you have in the tank? It doesn't really sound like you have many, which may be why the algae was able to start growing so quickly.

 

[EMS503]

What was your old light wattage and your new wattage. If you made a big change there will be a temporary algae bloom but it will go away. I upgraded from two 20 watt Triton bulbs to a 96 watt pc on my 30 long and my algae bloom lasted about two weeks. It never got real bad just covered the glass faster.

 

[Guest]

with a green tint...algae bloom? I am using liquid fertilizer....every time I do a water change....I am using it as the bottle reccomends.

Cut it down to 1/2 half what they recommend. GW algae bloom, welcome to my world! see the sticky at the top of planted tanks forum for the best way to rid yourself of GW. For this type algae, diatom filtration cannot be beat.

 

[Allivymar]

Ok, one of Allivymar's dumb questions, if I may piggy back on this much more intelligent one LOL

I started a very well planted 10g a few weeks ago. Its chock FULL of plants! I don't use any sort of fertilizer, and atm there is only 2 gouramis and 2 or 3 cherry shrimp. I am not having probs with algae blooms, but the tank walls are COVERED. I can't figure out why its so extreme; I can't see adding anymore plants LOL there literally isn't any room. I'm actually leaving it for the otos when they move in from QT but I have to keep scraping the front walls so I can see in! If there are that many plants in the tank (they appear to be doing well; all have tons of new shoots), why would the algae be that bad? Could it be related to the fact one of my gouramis keeps building HUGE bubble nests and is pulling bits of my plants off to do it (which, of course, means I'm pulling bits of plant detritus off the surface out of the tank all the time). None of my other tanks have this problem, so I doubt its the water supply.

 

[Punkymom]

Some algae is probably going to grow despite having a lot of plants. I have algae growing on the intake tube to the filter and on a couple of airstones. I let it grow on the rocks and the back of the tank on the glass so my pleco will have something to eat. Remember that SOME algae is beneficial to your fish and a sign that the tank is healthy. It's just when the algae seems to take over that it gets over whelming and you can't seem to get it to stop. The plants will keep the algae growth at bay, but some might (and probably will) grow. Like I said before, the plants keep the algae at bay and prevent it from over taking EVERYTHING (like it's SO good at doing...LOL). If the algae is really bad, and taking over the plants, you can use some algae remover if you feel like you HAVE to. I never use it...because it isn't good for your plants. Use about half the recommended dosage, and as soon as the algae is at bay, be sure to rejuvinate your plants with the fertilizer and that because they will have suffered a little. OR: You can remove all your plants (placing them in QT), treat the whole tank, and after a couple weeks of massive water changes (you don't want that stuff staying in the water for the plants), replanting them being sure to fertilize and all that stuff so they will re-root. While you are treating (if you choose to go that route) it will probably help to keep the lights off permanantly for that time (the fish shouldn't care too much) and you might even want to cover the sides of the tank with foil to keep the sun out so the algae has nothing to help it grow. Also, feed your fish less...the algae feeds off the fish waste (of course, so do your other plants, but in this case, we're trying to get rid of some of the algae). If you have a pleco (like me, gotta love em!) you can save an ornament with the algae on it and put it back into the tank after the other algae is gone so he'll have something to munch on. You can also try feeding the pleco less so he eats more algae. I always skip a feeding one day when I want my guy to get scraping. He always does a wonderful job by chipping out the reserves. You can also of course feed the wafers and veggies which are recommended anyway. Whew...I feel like I've written a novel!!! I hope some of this helps in some way.

One more thing, if you don't want to go the QT way with the chemicals to remove the algae, you can just cut out the fertilizer or lessen the dosage until the algae growth has slowed substantially.

 

[Guest]

No offense Punkmom, but I'll have to say it again:

Don't use Chemicals to rid your tank of algae!! Never, never, never!

Algae is alway the result of either nutrient imbalance or excess light, or a combination of the two. Frequently tough to diagnose the exact cause. However, with both lmw80, and allivmar here, the problems arent very bad.

Alli, green spot algae on the glass, comes and goes, you'll always have some, no matter what you do, wouldn't do anything but keep cleaning the glass, it will subside in time, hopefully. For the record, I have to use the algae scraper at least once a week, sometimes 2x.

lmw80, ferts in half, diatom fitration, get your lights on a timer. Go 10 hours a day, you may have to adjust that up or down, depending on how stubborn the gw is.

 

[Punkymom]

If the algae is really bad, and taking over the plants, you can use some algae remover if you feel like you HAVE to. I never use it...because it isn't good for your plants.

I quoted myself here. I don't like using chemicals, and I don't encourage the use of chemicals, but if you're going to use them, at least you should know what they can do and the proper way they should be used.

 

[Punkymom]

Also, I only made those suggestions for if the algae was completely engulfing everything in the tank with algaeness...Those are extreme measures, and I realize I didn't really answer Alli's question as well as I could have. Basically, I wasn't trying to say "Oh my gosh! We have algae! Break out the bleach!" LOL because chemicals are definetly not the sure fire way to go. But some people swear by them. It's just like with babies. Some mothers breastfeed and others formula feed. Everyone knows that breast is best, but not everyone is going to listen or be able to provide breastmilk to their baby/ies. I try to go as natural as possible. I don't like using chemicals at all except to remove chlorine from the water. I use herbs with my family and yes, I breastfed my daughter. Sorry I had to get on my soapbox, I just felt like I needed to defend myself. You are right about only really needing to clean the glass, I forgot that point in my very long, drawn out post earlier. Have a fishy day.

 

[Guest]

I just felt like I needed to defend myself.

I'm honestly sorry I made you feel that way, that was NOT my intent. I just feel very strongly that chemical means of getting rid of algae is far more likely to cause more problems than it cures.

You are avery good member here Pmom, hope I didn't discourage you in any way!

 

[Punkymom]

No you didn't! Sorry...bad childhood causes me to retaliate sometimes...I'm trying to get over the fact that not every one is out to get me, but sometimes I just feel like I need to hold my own. LOL. No hard feelings here, I understand your feelings about chemicals. I feel the same way. Sorry I went off like that...

PS (can I do a PS???) Thanks for the compliment...