Algae ID for a newbie NEEDED

[ShamFish97]

Hello all,

I recorded a video going along my plantlife in my tank so you can see the range of different things happening on my plants. I'm very new to planted tanks, and have been doing my best to maintain the water parameters as of lately.

A list of my plants and fish stocking can be found in my signature, updated weekly.

I've been battling to get my cycle on. Ammonia is converted daily to nitrite, and when I do tests it normally is 0 or slightly above. Nitrates are always 20-80ppm or higher, and I've been doing 50 PWCs every other day sometimes daily to keep things moving. I have a total of 105 Watts between my two Fluval 3.0 lights. They're on around 7am and off around 9pm. I'm using Black Diamond Blasting Sand as substrate, and I've been adding prime with water changes.

Here is the video:

 

[duanes]

Mollies are great algae eaters as adults, and will keep it (especially the hair algae) in check as they grow. It is also great grazing for the molly fry.
The reason it may seem to be taking over is your lights are on a little too long.
In the tropics the photo period is usually not more than 9 to 10 hours, and starts gradually. and ends gradually at dust, the most intense time late morning thru early afternoon.
Algae can take advantage of as much as you give it, higher plants are more selective about the photo period and can only use so much.
You may want to put the lights on timers that have lights come on in sequence, and go off the same way..
The video below is molly natural habitat, note the tons of algae.

 

[duanes]

20 -80 ppm nitrate is quite high, and if it were me, I'd up my water change schedule and volume to bring it down to less than 20ppm, nitrate is great fertilizer for algae.

note above the algae choked thickets molly fry live in. And below mollies swooping down on algae covered rocks. Some of the mollies in these waters hit over 7 inches

 

[ShamFish97]

Mollies are great algae eaters as adults, and will keep it (especially the hair algae) in check as they grow. It is also great grazing for the molly fry.
The reason it may seem to be taking over is your lights are on a little too long.
In the tropics the photo period is usually not more than 9 to 10 hours, and starts gradually. and ends gradually at dust, the most intense time late morning thru early afternoon.
Algae can take advantage of as much as you give it, higher plants are more selective about the photo period and can only use so much.
You may want to put the lights on timers that have lights come on in sequence, and go off the same way..
The video below is molly natural habitat, note the tons of algae.

I have two Fluval 3.0 LED light bars, a 48” and a 36”, i had it set to sunrise 6-7am sunset 8-9pm, in currently turned them off to black out until Wednesday. After this, What do you suggest for my lighting photo period? Should I reduce the brightness on pink, blue, cold, warm, or pure white? I have them all on 100% for the midday time when the “sun” is at its brightest. I originally had the adults in with the fry, but after the recent spawn I moved them over because they were eating the fry.

20 -80 ppm nitrate is quite high, and if it were me, I'd up my water change schedule and volume to bring it down to less than 20ppm, nitrate is great fertilizer for algae.

note above the algae choked thickets molly fry live in. And below mollies swooping down on algae covered rocks. Some of the mollies in these waters hit over 7 inches

I admittedly didn’t properly cycle either tank, as when I got my firsr 55 Jt was an impulse by after my 10gallon leaked all over. So I fish in cycled from the get go and didn’t get a test kit until a week or two into the process. From there I’ve wisend up and I’m doing water changes with prime, usually 50% several days a week.

 

[duanes]

Most people who work tend to leave lights on all day starting early to feed, until later after work for a hours of observing.
If there is ambient light in the room, there is nothing wrong with have the artificial lights go off when not there for a a number of hours, and ramp them back up after work.
Before I retired I did that, leaving lights off most of the day, and bringing them back late afternoon until late in the evening. Some plants may take exception to this, so it may take some patient experimentation.
Now under my patio, the tank gets intense natural sun from about 8 AM until 11 Am, and is then in the shade until about 3:30 until about 5:00 from setting sun, and the plants still do very well.
No artificial light at all. The tank is 24" tall nd 6 ft long.

 

[ShamFish97]

duanes Update:

 

[ShamFish97]

I have a 1100mm and a 800mm.