algae problem...
- Thread starter tommy_zito
- Start date
yeah i do
my stock list includes.
2 4" OB Peacocks
4 2" Not sure of the species peacocks
1 2" Venustus
1 4" Bumblebee
1 1" Convict
1 3" Bristlenose pelco
Also i shake the crap out of the bottles before i use them.
and why so much of a water change???? why a 50% my water isn't bad imo?
my stock list includes.
2 4" OB Peacocks
4 2" Not sure of the species peacocks
1 2" Venustus
1 4" Bumblebee
1 1" Convict
1 3" Bristlenose pelco
Also i shake the crap out of the bottles before i use them.
and why so much of a water change???? why a 50% my water isn't bad imo?
Well, if the silicone isn't new, and you have brown algae, then you HAVE to have nitrAtes. It has to be feeding off of something. It's not just appearing with nothing to feed off of.
I do 50% water changes, every week, regardless of nitrAte readings, mainly because new water has minerals in it that are used up by BB and through the animals' natural metabolic cycles.
*do you also shake the test tube after combining all the drops for a full 60 seconds, then wait a full 5 minutes to read the results?
I do 50% water changes, every week, regardless of nitrAte readings, mainly because new water has minerals in it that are used up by BB and through the animals' natural metabolic cycles.
*do you also shake the test tube after combining all the drops for a full 60 seconds, then wait a full 5 minutes to read the results?
Brown algae - diatoms - need silicates to develop and live, if the silicates are not leeching out of the sealant then the chances are high that you have silicates in your tap water (although some decorations such as fake rocks can also leech silicates). Diatoms will grow in both low and high light, changing the light won't affect the diatom growth. With brand new or recently re-sealed tanks it's the sealant that provides the silicates, after a while the level of silicates drops in the tank (sealant stops leeching) and the diatoms starve and die off (can take 2 to 3 months). However, if your tap water has high enough levels of silicates big WC's will simply ensure a steady supply of 'food' for diatoms, if that is the case then the only option is to either remove the silicates and starve the diatoms, or have fis that eat diatoms - Ottos' are my preference because they are really nice fish to have IMO, they're not just there to eat the diatoms and algae, they are part of the community.
If you want to remove silicates in your water you can use Seachem Phos-guard added to your filter (not a chemical additive but a filter media) a bag of Sera Silicate Clear is added to the sump in larger reef aquariums showing signs of too much silicate but it may be hard to find a suitable place to 'hide' it in a small tank and for to be effective it really needs to be in the flow of water.
If you want to remove silicates in your water you can use Seachem Phos-guard added to your filter (not a chemical additive but a filter media) a bag of Sera Silicate Clear is added to the sump in larger reef aquariums showing signs of too much silicate but it may be hard to find a suitable place to 'hide' it in a small tank and for to be effective it really needs to be in the flow of water.
You haven't answered my question. If you don't have silicates in your tank, then where is the "food" coming from? Are you shaking the test bottles after you add the drops as well, for a full minute, then waiting 5 minutes for the results? With that stocking, your nitrates should not be "less than 5."
Laticauda;4808188; said:
Im not sure where the "food" is coming from. My only thought that could possibly be it is that i have to much lighting. Also i am following the instructions for the test kit to the letter. I have tested other aquariums that i have and my results are different for each tank. I am puzzled by this as well...my only thought is that i may not have had the tank up and running long enough to build up more then 5ppm in Nitrate.
Just a thought but im only feeding them Spurlina (sorry for my poor spelling if thats not correct) But could this be causing it?
another thing i just thought of is that i am using blue moonlight led's....not sure if this matters or not
Correct me if I have the details wrong.
72G tank.
Well stocked with fish, about 26" worth, mostly cichlids.
You've got about 72 watts of lighting via 1 10,000K tube plus 1 actinic tube. These are T8s?
Running for about 6 weeks.
Sounds like your water changes are no bigger than 10 gallons at a time, 13%?
Did not notice what your water change schedule is if you mentioned it. What is it? 10 gallons a week? Every second day?
You said you're only feeding spirulina. How much and how often? Spirulina should not cause algae issues, not any more so than any other food.
In the future, if you could provide all relevant information in your first post this will ensure that you can receive more accurate help much quicker, instead of people trying to pry the details out of you for three pages.
I conclude any combination of three possibilities.
1. In my experience a bit of diatom growth is normal in newly setup aquariums no matter how old the silicone is or how brief the interval between setups was.
2. Lighting may not necessarily be too high but it may be high enough to promote an excess of algae growth. Unless you have a lot of plants to soak up the light and nutrients, algae's the only thing it can fuel. The actinic light may be exacerbating the diatom growth, I've heard actinic lighting in freshwater setups can cause algae problems.
3. Your nitrate test may simply be wrong. Unless you're doing a 50% water change a week which as far as I can tell you aren't, you seemed surprised and unenthusiastic at the prospect of doing a water change of this size, I would expect your nitrate level to be much higher.
I would start doing a 50% water change with gravel vac once a week. I would test your nitrate test kit against someone else's, personal preference but I'd swap the actinic tube for another 10,000K tube or a 6500K, and with that much light you may as well plant some vallisneria in there.
72G tank.
Well stocked with fish, about 26" worth, mostly cichlids.
You've got about 72 watts of lighting via 1 10,000K tube plus 1 actinic tube. These are T8s?
Running for about 6 weeks.
Sounds like your water changes are no bigger than 10 gallons at a time, 13%?
Did not notice what your water change schedule is if you mentioned it. What is it? 10 gallons a week? Every second day?
You said you're only feeding spirulina. How much and how often? Spirulina should not cause algae issues, not any more so than any other food.
In the future, if you could provide all relevant information in your first post this will ensure that you can receive more accurate help much quicker, instead of people trying to pry the details out of you for three pages.
I conclude any combination of three possibilities.
1. In my experience a bit of diatom growth is normal in newly setup aquariums no matter how old the silicone is or how brief the interval between setups was.
2. Lighting may not necessarily be too high but it may be high enough to promote an excess of algae growth. Unless you have a lot of plants to soak up the light and nutrients, algae's the only thing it can fuel. The actinic light may be exacerbating the diatom growth, I've heard actinic lighting in freshwater setups can cause algae problems.
3. Your nitrate test may simply be wrong. Unless you're doing a 50% water change a week which as far as I can tell you aren't, you seemed surprised and unenthusiastic at the prospect of doing a water change of this size, I would expect your nitrate level to be much higher.
I would start doing a 50% water change with gravel vac once a week. I would test your nitrate test kit against someone else's, personal preference but I'd swap the actinic tube for another 10,000K tube or a 6500K, and with that much light you may as well plant some vallisneria in there.
