New tank, beginning of week 3

[ButchAZ]

The beginning of week 3. 46 acrylic bow front (I got it cheap from a friend who had never put water in it - my first acrylic tank and the jury is still out). Water parameters are getting there. Had a semi-serious outbreak of black beard algae, which is currently being treated. Hoping to be able to add some algae eating cats in another week or so. Doing 30% water changes every other day to help bring the ammonia down (which is actually ammonium from the substrate, since there’s nothing in the tank to be creating ammonia). The baked potato sitting on top of the piece of spider wood on the right side is actually a rock

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

..... Water parameters are getting there. Had a semi-serious outbreak of black beard algae, which is currently being treated. Hoping to be able to add some algae eating cats in another week or so. Doing 30% water changes every other day to help bring the ammonia down (which is actually ammonium from the substrate, since there’s nothing in the tank to be creating ammonia). ......

The tank looks good.

I'd try adding a floating plant. It could be a surface floater like Amazon Frogbit (Limnobium laevigatum), Water Lettuce (Pistia stratiotes) or Water Fern (Salvinia spp.) or a sub-surface floater like Hornwort (Ceratophyllum demersum) or Water-sprite (Ceratopteris spp.). They have access to enhanced levels of CO2, and will help to bring ammonia levels down.

I wouldn't add Otocinclus until the tank is grown in, they are quite demanding in terms of their water quality requirements, and they won't eat BBA. In fact very little will eat BBA when it is is in its adult form. If your water is hard enough Ramshorn snails will graze off BBA sporelings and reduce it in the long term.

cheers Darrel

 

[ButchAZ]

Thanks for the info Darrel. I'm using Flourish Excel liquid on advice from the LFS guy, and it appears to be working. I'm just going to (try to) be patient and let it work.

My Satellite Pro LED is at 50% intensity x 8 hours/day, so the LFS didn't recommend reducing that any more for fear of starving the plants of light.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Thanks for the info Darrel. I'm using Flourish Excel liquid on advice from the LFS guy, and it appears to be working. I'm just going to (try to) be patient and let it work.

My Satellite Pro LED is at 50% intensity x 8 hours/day, so the LFS didn't recommend reducing that any more for fear of starving the plants of light.

I think Excel was originally developed as an algicide, it was only later it was marketed as an organic carbon source.

I use a variety of lights on the tanks, I don't worry too much about light intensity, if I have a light that produces more PAR I just have <"a larger plant mass">.

cheers Darrel