- Messages
- 1,033
- Location
- toronto, canada
farm, for the last couple of years i have always had a planted tank going, (right now it is a 20) and i have come to the point that using plain sand works the best for me. when i have an algae bloom of some kind, i find that if i want to starve the tank of nutrients, having as subtrate void of nutrients is the easiest for me. i add the nutrients i want, when i want. having this kind of control is the only way i would want to do it, after having ripped out this tank and others because of uncontrollable algae problems more than a few times.
the best way to control algae is to 1. get the plants growing nicely, (my plants pearl all day long, and need pruning at least weekly) and 2. time. this may sound wierd, but i have been studying the plant people's successes and failures for the last couple of years, and while many people have different formulas for growing a tank free of algae, and plants can be pearling in the first few days after planting given the right conditions, it is the time for the plants to either produce algae inhibiting substances, or the tank to grow micro-organisms in an adequet number to eat all of the algae produced. all it takes is the time and patience to get a tank to the point where all of the algae just stops growing. (2-3 months??) i have no idea WHY the algae just stops growing, but ime, one day the water clears up, and the plants and fish are clearly visible, and the algae is almost non-existant. once the tank has reached this level of 'stability??' growing plants becomes a joy, instead of a big hassle. during this time, you want to manage the nutrients available to the plants (and the algae of course) carefully.
at the moment, my tank is going through a few 'growing pains'. i re-planted it a couple of months back. a couple of weeks back, there was a cyano attack which was going quite strong. i cleaned it off of the sides, gravel and plants as much as i could and forged ahead. now it has all but subsided. this week there is a nice carpet of a bushy algae on the sides, but the plant leaves are almost de-void of any kind of a growth, even though they are in the most directly lit part of the tank. i will keep this clean as well, but i know that in a short while, it will all just go away. btw, i have NO algae eaters in this tank right now. (2 rams, 9 glowlight tetras) if i am able to grow this tank with no utility species, then i will have at least proved that they are of little or no value (they all produce ammonia and the phoshorous they eat is all just pooped out again, right?). i'll keep you guys posted.
tank is:
20 gal tall
lighting 2- philips 17 watt 865 lamps, on an electronic ballast- very bright!
diy co2 added
fert- tropica master grow, added spare and a single jobes fern and palm stick, cut up into 1/8" pieces and placed under a few different plants.
50% planted with various moderate to fast growing species. no ground cover. no snails. i pp all plants before adding to the tank. very few water changes so far. phopshates and nitrates in water, both 0, every time i have tested (at least weekly).
jme, of course, rick
the best way to control algae is to 1. get the plants growing nicely, (my plants pearl all day long, and need pruning at least weekly) and 2. time. this may sound wierd, but i have been studying the plant people's successes and failures for the last couple of years, and while many people have different formulas for growing a tank free of algae, and plants can be pearling in the first few days after planting given the right conditions, it is the time for the plants to either produce algae inhibiting substances, or the tank to grow micro-organisms in an adequet number to eat all of the algae produced. all it takes is the time and patience to get a tank to the point where all of the algae just stops growing. (2-3 months??) i have no idea WHY the algae just stops growing, but ime, one day the water clears up, and the plants and fish are clearly visible, and the algae is almost non-existant. once the tank has reached this level of 'stability??' growing plants becomes a joy, instead of a big hassle. during this time, you want to manage the nutrients available to the plants (and the algae of course) carefully.
at the moment, my tank is going through a few 'growing pains'. i re-planted it a couple of months back. a couple of weeks back, there was a cyano attack which was going quite strong. i cleaned it off of the sides, gravel and plants as much as i could and forged ahead. now it has all but subsided. this week there is a nice carpet of a bushy algae on the sides, but the plant leaves are almost de-void of any kind of a growth, even though they are in the most directly lit part of the tank. i will keep this clean as well, but i know that in a short while, it will all just go away. btw, i have NO algae eaters in this tank right now. (2 rams, 9 glowlight tetras) if i am able to grow this tank with no utility species, then i will have at least proved that they are of little or no value (they all produce ammonia and the phoshorous they eat is all just pooped out again, right?). i'll keep you guys posted.
tank is:
20 gal tall
lighting 2- philips 17 watt 865 lamps, on an electronic ballast- very bright!
diy co2 added
fert- tropica master grow, added spare and a single jobes fern and palm stick, cut up into 1/8" pieces and placed under a few different plants.
50% planted with various moderate to fast growing species. no ground cover. no snails. i pp all plants before adding to the tank. very few water changes so far. phopshates and nitrates in water, both 0, every time i have tested (at least weekly).
jme, of course, rick