[How to get rid of brown algae in recently cycled tank]

On 11/24/2021 at 3:44 PM, Gator said:

@BayFish28; Remove the crushed coral, and when you change the water, wipe the glass clean. Crushed coral makes the water harder than it should or needs to be. You'll need to clean the glass each time you change the water, but the water will continue to level itself over time and your plants will recover. They may start recovering just as soon as you remove the crushed coral.

So I put the coral in there to help buffer the pH as my pH was getting really acidic for whatever reason. My tap is 7.0 pH and I don't think I have anything reactive that would cause the pH to drop so low, maybe the fluva substrate?

Anyways, I'll take the coral out but a bit concerned if the pH starts getting acidic again.

[How to get rid of brown algae in recently cycled tank]

On 11/24/2021 at 2:12 PM, Scapexghost said:

Algae is caused by an imbalance, either light or a specific nutrient are in excess and the algae is using this to grow. So you could mess with decreasing or increasing the duration of the light, the amount of fertilizer, or the frequency or size of water changes.

 

Honestly though I would just pick up a bristlenose pleco or a nerite snail depending on the size of the tank.

Ok I'll play around with the lighting and see what happens and I'll also change my fertilizer dose and see how things go. Thanks! 

On 11/24/2021 at 2:17 PM, Patrick_G said:

It’s pretty common with a new tank and it will sort itself out eventually. It’s easy to clean with a toothbrush and in all my tanks I’ve helped the process  along with Amano Shrimp and Otocinclus catfish. Not only do they do a great job clearing the diatoms but they’re terrific creatures to have in your tank. 

I actually have 2 Amano and a mystery snail in there now with 4 pygmy cory. I was planning to add 6-8 Endlers. I actually like Oto's but I know they are the schooling type and I'm afraid that I may overstock the tank if I get like 3 Oto's. 

Do you think it would increase the bio-load too much?

 

Thanks!

[How to get rid of brown algae in recently cycled tank]

Hi new member here.

So I have a cycled tank that's planted pretty well and have the brown algae (diatom) growth. Not sure if it's preventing the growth of my plants as I see the microsword ,dwarf hair grass, bacopa, some crypts growing slow but the pogostemon octopus is doing ok as is the hornwort. 

I have an aquaclear 30 HOB with sponge, ceramic rings, and a small bag of crushed coral in it, fluval heater, and a Nicrew Classic LED plus running 10 hours a day. Substrate is fluval stratum.

Water parameters: pH 7.0, Ammonia 0, Nitrites 0, Nitrates 10-20ppm. Water changes weekly 25-40%. I do use Easy Green once a week.

 

Any ideas? Will it eventually sort itself out? Thanks!

 

[New Pygmy Corydoras aren't eating]

So far they've been munching on the worms and brine but I will definitely give repashy a try

[Will endlers compete with cory's for food?]

Yeah I bought those hikari wafers, omega 1 sinking veggie rounds, northfin sinking fry food, frozen blood worms and frozen brine.

I'll make sure the food is spread around and I use a pair of long tweezers to place the pellets where they usually like to hide.

 

Thanks for the tips everyone!!!

[Will endlers compete with cory's for food?]

Maybe 6-8 Endlers with 4 Pygmy Cory, 2 Amano and a mystery snail in a 10 gallon with plants. I guess I'll just monitor and see who eats what. Thank you!

[Will endlers compete with cory's for food?]

Quick question, will endlers compete with cory's for food that's fallen onto the substrate? I've never owned endlers nor guppies and was wondering do they only skim the top and middle areas like tetras or do they graze from all areas?

 

Thanks!

[New Pygmy Corydoras aren't eating]

Update: After a couple days they're no longer ignoring the frozen blood worms and brine shrimp! Guess they had to get acclimated to the new water parameters and surroundings. 

 

Thanks all for the tips! 

[New Pygmy Corydoras aren't eating]

Yeah I recently watched that video and he mentioned his wife won't let him make it at home, now I know why!!

[New Pygmy Corydoras aren't eating]

On 11/19/2021 at 10:30 PM, AnimalNerd98 said:

Something that my Pygmy corys go nuts for is Repashy Bottom Feeder. It may be a bit much to get a whole bottle for just the 5 of them, but if the other options don’t work, you might want to give it a try. Sometimes, they are also just clumsy eaters and take a while to hone in on the actual food, I definitely have seen this when my pygmies are trying to find the adult frozen brine shrimp on the bottom. Like you said, they might still be acclimating, I wouldn’t worry too much unless it’s been past a week or they look noticeably thinner. Good luck! 

Oh I totally forgot about Repashy, I've been so out of the hobby for so long that they didn't have this stuff 20 years ago. I read up a little on it and yeah it is somewhat overwhelming for some cory's but since I have a couple shrimp and plan on getting some endlers I figure I might just give this a shot. I'll probably try and make a small batch so it doesn't spoil. Thanks for the tip!

[New Pygmy Corydoras aren't eating]

OK so I'm guessing they are still getting acclimated to their new environment since the store I bought them from had them on gravel substrate with no plants so maybe they feel lost in my "Jungle."

 

As far as tank size, it's a 10 gallon tank and there's 5 of them in there and they seem to be just hanging around themselves and swimming together. I'll try some of the foods tips you've all recommended like Hikari First Bites, Northfin Fry, and the baby brine. 

 

For now I'll continue putting a tiny bit of sinking Omega 1 Veggie wafers at night but the mystery snail and shrimp might get to them first lol.

 

Thanks all for the tips. Will continue to update.

[New Pygmy Corydoras aren't eating]

Hello,

 

New member here and wanted to know why aren't my new pygmy cory's eating? The tank is well planted with fluval substrate, ammonia and nitrites are both 0 with Nitrates at about 20ppm, ph 6.8. The only other things I have in there are 2 amano and one mystery snail. 

 

Could it be they're still new and getting adjusted? it's the 3rd day so far and haven't seen them eat but they're active and schooling around and even foraging for food in the substrate but haven't seen them eat any variety of food. So far I've tried tetra tropical flakes, hikari sinking wafers for bottom feeders, omega 1 veggie rounds, frozen brine shrimp, and frozen blood worms.

Any ideas? Thanks!!

[New member, getting back into the hobby]

Thanks again all! Had some melting due to a new tank but that's to be expected. Seeing a bit of new growth so hoping it continues.

[Easy Green Question regarding pH]

OK will do! Thanks!

[Easy Green Question regarding pH]

The reason I was asking was because I took a tap water sample and ran the normal pH test and got 7.0 but decided to add a single drop of easy green and see if my assumptions were correct and it immediately turned yellow (6.0) without shaking the tube. 

I'll get a KH test kit and monitor. Thanks!

[New member, getting back into the hobby]

Thanks all! Looking forward to a lot of ideas in the future!

[New member, getting back into the hobby]

Hell All,

So I've decided to get back into the hobby and looking forward to learn all the new changes since I've been out of it for almost 20 years now. 

 

Currently cycling my 10 gallon and will probably have some questions. Thanks!!

[Easy Green Question regarding pH]

New user here. So I just got my bottle of easy green the other day and noticed my pH get real acidic (6.0) when I tested my water the next day after adding the required amount for my 10 gallon. Previously my pH was about 6.8. I'm currently doing a fishless tank cycle but I do have some plants in there and using fluval stratum with an aquaclear HOB with only the sponge and bio-rings.

My question is should I wait for the pH to get back to normal range or will it even get there? Or should I do a water change? I'm only on the 4th day of my new tank cycle. 

 

Thanks!