[None of my Fluval 3.0 lights turned off tonight...]

Whenever there's time change I always have to go into my Chihiros app to 'reset' things.

[What Are Your Non-Fish Keeping Hobbies?]

I have a very large garden in the summer and grow and preserve a lot of food. Also do a lot of volunteering in my community. That pretty much occupies most of my spare time, other than a bit of WoW (video games)

[Black beard algae....😭]

How is the flow in your tank? I get BBA where there is stagnant water.

Your nitrates are on the high side, but no direct correlation with BBA that I know of, unless others can chime in. Biggest thing is doing the maintenance to clean it off as people have suggested, then continuing to monitor and clean off during your weekly water changes.

[Plant goals 2023, anyone?]

Starting up a 10g here soon and trying to decide if I try and grow Monte Carlo for the first time with or without CO2. I also want to try to grow some red plants like Alternanthera Reineckii Mini or Cryptocoryne Flamingo 2023. If I do those two things I'll be happy!

[Red Root Floaters in bloom!]

I love when mine bloom as well!

[Want your suggestion for some plant selection!]

If you're looking for a fast-grower to fill up that middle area, I would do something like hygrophila polysperma. Great beginner plant, grows fast (help eat up those nitrates!).

[Shipping to Canada?]

You can now purchase Aquarium Co-op products in Canada at April's Aquarium. I don't know of any other retail partners in Canada (yet).

https://yourlocalfishstore.com/shop/AQUARIUM-CO-OP-PREMIUM-PRODUCTS-c141635047

[What did you get done today?]

20% water change, plant trim and maintenance on my 6 gallon - red guppies and orange pumpkin shrimp. Also ATTACKING the BBA haha (cleaning off driftwood is a weekly chore it seems)

Trying to decide on lighting and filter for my next tank - 45p (10 gallon) iwagumi. Fun to think about!

[Plant success/failures]

I have similar tap water to you and have been using 50% tap and 50% RO water from the start to lower the KH and GH somewhat (I think my KH is actually around 130ppm). I also have similar plant to you and java moss and never had any issues. pH in my tank is around 7.4 with half aquasoil and half gravel.

[Ideas how to contain Pothos roots]

Mine's starting to get larger too, I will probably just prune the roots back to a manageable size. I'll also keep the overall plant from getting to large for the tank size.

[Red root floaters]

I've never been able to get mine to be red either. I'd have to turn my light up to max (currently at 50%) and would rather not deal with algae. My plants are doing fine they just aren't red.

[Help identifying my unwanted algae, and seeking advice on its removal]

In addition to trying to manually remove it and getting fish or shrimp that might eat it, I would reduce your nitrate levels through regular water changes. 75 seems high to me and might cause algae issues. Also, even at 6 hours a light could be too bright (is it dimmable?) if there's not enough plants and also cause algae.

[Is it possible to over plant a tank? It so how can you tell when it’s too much]

In my limited experience, the more plants, the more they 'filter' the tank and help balance things. But it's really up to you, I like the look of a heavily planted tank, but also depends on the inhabitants and their needs.

[Dealing with Blue Green Algae in Canada]

I wanted to provide an update. Thanks to everyone who provided feedback and comments given our limited options here in Canada.

I seemed to have the best luck with Chemiclean. Shortly after I tried this method the BGA was pretty much gone. This and persistent cleaning of the tank and regular maintenance/water changes.

Since then I lost my female betta. Whether or not that was due to my BGA interventions I'm unsure. She got sick suddenly, perhaps bloated from overfeeding and had balance issues. I really don't know.

Since then I had some brown algae/diatoms that I could not get rid of until I was encouraged to get shrimp. With the betta gone, in little less than a week (away on holidays), my Orange Sakura Shrimp did an amazing job of getting rid of all the algae, so much I have to be careful to give them enough food or they start to nibble at the plants.

I also have been accidentally over fertilizing the tank. I was not measuring the dose correctly (NilocG Thrive C), needless to say the plants are super lush. A bit higher nitrates but I think I caught it in time. Everything seems to be coming in balance.

Yesterday I added a few male Red Guppies. They're settling in nicely and I think I can start to relax and enjoy the tank. 🙂

[Dealing with Blue Green Algae in Canada]

Just cleaned as much BGA as I could and did @Seattle_Aquarist's H2O2 method. Fingers crossed.

[Dealing with Blue Green Algae in Canada]

^Appreciate the advice.

Ya, I may purchase some phosphate and other test to check my tap water, other parameters are tested daily by the water company and posted online. Other hobbyists in the area are also testing and sometimes post to group forums, which is helpful. This time of year with runoff we do have a bit of ammonia, nothing my tank hasn't been able to deal with.

[Dealing with Blue Green Algae in Canada]

On 7/7/2022 at 7:11 PM, Patrick_G said:

@Greenspace, nice looking tank! Is that pic before or after you cleaned the algae?

Thanks. After I cleaned it. 😀

On 7/7/2022 at 7:36 PM, Marcelo said:

Have a look on this product: Ultralife Blue Green Slime Stain Remover

I had issues when I left my tank alone for 14 days ! After hours looking for what to do  I found this product. I had fishes, Nerites and shrimps and nothing happened with them.

 

 

I have been trying that. It hasn't really done much. I've seem maybe a bit less growth in the BGA but hasn't gotten rid of it.

[Dealing with Blue Green Algae in Canada]

^Yes I saw that. Going to try that, thanks!

[Using tank water on roses]

The fungus is very much likely due to the wet weather. Roses are very susceptible to fungus when it's an overly wet year. Even in Alberta where it's drier, we have to do a lot of spraying with gardener's sulfur this time of year to keep the fungus under control on our roses and other plants.

I've been using my waste aquarium water on my houseplants, much better than the chlorinated tap water! I can't see that being an issue. Allow the rose soil to dry out between watering.

[Dealing with Blue Green Algae in Canada]

First post, been following for a while and recently got back into the hobby after 20 years. Such a great community to have!

I have a 6 gallon low-tech planted tank with a single female betta and a nerite snail that been running for about 4 months. I had a second nerite snail that died about 4 weeks ago and since then I've had a BGA outbreak that I'm having trouble getting rid of. I clean it off the plants, gravel, sand, driftwood every week when I do a 50% water change and it always comes back. I've tried UltraReef Slime Remover to minimal effect.

The issue is in Canada you can not purchase fish antibiotics at a pet store. The sale of these products is restricted. Technically if a fish gets sick and needs antibiotics, you need a vet's prescriptions. I could try to order from the US but it may or may not get here.

So without erythromycin or the like as an option, what's your best thought?

- 5.8 gallon
- heavily low tech planted aquascape with driftwood
- Tropica Aquasoil covered with gravel/sand
- Locally collected rocks mostly consisting of Gneiss and Quartz
- 50% water change each week, 1/2 dechlorinated tap water and half RO water
- Chihiros C2 6 hours at 60% with 1/2 hr. ramp up.
- HOB filter with Seachem Matrix and sponges, and recommended dose of Purigen
- Reduced my fertilizing to once a week NilocG Thrive C
- 5ppm Nitrate, PH 7.4, 0 Amm or Nitrite. Temp 24C/75F

I'm at a bit of a loss what to do. Test the tap water for phosphates, or use only RO water? Black out? Thank you for any insights you might be able to provide.