Water Temperature with Planted Tanks

[Streetwise]

By embarrassing, I think you mean impressive and inspiring!

[Acara Mom]

And that plant is not very old! That’s what made me feel like throwing in the towel for at least 15 minutes ha ha

[Patrick_G]

I used to be frustrated watching all the pristine looking YouTube aquscapes until MD fish tanks did a video on why he doesn’t have algae. It turned out he has plenty but you just don’t see it in the videos! 
I have a 75 gal that’s  about three months old. I haven’t changed water yet and I’ve only had a a few small spots of algae. I don’t think I’ve even cleaned the glass yet. I’m not very experienced but I credit it mostly to not too much light, lots of plants and low stocking. 
My wife has even greater plant density in her 7 gal. She doesn’t do anything but feed the fish and runs her light 12 hrs a day. She tolerates some green spots on her Anubias but it still grows well. 

[Patrick_G]

@Acara Mom, I had to laugh when I saw your first pic because it looks great!   The reds really pop! 

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 4:57 PM, Patrick_G said:

@Acara Mom, I had to laugh when I saw your first pic because it looks great!   The reds really pop! 

Lol Yes I think the red came in because I might’ve overdosed in iron LOL I got an iron testing kit. It always shows about zero so I added too much I guess I don’t know. But the red does look really pretty doesn’t it. As long as you don’t look real close and see all the blue green algae and then there’s a little bit of other fuzzy stuff down here hoping the snails get to it

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 4:54 PM, Patrick_G said:

I used to be frustrated watching all the pristine looking YouTube aquscapes until MD fish tanks did a video on why he doesn’t have algae. It turned out he has plenty but you just don’t see it in the videos! 
I have a 75 gal that’s  about three months old. I haven’t changed water yet and I’ve only had a a few small spots of algae. I don’t think I’ve even cleaned the glass yet. I’m not very experienced but I credit it mostly to not too much light, lots of plants and low stocking. 
My wife has even greater plant density in her 7 gal. She doesn’t do anything but feed the fish and runs her light 12 hrs a day. She tolerates some green spots on her Anubias but it still grows well. 

That is a very pretty tank! And I do not see any algae.That is a very pretty tank! And I do not see any algae.

[Patrick_G]

On 7/3/2021 at 2:03 PM, Acara Mom said:

That is a very pretty tank! And I do not see any algae.That is a very pretty tank! And I do not see any algae.

When she gets a little algae she just waits it out and it goes away when the plants reach a certain density. She doesn’t have a clue about balancing tanks, the nitrogen cycle or any of that stuff, she just intuitive about growing plants. 

[Acara Mom]

I used to think I was good at it. Now, I think I’m going 20 different directions...all in the wrong way

[Patrick_G]

A timely video! Thanks Irene! 

 

[Koi]

Your tank looks great! I actually like your plant choices, you have a good mix of fast and slow growing plants with a variety of textures. Just by looking at how nice your alternanthera is starting to become I think you are pretty spot on with the correct nutrient levels and if not, you are pretty close.

Your tank looks like it starting to close in on balancing out I think you should stick with the routine you have going now and make minor adjustments. I think you should stick with your light settings for now especially if you'd like to keep the red on your AR. I can see new growth on a lot of your plants so at this point I wouldn't even worry about the algae and just focus on pushing growth on your plants with good fertilization. It won't be long where you can cut the tops of your AR and ludwigia and throw out bottom portions that are covered in algae. 

Also in the meantime while you wait for your plants to grow, I would go in and remove leaves that are completely covered in algae or are decaying. You don't have to do a massive cleaning routine and tear up everything either. Although I do heavy maintenance pretty often, I usually spend 5 minutes or less through out the day plucking out ratty leaves if I see any as I walk past my tank. But as you continue the prune the unhealthy parts of your plants and allow them to grow out, your algae won't be able to compete with that plant mass.

Also, now that I see how nice your tank is, I'm pretty sure you don't want elodea in your tank haha. Being that its a pretty invasive weed, it might take away from the overall aestethics in your tank. I should have known better when you mentioned watching aquascaping videos...

But like I said earlier, you are extremely close to beating out the algae so don't give up just yet!

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 5:40 PM, Patrick_G said:

A timely video! Thanks Irene! 

 

That is a very good video! She does a good job! thanks for posting! I’m going to look up her other ones. I just bought some floating plants yesterday. 

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 5:41 PM, Koi said:

Your tank looks great! I actually like your plant choices, you have a good mix of fast and slow growing plants with a variety of textures. Just by looking at how nice your alternanthera is starting to become I think you are pretty spot on with the correct nutrient levels and if not, you are pretty close.

Your tank looks like it starting to close in on balancing out I think you should stick with the routine you have going now and make minor adjustments. I think you should stick with your light settings for now especially if you'd like to keep the red on your AR. I can see new growth on a lot of your plants so at this point I wouldn't even worry about the algae and just focus on pushing growth on your plants with good fertilization. It won't be long where you can cut the tops of your AR and ludwigia and throw out bottom portions that are covered in algae. 

Also in the meantime while you wait for your plants to grow, I would go in and remove leaves that are completely covered in algae or are decaying. You don't have to do a massive cleaning routine and tear up everything either. Although I do heavy maintenance pretty often, I usually spend 5 minutes or less through out the day plucking out ratty leaves if I see any as I walk past my tank. But as you continue the prune the unhealthy parts of your plants and allow them to grow out, your algae won't be able to compete with that plant mass.

Also, now that I see how nice your tank is, I'm pretty sure you don't want elodea in your tank haha. Being that its a pretty invasive weed, it might take away from the overall aestethics in your tank. I should have known better when you mentioned watching aquascaping videos...

But like I said earlier, you are extremely close to beating out the algae so don't give up just yet!

Thank you! Seriously, last night I was thinking I should just get rid of some of my aquariums because I am not doing a very good job. Then you pick up and start back over the next day trying to figure it out. Which is why I reached out to the forum. You guys are awesome!
Hopefully, this will help some other people also. 

[Streetwise]

@Acara Mom, please keep going. I have some tanks and buckets that I just keep going to see what will happen, with no plan. As long as I am keeping things alive, it is fun to let these ecosystems run!

[Koi]

You're doing great, maybe if you see my tank you might feel a little better! haha

 

[Streetwise]

@Koi, that is amazing! I love it!

[Fish Folk]

On 7/2/2021 at 10:49 PM, Acara Mom said:

After watching Aqua Scaping videos, I heard them comment strongly that planted tanks should be around 72-75 degrees or you will have algae problems. 
 

Well...my main two tanks have plants, fish that need 82-84 degree water, and I fight ALGAE! A very nice person gave me a schedule for my Fluval 3.0 which should help BUT my water is an issue!!

Anyone have this issue figured out??

Very non-technical feedback here... our tanks that run cooler have thriving plants. Warm tanks struggle with keeping plants healthy. Algae seems to be everywhere. Not sure temps are determinative. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Fish Folk do you run heaters and what temps do you keep your tanks at?

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 7:08 PM, Koi said:

You're doing great, maybe if you see my tank you might feel a little better! haha

 

I would like to try guppies. I’ve been looking for special type but have not decided on one. Our water is naturally low pH. One thing at a time or 10 at least at a time not 20 for me. Right now is getting this figured out. 

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 8:45 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

@Fish Folk do you run heaters and what temps do you keep your tanks at?

This tank was originally set up to house German Blue Rams and  maybe some corys. 
I have had difficulty keeping the Rams for very long periods of time and have not tried breeding them. I have been keeping them at around 80-81 And now I have raised it in this tank to 83 And I’m afraid to go any higher because everything just melts. So I’m slowly upping it because it is better for these fish as I have been told by some experts.

My 75 gallon has main fish Electric Blue Acara And a few other fish. That tank I keep closer to 81. It also had a new light a couple months ago. I am getting it back in balance because that tank has been set up for a year. I’m getting ready to re-scape that one so as long as I get the algae under control then I will go forward. I’d say that once about there.

The interesting thing is I have a newer tank that is a 40 gallon breeder acrylic. I did water changes frequently on it at the beginning and the temperature is lower. The light is not as strong. It is a Finnex and I’m not using as much fertilizer. It has been much easier to deal with and very little algae. But those fish can handle cooler temperatures

Edited July 4, 2021 by Acara Mom

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 8:35 PM, Fish Folk said:

Very non-technical feedback here... our tanks that run cooler have thriving plants. Warm tanks struggle with keeping plants healthy. Algae seems to be everywhere. Not sure temps are determinative. 

Hmmm. Interesting! I guess I let those videos concern me little bit too much  But they sure know what they’re doing. I was about ready to get some CO2 and see if that would help but when they started talking about the temperature...I have to set everything aside and get balanced. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Acara Mom It wouldn't surprise me to know hotter tanks have more plant issues. I run low tech with no heaters (my tanks run from 76 to 80 on their own). When I got my first tank set up I had an outbreak of Ich- I have a heater in my "first aid/emergency" fish kit and ran the heater to 82 degrees to speed up treatment in combination with meds. I found I had to do daily water changes because not only did my plants seem not too happy with the temps but it also caused some ammonia issues- likely due to the fact that heat only speeds up decay. But I do bet there are "tropical" plants that like the hotter temps. I'm wondering just thinking about heat dispersement in metal- thinking of a radiator- how there are small "fins" that are more effecient with heat than say a solld piece of metal- wondering if things like red needle leaf are better in hotter water because of smaller leaves. 

[Fish Folk]

On 7/3/2021 at 9:02 PM, Acara Mom said:

Hmmm. Interesting! I guess I let those videos concern me little bit too much  But they sure know what they’re doing. I was about ready to get some CO2 and see if that would help but when they started talking about the temperature...I have to set everything aside and get balanced. 

We run about 17 planted tanks at present. In answer to @xXInkedPhoenixX our temperatures vary depending on the fish we’re keeping and breeding. Our no-heater, room-temp tanks (70-72°) tend to do better with plant growth, health, and propagation than those we keep at 80-87°. Amazon Swords do pretty well at high heat. Valisneria does so-so. I think one factor is that at higher temps, less gasses (CO2 / O2) can be dissolved in the water. I _think_ (chemists, please correct me) that this is the inverse of solids saturation: you dissolve salt or sugar more easily in hot water than cold water.... but you dissolve less gasses in warm water than cold water (which, parenthetically, is why cold water in the winter can hold dangerously too much gas... and why the Sage aquarists always advise you “rest your water” before adding — it’s for gasses to release from cold water). So, perhaps adding more aeration can slightly increase the dissolved gasses in an aquarium, and support better plant growth.

This tank is at about 84°-F.

It looks better from afar than up close. Root tabs under all plants (Val + Swords). I have 2x sponge filters and heavy additional aeration in the center.

This tank is a “cold tank” - stays between 68-70°. The Bronze Crypt and Val grows like crazy. Regularly, I take some out and sell or donate.

As for Rams, they should be Ok if kept down around 78°. If breeding, we keep them up around 81° or warmer. This tank was a Ram breeding tank. We kept it at around 85°.

I found certain plants melted away, while others adapted.

This one was run cold for very young goldfish. Wisteria grew like a JUNGLE in it.

So I don’t know... seems like there’s always a way to make things work...

Edited July 4, 2021 by Fish Folk

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 9:19 PM, xXInkedPhoenixX said:

@Acara Mom It wouldn't surprise me to know hotter tanks have more plant issues. I run low tech with no heaters (my tanks run from 76 to 80 on their own). When I got my first tank set up I had an outbreak of Ich- I have a heater in my "first aid/emergency" fish kit and ran the heater to 82 degrees to speed up treatment in combination with meds. I found I had to do daily water changes because not only did my plants seem not too happy with the temps but it also caused some ammonia issues- likely due to the fact that heat only speeds up decay. But I do bet there are "tropical" plants that like the hotter temps. I'm wondering just thinking about heat dispersement in metal- thinking of a radiator- how there are small "fins" that are more effecient with heat than say a solld piece of metal- wondering if things like red needle leaf are better in hotter water because of smaller leaves. 

Yes I started looking around for a list of plants for higher water temps. I posted a copy of a list from years ago but it sounded like someone knew what they were talking about. I’m going to gradually switch this tank out to some of those they listed and I have a few of them already. But it seems it doesn’t matter what I put in there until the algae situation is way improved. Hopefully, as I put many of these suggestions into action there will be some great improvements 

Edited July 4, 2021 by Acara Mom

[Acara Mom]

On 7/3/2021 at 9:36 PM, Fish Folk said:

We run about 17 planted tanks at present. In answer to @xXInkedPhoenixX our temperatures vary depending on the fish we’re keeping and breeding. Our no-heater, room-temp tanks (70-72°) tend to do better with plant growth, health, and propagation than those we keep at 80-87°. Amazon Swords do pretty well at high heat. Valisneria does so-so. I think one factor is that at higher temps, less gasses (CO2 / O2) can be dissolved in the water. I _think_ (chemists, please correct me) that this is the inverse of solids saturation: you dissolve salt or sugar more easily in hot water than cold water.... but you dissolve less gasses in warm water than cold water (which, parenthetically, is why cold water in the winter can hold dangerously too much gas... and why the Sage aquarists always advise you “rest your water” before adding — it’s for gasses to release from cold water). So, perhaps adding more aeration can slightly increase the dissolved gasses in an aquarium, and support better plant growth.

This tank is at about 84°-F.

It looks better from afar than up close. Root tabs under all plants (Val + Swords). I have 2x sponge filters and heavy additional aeration in the center.

This tank is a “cold tank” - stays between 68-70°. The Bronze Crypt and Val grows like crazy. Regularly, I take some out and sell or donate.

As for Rams, they should be Ok if kept down around 78°. If breeding, we keep them up around 81° or warmer. This tank was a Ram breeding tank. We kept it at around 85°.

I found certain plants melted away, while others adapted.

This one was run cold for very you g goldfish. Wisteria grew like a JUNGLE in it.

So I don’t know... seems like there’s always a way to make things work...

Your tanks are beautiful! Yes, after listening to what everyone has been posting I think it seems there is a way with the higher temperature, but it’s still a combo of finding a balance. I guess it’s not a dealbreaker but it is more challenging.  I need to do some adjusting. But this really makes me want to get some cold water tanks. The one that is new I mentioned earlier that has cooler water has encouraged me. My attraction to Central American/South American fish have kept me in warmer waters. 

[xXInkedPhoenixX]

@Fish Folk well and that all makes a lot of sense because when you run higher temps medicating for Ich they tell you to add aggitation and air stones- hence I would think the same would be true if you kept a tank at those temps all the time. 

AND @Acara Mom if you look at what @Fish Folk says is a ram breeding tank I can see that most of the plants in there even including the swords are narrow leaf plants. I'm wondering if my weak theory that they disperse heat better has any teeth to it.