Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/18/2022 at 5:46 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: Hi @Mmiller2001 Yes, please check the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels if you can and let me know. Will do. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/18/2022 at 5:46 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: Yes, please check the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels if you can and let me know. Just got home and both are zero and Nitrates are at about 1ppm. I completed my water change on Wednesday and dosed 3.93ppm KNO3 on Thursday. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/18/2022 at 8:02 PM, Mmiller2001 said: Just got home and both are zero and Nitrates are at about 1ppm. I completed my water change on Wednesday and dosed 3.93ppm KNO3 on Thursday. Hi @Mmiller2001 Good to hear you have the ammonia & nitrites under control. In the future I would avoid using the 'gravel vac' and disturbing the substrate. It puts a lot of nutrients into the water column and likely is partly responsible for your algae issue which likely started as the tank was going through the nitrogen cycle. It's OK to siphon detritis off the surface of the substrate if there is a buildup. That is quite the infestation of string algae you have there ADA Aquasoil Amazonia is very nutrient rich, especially in ammonium and ammonia, here is an analysis below. Notice the amounts of NH4 (ammonium) and NH3 (ammonia) in the Amazonia, that is why regular, high percentage tank water changes especially when the Aquasoil is new are so important both to avoid fish toxicity and plant 'burn' from the ammonium/ammonia. We have an internationally ADA aquascaper here in Seattle who ran a very nice ADA shop until she became ill. In her shop tanks she did deep water changes several times per week, I never saw her do a 'gravel vac' and if she noticed growth slowing she would sprinkle a little new Aquaoil in the tanks to improve growth. Now what to do. I re-read your thread and I see you have recently added shrimp and have an SAE to add to the tank. Since you have already tried glutaraldehyde and hydrogen peroxide I suggest grabbing an old toothbrush and physically removing as much of the stringy algae as you can by winding the algae like it was spaghetti around the toothbrush. Add the SAE to the tank and see how the cleaning crew does after a week or so. Since both the shrimp and SAE can work in the dark I would do a two day 'black-out' without running the light on the tank. If that doesn't work I would remove the Bacopa colorata(?) and the foreground plant where the infestation is the heaviest and add new plants to those areas. BTW, what size tank, what light, what photoperiod, and if the intensity is adjustable how much output? -Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 (edited) On 2/19/2022 at 1:25 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: In the future I would avoid using the 'gravel vac' and disturbing the substrate. I'm real bad about doing this. I plunge that sucker in there. I will cease this practice immediately. It's a 40 breeder with a Chihiros WRGB2 running at about 45% for 8 hours. Unfortunately, I have no device for measuring PAR. Thank you Roy, for taking this time to help me. I forgot to ask, do I do a complete blackout or is ambient light okay? There's diffuse light in this room. Edited February 19, 2022 by Mmiller2001 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Seattle_Aquarist Posted February 19, 2022 Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 1:25 PM, Mmiller2001 said: I'm real bad about doing this. I plunge that sucker in there. I will cease this practice immediately. It's a 40 breeder with a Chihiros WRGB2 running at about 45% for 8 hours. Unfortunately, I have no device for measuring PAR. Thank you Roy, for taking this time to help me. Hi @Mmiller2001 After that 2 days without running the light let's cut that light back to 5 hours a day (you can split period if you want) and see how things progress. Keep us posted!- Roy Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted February 19, 2022 Author Share Posted February 19, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 3:15 PM, Seattle_Aquarist said: Hi @Mmiller2001 After that 2 days without running the light let's cut that light back to 5 hours a day (you can split period if you want) and see how things progress. Keep us posted!- Roy I will, thank you again! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SkaleyAquatics Posted March 1, 2022 Share Posted March 1, 2022 On 2/19/2022 at 5:30 PM, Mmiller2001 said: I will, thank you again! @Mmiller2001 I guess I was not completely caught up, but did notice that we have the same light. Not saying that it is a coincidence but is interesting. I have very little thread algae compared to you, I manually attempt to remove as much as possible every water change however. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 3, 2022 Author Share Posted March 3, 2022 I'm ending this project here. There's just too many problems going on with the tank. I have learned an important lesson and that's inert substrates are better for me. Thank you all who followed. 5 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
xXInkedPhoenixX Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Try, try again friend. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DaveO Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Bummer. I enjoy your tanks so much. Better luck next time. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 I hope you do a reset and try again. There’s still lots of time before entries are due. 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gjcarew Posted March 3, 2022 Share Posted March 3, 2022 Sad to see it, though I understand why you would make that decision with all the issues you've been having. It's pretty baffling. Like @Patrick_G said, I'm hoping this is a setback and not throwing in the towel for good. You have a real talent for aquatic gardening! 1 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Odd Duck Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 I also hope you will try again. You bring a great deal of talent, intelligence, and a thoughtful approach to it. I’m confident that you can do this. Always keep in mind that we rarely perform something perfectly the first time we try, probably not even the second, or third time. It takes practice to develop a skill and even though you’ve been scaping for a while, you haven’t been competing, which is different. It’s like a casual jogger expecting to go out and win a 5 K on their first try. It takes practice and training. You CAN do this! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 Thank you all very much. This is nothing more than a temporary set back and a path of learning. I will use this tank for a plant repository and a practice session for combating algae with hydrogen peroxide. Both @gjcarew and @Seattle_Aquarist, and others, have given me excellent advice on how to proceed combating this mess. I will update a few more times if the H202 treatments work. to be continued... 4 3 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beardedbillygoat1975 Posted March 4, 2022 Share Posted March 4, 2022 @Mmiller2001sorry I’m late to the party but they’re not a waste your lovely tigers. Excellent in pH from 5 to 7. Learning can be painful but on the other end is experience and the fortitude to move forward and crush it. Hang in there! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mmiller2001 Posted March 4, 2022 Author Share Posted March 4, 2022 On 3/4/2022 at 1:52 AM, Beardedbillygoat1975 said: @Mmiller2001sorry I’m late to the party but they’re not a waste your lovely tigers. Excellent in pH from 5 to 7. Learning can be painful but on the other end is experience and the fortitude to move forward and crush it. Hang in there! I put 20 in, I've pulled 4 out dead, haven't seen the others! The tank may have been too new. Hopefully some make it! 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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