Is Rescaping a Solution for a Tank that has massive algae issues?

[BlueTurtle25]

I have a 10 gallon planted tank that was algae free up until May or so. I'm pretty sure the tank getting 4-5 hours of sunlight when the days started getting longer caused the algae bloom. I was pretty sick with Crohn's disease so I wasn't able to nip it in the bud. Now I have an algae mess on my hands. I'm really considering just rescaping the tank and starting over instead of trying to battle the algae. I have 8-10 stems of Vallisneria, 2 amazon swords, anubius nana, java moss and a tiger lotus bulb. I also have a male shortfin koi betta that is the sole inhabitant of the tank. My plan is to set up a temporary quarantine tank for my betta, while I rescape. I can use the existing sponge filter and tank water for the quarantine tank. I just don't know what to do about the plants. Is it possible to uproot them, clean the algae off of them and store them temporarily with my betta or another quarantine tank until I have a permanent spot in my newly scaped 10 gallon for them? Sorry if these are stupid questions. This is my first attempt at ever trying to rescape a tank and I don't want to accidently kill my betta and plants. Thanks!

[Guppysnail]

Your questions are very valid. Yes if you are gentle you can uproot them, store them, and replant them.  They may falter a bit when replanted, plants don’t like change but they should be fine. 
 

Reverse Respiration can help with removing algae from the plants. Non toxic non harmful to plants. The lotus may detach from the bulb. I’m also not certain  how well lotus do in RR. It’s one of the plants We did not have the opportunity to test. My Aponogeton did fine but those leaves are sturdier. So maybe if the lotus is not algae covered skip the RR. 

 

[BlueTurtle25]

On 9/15/2022 at 4:01 AM, Guppysnail said:

Your questions are very valid. Yes if you are gentle you can uproot them, store them, and replant them.  They may falter a bit when replanted, plants don’t like change but they should be fine. 
 

Reverse Respiration can help with removing algae from the plants. Non toxic non harmful to plants. The lotus may detach from the bulb. I’m also not certain  how well lotus do in RR. It’s one of the plants We did not have the opportunity to test. My Aponogeton did fine but those leaves are sturdier. So maybe if the lotus is not algae covered skip the RR. 

 

Thanks for your response! Reverse Respiration is exactly what i'm looking for. Do I need to store the plants in a special way or can I just put them in a bucket of water for a day or two? Should I trim the roots at all? I know the roots on some of my plants are pretty long and could make it a pain to replant.  

[Guppysnail]

I’m glad it’s going to help you. 
 

My understanding of plants the roots have corresponding leaves. I never trim roots. Yes they will be ok in a bucket as long as they get light each day.  Try to add an airstone to the bucket of water while plants are in seltzer to make sure the bucket water is well aerated. Pull from seltzer and drop in bucket and you are good to go. 

[nabokovfan87]

On 9/15/2022 at 12:16 AM, BlueTurtle25 said:

I have 8-10 stems of Vallisneria, 2 amazon swords, anubius nana, java moss and a tiger lotus bulb.

I think all of those plants will handle a blackout pretty well. Anubias definitely doesn't care.  I would honestly do a deep clean, black it out for 7-14 days, and then go from there.

Glad you're doing a bit better healthwise.  Hopefully this tank settles down for you!

On 9/15/2022 at 12:54 PM, BlueTurtle25 said:

Do I need to store the plants in a special way or can I just put them in a bucket of water for a day or two?

7 day blackouts are fine, without an issue.  You do need to keep them wet, adding an airstone would be beneficial to keep flow and PH stable.

On 9/15/2022 at 12:54 PM, BlueTurtle25 said:

Should I trim the roots at all? I know the roots on some of my plants are pretty long and could make it a pain to replant.  

When you replant them, it is typically a good time to trim plants and leaves out that need it.  anything over 2" you can likely trim without issue.  I am sure you can go shorter and a lot of people do when they trim roots back to encourage new growth.

[BlueTurtle25]

On 9/15/2022 at 2:39 PM, Guppysnail said:

I’m glad it’s going to help you. 
 

My understanding of plants the roots have corresponding leaves. I never trim roots. Yes they will be ok in a bucket as long as they get light each day.  Try to add an airstone to the bucket of water while plants are in seltzer to make sure the bucket water is well aerated. Pull from seltzer and drop in bucket and you are good to go. 

Thanks again for letting me know about this! I was just going to follow the diluted bleach instructions I found online, but I was still hesitant about it. I didn't want to accidently kill anything. I've kind of got a aquarium itch again and I think i'm going to move all of these plants into a 20 gallon high tank. I want to play with aquascaping again. I'll definitely have to buy more plants though. I'm glad I know about reverse respiration now so I don't have a bladder snail infestation everytime I put in new plants. I still have a few things to get before I can start aquascaping a 20 gallon high tank, but i'll let you know how the reverse respiration works out!

[BlueTurtle25]

On 9/15/2022 at 3:09 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

I think all of those plants will handle a blackout pretty well. Anubias definitely doesn't care.  I would honestly do a deep clean, black it out for 7-14 days, and then go from there.

Glad you're doing a bit better healthwise.  Hopefully this tank settles down for you!

7 day blackouts are fine, without an issue.  You do need to keep them wet, adding an airstone would be beneficial to keep flow and PH stable.

When you replant them, it is typically a good time to trim plants and leaves out that need it.  anything over 2" you can likely trim without issue.  I am sure you can go shorter and a lot of people do when they trim roots back to encourage new growth.

Thanks for responding! Like I told Guppysnail, I have a bit of an aquarium itch again so I think i'm just going to start a 20 gallon high tank and move these plants into it. Then turn it into a community tank for my betta. I'm glad to hear that these plants aren't that fragile. I was and still am a bit worried about killing them lol. I will definitely get a spare airstone and pump for this.