What am I doing wrong?

[MeggersNCat]

Hello everyone!! Some help with my tank would be greatly appreciated! 

I have a 10 gal planted tank with one GloFish female betta and two mystery snails. I'm having issues with my plants. They are definitely not thriving. I have a Java fern that has never looked too good and is making lots of babies. I have an Anubias, not sure what kind, that one seems to be doing really well. I have dwarf grass that looks so so, one cluster looks great, the other clusters are hanging in there. My micro sword is also looking so, so. My drawf baby tears look kind of horrible, the very tops have green leaves but the bottoms look brown and gross. When I set the tank up I used Easy Green root tabs and every couple of days I dose the tank with Aqueon Plant food. I already had this and wanted to use it up before buying Easy Green. My tanks sits in front of my second story window so it will get light for the plants. I also have a full spectrum grow light that I run for about 4 hours a day. I was running the grow light for more like 6 hours for a few weeks and got an algae bloom. I have cleaned up as much algae as I could, cut the light back to 4 hours and added the two mystery snails. Is the plant food not adequate enough, am I using too much light, not enough light, any clues as to what I am doing wrong? I have attached some photos as well. 

[AnimalNerd98]

Here are some things you may want to consider: 

Lighting: Is your brand of light the correct size/brightness for your plants? Have you seen reviews of the light where people have been successful with it?

Aquarium next to window: Which direction is the window facing? A southern facing window receives the most light. In general, aquariums grown next to windows are susceptible to algal blooms. I’m not sure whether this is due to the strength of sunlight vs grow lights or the variability of light coming in due to weather conditions (ex. Cloudy and rainy vs clear sky). Some people do give their aquariums access to natural sunlight through a window, but for a beginner, it is definitely more difficult. 
I would suggest moving it away from the window and just have the light on a timer between 6-8 hours. 

Plant Requirements: Things like Java Fern, Marimo, and Anubias have low light requirements. Dwarf hairgrass has medium light requirements while dwarf baby tears have high light requirements. This may be why some plants are struggling since their light requirements are not being met (along with nutrient requirements). It’s best to do research on each of your plants to see what they want (I just look them up on the Co-op website and see what they say). Algae is almost always attributed to an imbalance between light and nutrients. So try to find the balance and wait. Cory says that as a rule of thumb, it takes about two weeks to notice any changes in the plant if you yourself have changed something in their environment or care.

Substrate: It looks like you are using a very coarse sand which is doable but more difficult than something like gravel. The reason is that it can get compacted and the plant roots cannot penetrate deep enough to access the root tabs. You may not need to change substrates just yet, but something to consider. 

Seasoned Tank Time: How long has this tank been set up? If the plants and/or tank are all new, they might just need time to establish, especially if they were grown out of water before you bought them. Sometimes it just takes time for everything to even out, and this can take not weeks but months. Once the equilibrium has been established, it will look terrific. 

Whew! Sorry, that was a lot of info. You may also want to watch Cory’s planted tank series on YouTube. Everything I said above is just off the top of my head from what I’ve watched from the Co-op, so I defer to anyone else who has more experience or insight. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by AnimalNerd98

[MeggersNCat]

My substrate is gravel with a thin layer of sand on top of esthetics. My grow light is just a full spectrum flood light from Menards that I already had that I was using for my house plants when I lived in a basement. I was planning on getting the Fluval 3.0 but it's a tad out of my price range at the moment. I believe my window is north facing. The algae doesn't bother me so much, just thought it was important to mention, like I said I added snails to help combat that issue. My java fern and anubias plant are from my 2.5 gal so I've had those for at least 6 months. The 10 gal however along with the other plants I've had since has only been going for a month and a half to two months. My dwarf baby tears seemed to be doing better when I had the light on for longer but that's when I got the algae bloom. 

Edited December 27, 2020 by MeggersNCat

[AnimalNerd98]

Yeah, it sounds like your tank and plants just need time to find their optimal balance. I would keep an eye on those water parameters, especially nitrates (keep it between 20-40 ppm). As long as you don’t mind the algae too much, you just have a waiting game to play while adjusting your lighting and dosing schedule.
 

Just as an aside, mystery snails also take a dedicated effort to feed besides just the algae growing in the tank. They need some calcium and protein in their diet as well to keep their shells and themselves happy and healthy. They are almost like having pet fish in and of themselves because of how much they eat and how much waste they produce (their poop is great for fry tanks though). 

It sounds like you are on the right track! If it were me, I would probably just move the tank away from the window just to be safe and just use the grow light you have with a timer. A north facing window usually receives the least amount of light (of the four directions), but even still, the aquarium may also face temperature swings being near a window, so just keep that in mind. If some of your plants die back, I wouldn’t be too broken up about it. I think I can safely say for many people in the hobby that they have killed their fair share of plants and fish & inverts. Learn about the plants, their requirements, and how you can improve for next time. Find the plants that work the best for you, in your water, and in your care. 
Good luck! 

Edited December 28, 2020 by AnimalNerd98

[MeggersNCat]

I have a heater in my tank hooked up to a heater controller so I’m not concerned about temp spikes so much. My grow light is on a timer but I think I’m going to adjust the times of when the light is on. I think possibly the tank is just getting blasted with light in the afternoon. Also I found a blog post on the aquarium co op site that was quite useful and I might have a nutrient deficiency in my tank. So I’ll also do adjustments with my fertilizer.  As for the mystery snails I did my research before I got them. I wanted Bertie snails but no good options in my area and with how cold it is I didn’t feel comfortable having some shipped. But I’m fully prepared and willing to care for my mystery snails. But thank you very much for your input. It has been a great help ❤️

[Taco Playz]

Quote

On 12/27/2020 at 2:28 PM, MeggersNCat said:

Hello everyone!! Some help with my tank would be greatly appreciated! 

I have a 10 gal planted tank with one GloFish female betta and two mystery snails. I'm having issues with my plants. They are definitely not thriving. I have a Java fern that has never looked too good and is making lots of babies. I have an Anubias, not sure what kind, that one seems to be doing really well. I have dwarf grass that looks so so, one cluster looks great, the other clusters are hanging in there. My micro sword is also looking so, so. My drawf baby tears look kind of horrible, the very tops have green leaves but the bottoms look brown and gross. When I set the tank up I used Easy Green root tabs and every couple of days I dose the tank with Aqueon Plant food. I already had this and wanted to use it up before buying Easy Green. My tanks sits in front of my second story window so it will get light for the plants. I also have a full spectrum grow light that I run for about 4 hours a day. I was running the grow light for more like 6 hours for a few weeks and got an algae bloom. I have cleaned up as much algae as I could, cut the light back to 4 hours and added the two mystery snails. Is the plant food not adequate enough, am I using too much light, not enough light, any clues as to what I am doing wrong? I have attached some photos as well. 

 Also that looks too big to be a 10 gallon. By the way I love your spongebob themed tank.  If you don’t think the Java fern is doing good I would get some driftwood and put it on there normally Java fern likes to be attached to driftwood.

[MeggersNCat]

Thank you! I quite like my Spongbob theme was well. I joke and say I’m the female equivalent of a man-child. The tank does seem bigger then 10gal but I think it’s just because my plants are so small still. But I can attest from experience in setting it up and doing water changes that it is a 10gal. 

[Tanked]

@AnimalNerd98 has pretty much covered everything.  I also use non-aquarium lights. Increasing the timer settings to 8 hrs. helped eliminate some of my algae and plant growth problems.  It is possible that your grow light is not close enough to the aquarium for some of your plants..

 

[MeggersNCat]

It’s in a Desk lamp and the bulb is only a few inches from the tank. But like I said I do plan on getting the flu all 3.0 just gotta save up a little first