New Tank 3rd try with plants

[remathes]

Hi all,  I am new (probably how most these start right?) any way this is my second tank the first tank I had was like a 10 gallon, then I moved to a 20 gallon thinking it would be easier to maintain since the original tank I had was taken over by mass algae or something.  So this is like the third set of plants I have bought for this tank and the first time they died to like a blueish algae, second time was probably from me trying to clean the algae off the plants via a mention in an article and also using some erythromycin (I bought some tabs from here) to dose the tank.  So now this is the third set and I started with a fresh water change and no algae that I could see... also a filter change, so this is 2 weeks in with the new plants and I think I am done lol, I don't know what to do to fix these please see pics and really I just want an easy tank so if it means just fake plants I guess I can do that I am just not sure how to have a tank that is easy to maintain (This is my fault for thinking it would be easy its just fish right?) ANy suggestions would be greatly appreciated good or bad comments 🤣

 

 

[Colu]

Are using liquid fertilizer or root tabs algae is usually cause by an in balance in nutrients 

Edited March 12, 2021 by Colu

[David W]

This is the first in a series called Planted Aquarium basics. I found them when I got started. It’s a good place to start. 

Keep at it, plants have turned into my favorite part of fish keeping. 

[remathes]

I have some liquid fertilizer I bought from co-op I put once a week 2 pumps for 20 gal it says.  No root tabs, what is OK balance I can run like a water test I have a kit I bought just not sure what to add or not 🙂

[Will Billy]

First off, looks like a great tank. I like that you went with deep gravel, that will help you later as your tank matures. A few things tho that could help me out is #1 i noticed your canister filter, do you have any activated carbon media in your filter? #2 just to be sure can you provide the names of your plants? I have a pretty good idea of most of them from your helpful pictures i just dont wanna guess wrong on some of the others. #3 what type of lighting are you using, and how long do you keep your lights on for?
 

My preliminary thoughts are from what i am seeing is some potassium deficiency, and maybe some phosphorus deficiency. I dont want to land on that diagnosis just yet until i can get further clues as to what is going on. I am also seeing some BBA for sure, and i cant quite tell but maybe some staghorn algae as well. Dont fret we will get to the bottom of this and help you balance your tank nutrients. For now the above questions would really help us out for a more accurate diagnosis and better answers for appropriate treatments to get you back on track. 

[remathes]

No carbon media in the filter it was modified from a video co-op had on how to make the filter better, I added some of their bio rings and used the default sponge filters that come with the canister so basically it has a carbon layer on one of the trays top that was removed to give more flow according to the video.  I do have some carbon if I need to add it I bought some from co-op. Let me get a list from the shipment of the plant types... Thank you all for your replies! I feel some hope!

[Will Billy]

So for now dont use activated carbon. It will reduce your ferts. Your anubias is a water column feeder and does better with liquid fertilizers like Easy Green. Your amazon swords are heavy root feeders and will do better with root tabs. Water sprite can go either way, but since you have it planted root tabs is probably the way to go with that one, but it will also pull liquid ferts from the water column too. Since you have BBA for sure, i would hold off on adding any phosphorus, but i would probably add some potassium especially for your anubias. Right now your BBA infestation is quite small, but as you add more ferts it can and will grow with your plants. Under normal circumstances i do not recommend liquid carbons, because they are toxic for fish in high doses. However you can spot treat the algae with Easy carbon or seachem flourish excel. Follow the dosing directions very carefully. For a 20 gallon tank i would turn off your filter and airstones for about 10 minutes and spot treat the algae with 2ml of liquid carbon with a pipet. *WARNING* Do not use more than 2 ml per day for your tank size. Spot treat 1 piece of algae per day and turn your airstone and filter back on after 10 minutes. Within a day or 2 you will see the BBA turn red as it is dying. This is not a permanent cure, this is a stop gap approach to reduce algae consuming valuable nutrients from your plants while we balance your tank. Do not depend on liquid carbon as a go to cure, but in this case it will help reverse course and get your plants absorbing nutrients and beating out algae for competition of said nutrients. Continue to monitor your plants through new growth. New leaves give you a better idea of what is going on as they bloom. Be prepared that this will take time. Plants respond quite slowly to change, so it may take a while to notice the changes you've made. Lastly what type of lighting are you using, and how long do you keep your lights on? Lighting will be crucial in reducing future algae outbreaks without resorting to liquid carbon, which i try to avoid whenever possible. 

[remathes]

Oh I forgot to add that! It is a Fluval Plant 3.0 LED light Fluval Light I have it on a auto cycle of 8hr starting at 6:00 am to 2:00 pm

[Yanni]

The anubias might die off or have a hard time growing if it's rhizome/roots are put in the roots. Try to attach the anubias to some wood or decorations. Having gravel on its rhizome will cause it to rot

[Camille]

I'm fairly new to planted aquariums, going on 2 plus years, so here's my 2 cents. I noticed that most folks who bought the petit anubias from Aquarium Co-op and posted photos in the review section have them attached to rock or driftwood. They may be like java fern in that they have to be attached to something. BTW, you can't go too wrong with java fern. It's a beautiful green and grows quickly. 

[Will Billy]

Normally you want to ramp up intensity and duration slowly over a period of time. Its sorta like when you float your fish in a bag it reduces shock to the plant from being transplanted. I think at this point though just continue with what you got as far as lighting goes. Yes it is true with anubias that you dont want to bury the rhizome, but you can still bury the roots. Fortunately your gravel is quite forgiving in this situation compared to a more compact substrate like sand or aqua soil, as your gravel can get better water exchange to prevent rhizome rot. Its hard for me to see by the picture if your rhizome is buried or not but yeah dont bury the rhizome more than a 1/4 inch. 

[remathes]

Ok all thank you I will try these suggestions and hopefully post back in a few weeks with some results!

[Camille]

Hi, one more thought: nerite snails. Cory calls snails the cleanup crew on his YouTube video about snails. Nerites don't easily reproduce. I can't recall the ratio of snails to gallons of water. I love snails and they do a great job of cleaning up algae.

Good luck!

[Mmiller2001]

What are your nitrates after a water change? Can you test GH and KH? Drop your Fluval 3.0 to 50% intensity. Something like this. Red 45% Blue 2% all whites at 50%. So 1 hour ramp up to the above numbers, and a 1 hour ramp down to off or 1% blue (moon effect). Peak intensity is no more than 6 to 8 hours. I'd go 6 and work up from there. If algae persists on new growth, drop over all intensity another 5 percent.

[remathes]

I’ll give it a shot with the light and I will run a test to on the water tomorrow and post back here!

[remathes]

Here is the test results do I need to run the regular ph test or high in this photo is the high one also the nitrate has 2 test I ran the first one

[Mmiller2001]

2 minutes ago, remathes said:

Here is the test results do I need to run the regular ph test or high in this photo is the high one also the nitrate has 2 test I ran the first one

Do both. Just to see.

[remathes]

1 hour ago, Mmiller2001 said:

Do both. Just to see.

 

[Mmiller2001]

1 minute ago, remathes said:

 

And these are after a water change? If so, how much water was changed, and did you dose fertilizer after the water change?

[remathes]

Just now, Mmiller2001 said:

And these are after a water change? If so, how much water was changed, and did you dose fertilizer after the water change?

The water change was probably 3 weeks ago and once a week I add the fertilizer

[remathes]

Just now, remathes said:

The water change was probably 3 weeks ago and once a week I add the fertilizer

About 25 % water

 

[Mmiller2001]

7 minutes ago, remathes said:

The water change was probably 3 weeks ago and once a week I add the fertilizer

Okay, looks like you need to up your water changes. I'd start doing 25% a week. You want to limit your Nitrates to about 10 to 20 ppm. That means, you test Nitrates after a water change and your ppm are those values. When we dose fertilizer, we will see higher Nitrates on our test. Also, I'd up the amount of plants in the tank. Go for one that grows really fast. They tend to pull more nutrients out of the water. They can reduce the need to water change so often. However, I advocate for large and often water changes. I do 50 percent every 7 days.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Mmiller2001

[remathes]

5 minutes ago, Mmiller2001 said:

Okay, looks like you need to up your water changes. I'd start doing 25% a week. You want to limit your Nitrates to about 10 to 20 ppm. That means, you test Nitrates after a water change and your ppm are those values. When we dose fertilizer, we will see higher Nitrates on our test. Also, I'd up the amount of plants in the tank. Go for one that grows really fast. They tend to pull more nutrients out of the water. They can reduce the need to water change so often. However, I advocate for large and often water changes. I do 50 percent every 7 days.

Ok sounds good thank you again very much very helpful! I was going to ask one more thing on the lights, Here is the settings I ended up with using the custom settings do these look ok?

 

[Mmiller2001]

9 minutes ago, remathes said:

Ok sounds good thank you again very much very helpful! I was going to ask one more thing on the lights, Here is the settings I ended up with using the custom settings do these look ok?

 

I would do the peak for 6 hours.

Here's mine, the actual intensity of each color doesn't matter. That's just personal visual preference, mostly. What maters is overall intensity. And without CO2, I feel you are well above your target.

[Jungle Fan]

The advice @Mmiller2001gave you in regards to fast growing plants is really good, I'd recommend getting some Hornwort, at least until you get those water parameters under control. Hornwort is one of the fastest growers out there, and hard to kill. It doesn't need to get planted in the substrate to grow you can just let it float, and grow it will, several inches per day. If it gets to be too much you can always trim it, in fact you will have to, and either give it away, or dispose of it. The water changes are another good piece of advice, I'm doing 50% weekly water changes on my  75 gallon tank as well. It might seem a little daunting at first, but you'll soon develop a routine and it becomes easier, and before you'll know it it will seem like no big deal.

Edited March 14, 2021 by Jungle Fan