# Holiday planning



## AlanRR (10 Apr 2019)

Hi all, 

I‘ll be away for a around 10 days in a couple of weeks and was wondering if there was anything I can do to help keep my new 60l low tech tank from falling over.  The tank is only a month old and I’ve still been doing 50% water changes every other day. Lights are on for 6 hours and I’m dosing 2ml Aquascaper ferts daily. The tanks only residents (apart from the plants) are 5 snails.

I plan to give everything a good clean before I go (filter and tank) and do a big water change. Should I reduce the photoperiod while I am away? How about ferts, is it worth getting a dosing Pump or can I just stick 1 weeks worth in before I go?

Thanks for any advice 

Alan


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## dw1305 (10 Apr 2019)

Hi all, 





AlanRR said:


> How about ferts, is it worth getting a dosing Pump or can I just stick 1 weeks worth in before I go?


You aren't going to be changing any water, so you can just add the fertiliser. I wouldn't even add a weeks worth, just enough for two or three days.

I'm often away from the tanks for extended periods, and I don't usually ask people to feed the fish or plants if it is less than two weeks away.

cheers Darrel


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## AlanRR (10 Apr 2019)

Thanks Darrel


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## navvmau (13 Apr 2019)

And also perhaps cut back on lighting too? 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


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## AlanRR (13 Apr 2019)

navvmau said:


> And also perhaps cut back on lighting too?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk



Thanks navvmau, how long would you suggest to have them on for, 4 or 5 hours. I want to limit any algae but not harm the plants. We will probably be away for 10 days or so.


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## PARAGUAY (13 Apr 2019)

I woulnt do any drastic changes just do your normal filter clean and the big w/c just before you go and a weekly fertiliser dose. 10 days? The tank might surprise you on return in a good way


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## Zeppo (21 Apr 2019)

Hi Alan

I was in a very similar position to you and have just returned from 10 days holiday and my tank looks better than ever!  The hair algae that had been stressing me for a few weeks completely gone. I turned the lights down from 6 to 5 hours (please see my other recent post for more details). Enjoy your holiday!


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## AlanRR (24 Apr 2019)

Well had a great 10 days away in Cornwall and am pleasantly surprised with how the tank looks now I’m back. The water is still really clear and there is no algae on the glass. My baby ramshorn snails have also doubled in size. The only issues I have are 1) my frogbit has completely melted and 2) some long filamentous algae on the Java moss. This is longest on the moss at the top of the tank in front of the spraybar but also covers the moss at the bottom of the tank









Can anyone confirm what type of algae this is and how best to deal with it?

Thanks 

Alan


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## alto (24 Apr 2019)

Worth reading through GA’s excellent Algae Guide

https://www.greenaqua.hu/en/alga-tajekoztato

(I can’t recall if there is also a video)

Filipe Oliveira did a rather nice video (there is a follow up as well) if you’re interested in Seachem Excel (glutaraldehyde product - rumoured to be complexed so different than the medical grade glutaraldehyde which is (usually) methanol stabilized) 



Obviously begin with physical removal and large water change
Clean filter 
Daily water changes and daily removal may be all you need to do

Jurijs mit JS suggests a peroxide method to this client


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## dw1305 (24 Apr 2019)

Hi all, 





AlanRR said:


> Can anyone confirm what type of algae this is and how best to deal with it?


It looks like it might be <"filamentous diatoms">, is it brown tinged in colour? and does it feel  slimy, but slightly gritty? 

If it is "grass green" it is a filamentous green algae like <"_Spirogyra">. _

In either case manual removal is your best bet, I'd try wrapping it around a tooth-brush or similar. 

cheers Darrel


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## AlanRR (25 Apr 2019)

Thanks both. I’ve removed what I can see with a toothbrush and completed a large water change. I’ll repeat the change tomorrow and clean the filter then as well.

The algae definitely had a brown cast so perhaps a diatom. Not sure about the grittiness but it wasn’t just a slimy mass.

During the clean I noticed that while my Limnophilia (?) has grown quite a lot it doesn’t look as healthy as it did. It has lost a lot of colour and is almost brown in parts.





Does this indicate a deficiency in something? I am using the Aquascaper CPF fertiliser and lights are on for 6 hours. My TDS usually sits at around 230 but was at about 320 after my trip.

Cheers

Alan


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## dw1305 (25 Apr 2019)

Hi all, 





AlanRR said:


> The algae definitely had a brown cast so perhaps a diatom


The Diatoms have an additional photosynthetic pigment (<"fucoxanthin">) which is why they are brown in colour. Green algae really are green, they are more <"closely related"> to all the aquarium plants, and have exactly the same photosynthetic pigments.





AlanRR said:


> It has lost a lot of colour and is almost brown in parts.


If there is a brownish film on some of the older leaves? That is another type of diatom. I would expect any diatoms to reduce over time as the tank fully grows in.

If the new leaves <"are very pale">? (they look pale on the photo, but they may just be the colour being washed out in the photo by the light?) then that is possibly an iron issue, more likely if you have hard water? 

Have a look @Zeus.'s <"EI dosing...."> thread.

cheers Darrel


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## AlanRR (25 Apr 2019)

Thanks again Darrel. The leaves do seem paler than I remember and quite „droopy“.  My water is supposedly quite soft though. Could it be a lack of light instead of iron or would that just stunt growth? I assume I can’t do any harm by buying and adding some iron? Would iron deficiency also explain why my frogbit completely melted?


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## dw1305 (25 Apr 2019)

Hi all,





AlanRR said:


> Could it be a lack of light ..........why my frogbit completely melted?


Probably not light then, as the Frogbit would have had first "dibs" on the PAR from your light. 





AlanRR said:


> I assume I can’t do any harm by buying and adding some iron?


You can try adding some FeEDTA, it won't have an instant effect, but any new leaves (grown after its addition) should be greener. 

I've not used the Aquascaper Complete range of fertilisers, but they should have everything plants need in them, maybe try a slightly larger dose? Some-one else may be able to advise. 

You could try a little bit of <"additional magnesium">, it won't do any harm.

cheers Darrel


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## PARAGUAY (26 Apr 2019)

I have used the Aquascaper Complete on low tech and the plants, classied as easy plants( you just increase for a pressurised co2 set u)p, thrived. I add magnesium,in epsom salts at w/c as ours is soft to very soft but must admit its a bit of guesswork ,just adding more to larger tanks.TNC have their own GH booster for soft water and they are very helpful in any queries you may have


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