Any advice on how to fix algae and poor growth?

[neofy705]

Sounds like your CO2 is fairly well optimised. But stay on top of it and make sure you can rule that out as a potential factor.


The reason, the new tank is relatively immature and missing an essential component to stability; a balanced microbial community throughout the entire system. This helps with plant nutrition, especially in the rhizosphere, and algae control. Your plants will also need time to adjust.

In this instance, the 8hr photoperiod and intensity would have been enough to tip the balance in favour of algae. Reducing the photoperiod to 6hrs is a good start. Reducing the intensity is also a good idea, you're the best judge as to how much would be appropriate.

However, fuzz algae isn't necessarily light dependent but more likely to be dependent on the lack of nutrients, the colour of the floaters and slow growth would seem to corroborate this. In this case your plants will leak nutrients which will attract the algae, hence the reason they're covered. I would think about increasing the dose to EI levels along with the recommended frequent and substantial water changes. You can always back off later once the plants are growing well and the algae is under control.

My worry about EI levels and the plant like nature of algae is that I don't have enough fast growing plants to consume the nutrients and "outcompete" the algae. If I increase the fertilisers won't that just make the algae take over the "slower" growing plants?
My other doubt is in regard to nitrogen and phosphates. I would consider my livestock to be a bit on the high side.
14 rummynose
12 ruby tetras
10 corydoras
4 guppies
5 honey gouramis
8 otos
5 hillstream loaches
13 nerites
14 amanos
1000000 cherry shrimps

Dosing high levels of NPK scares me.
Surprisingly the slow growing plants like anubias, java ferns, buces are all growing very fast. Fast growing plants with the exception of h'ra are growing slowly. The alternathera is growing compact and bushy but slowly. Which makes me think light intensity is ok but something from the NPK is lacking and my bet is on the K. I can dose potassium individually but is it likely to cause any problems with the livestock or even through the balance off even more?

 

[LMuhlen]

EI strategy is based on excess -- even with huge plant mass, you dose more than is consumed and there is always nutrients available for algae. But it is expected that happy plants will keep algae at bay, especially algae growing on the plants.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

My worry about EI levels and the plant like nature of algae is that I don't have enough fast growing plants to consume the nutrients and "outcompete" the algae. If I increase the fertilisers won't that just make the algae take over the "slower" growing plants?

I don't think you don't need to dose EI levels, personally <"I don't"> and would only do so in <"very, very specific circumstances">.

My other doubt is in regard to nitrogen and phosphates. I would consider my livestock to be a bit on the high side.
14 rummynose
12 ruby tetras
10 corydoras
4 guppies
5 honey gouramis
8 otos
5 hillstream loaches
13 nerites
14 amanos
1000000 cherry shrimps

That is why I'd start with just adding the micronutrient mix from @BuffBall 's post <"Solufeed 2:1:4 and Solufeed Sodium Free TEC or Solufeed Coir TEC Combination">.

<"Watch the floating plants"> and adjust your fertiliser regime until <"you lie in the sweet spot">, where plant growth and algae levels are acceptable to you.

cheers Darrel

 

[Scaperinc]

That TDS is just ridiculous🫣 wrgb pro is very strong light too have you thought about raising it slightly?

Also you could try to get your hands on 2-3 simese alge eaters , tank your size should be ok .

You also if you could start cutting your water with some RO that would bring tds down . I cut mine and my tap water is only 210 i try to bringbit down to 130-150 tds, in your case thats not going to be possible but even if it slightly shifts it might help.

Do you know what your nitrates are out of the tap?

 

[neofy705]

That TDS is just ridiculous🫣 wrgb pro is very strong light too have you thought about raising it slightly?

Also you could try to get your hands on 2-3 simese alge eaters , tank your size should be ok .

You also if you could start cutting your water with some RO that would bring tds down . I cut mine and my tap water is only 210 i try to bringbit down to 130-150 tds, in your case thats not going to be possible but even if it slightly shifts it might help.

Do you know what your nitrates are out of the tap?

I didn't think the tds was that bad. Especially since I know what the tds is from. I mean water from tap is 100ppm then I remineralise with seachem equilibrium and kh up for the invertebrates' sake.
I wish I could do RO water tho but for a 250L tank it's a bit of a pain.

Nitrates from tap are around 10.

 

[Scaperinc]

I didn't think the tds was that bad. Especially since I know what the tds is from. I mean water from tap is 100ppm then I remineralise with seachem equilibrium and kh up for the invertebrates' sake.
I wish I could do RO water tho but for a 250L tank it's a bit of a pain.

Nitrates from tap are around 10.

Mate I don't think you need remineralise , green aqua recommend 135-150 tds max.you tap water is perfect as it is .

are you keeping any specific invertebrates which need that much tds.

@dw1305 thoughts?

 

[neofy705]

Mate I don't think you need remineralise , green aqua recommend 135-150 tds max.you tap water is perfect as it is .

are you keeping any specific invertebrates which need that much tds.

@dw1305 thoughts?

I hope u are right and i can do water changes without remineralising. It will make life easier. I have lots of shrimps and expensive snails.
My tap water has kh 0-1 and gh 3 (but how much of that is magnesium?). I add equilibrium to ensure magnesium is present.
I do not think my old aquasoil has enough buffering capacity to keep the ph from plummeting. I just think a Kh of 0 and a ph drop of 1 due to co2 injection is a death sentence for the invertebrates. TDS also increases due to calcium blocks I add for them to compensate for the lower than ideal ph.

I can try to gradually reduce it to say 200. But does TDS even matter when it's made of minerals rather than organics or pollutants?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

are you keeping any specific invertebrates which need that much tds.
@dw1305 thoughts?

Personally, If I had <"soft water from the tap">? I'd use it "as is", and just keep livestock adapted to that water, it just <"makes life a lot easier">.

Cherry Shrimps (and <"most snails">) <"prefer harder water">. Our tap water is about ~400 ppm TDS (650 microS) and that just really indicates that it is fully saturated with calcium (Ca++) and bicarbonate (2HCO3-) ions.

My tap water has kh 0-1 and gh 3 (but how much of that is magnesium?).

None of it probably, because of where you live (and your very low tap water alkalinity) you can be pretty sure that is <"Elan Valley water">. The link is @neofy705's 2022 thread <"Shrimps in high tech: how to do water changes and dose fertlisers">, which covers much of this same ground.

I add equilibrium to ensure magnesium is present.

I'd probably stop and just add Epsom Salts (MgSO4.7H2O), we have a recent Seachem Equilibrium thread <"Seachem method of potassium dosing">.

I do not think my old aquasoil has enough buffering capacity to keep the ph from plummeting. I just think a Kh of 0 and a ph drop of 1 due to co2 injection is a death sentence for the invertebrates.

TDS also increases due to calcium blocks I add for them to compensate for the lower than ideal ph.

You can just use the calcium blocks to add calcium (Ca) and carbonate hardness (dKH), have a look at <"Shell attrition">.

cheers Darrel

 

[neofy705]

It seems that I'm winning the battle! 🙌

Took everything suggested here on board. In summary;
-Turkey baster technique while Syphoning the bottom
-50% wc every 5 days
-increased slightly the NPK
-adjusted the flow
-significantly increases the algae cleaning crew
-added floating plants
-added more fast growing stem plants
-gradually decreasing the tds of the "fresh" water by using less equilibrium and adding a bit of epsom salt to keep the gh at 6 and target kh is now 2.

In addition I added some apt jazz root capsules (ridiculously overpriced but luckily found them on amazon marketplace for half the price).
Light intensity is the same but the floating plants are propagating fast and now cover 2/3 of the surface providing some shade.
I have ordered a piezoelectric pump just to add some oxygen at night as my co2 levels were high due to insufficient surface agitation.

I now face camallanus worms. 😮‍💨
Never dealt with them before, I ordered the meds but I hesitate to use because of the nerites (which i really don't want to lose as the types i have are hard to find). I started another thread.

 

[neofy705]