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Can anyone help a first time aquascaper

Tudor Williams

Tudor Williams

Seedling
Joined
20 Mar 2020
Messages
11
Location
Wales
My tank is now four weeks old and I have had this problem for the last week, before this problem started all my plants were growing brilliantly, I have a full carpet and no algae issues now starting with my carpeting plants all my plants are turning brown all of a sudden, there still growing and pearling but seems to of transferred to my other plants and I don’t know how to stop it.
 
You're going through the diatom phase which new tanks go through. Just wipe it off the glass, hardscape and plants. Keep on top of the maintenance and eventually it will dissappear after the tank has matured.
 
Firstly hi and welcome to ukaps some tank details might help us out
What size is it what Is your flow like are you running co2 how often and how much water are you changing what ferts are you using and how much
A fts might help too
Thanks Jay
 
thank you very much for replying sorry for the lack of information didn't really know how to get this started
I started this tank with ada soil and a dark start for 5 weeks before planting
I have a 96L tank
Twinstar 600s lighting for 8 hours now
oase biomaster thermo 600 full of seachem matrix then there is purigen and activated carbon and some fine filter mesh
co2 injection,
I have been fertilising with tropica specialised 2ml every day
I have been doling at least 80% water change every week and quite often I will do one mid week about 50%
 
images aren't the best looks worse in the tank
 

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That looks like a small amount of brown diatoms in an otherwise stunning tank. To achieve that in just four weeks is great work, well done!

Personally I wouldn’t make massive changes because you’re clearly getting it 90% right. Perhaps eight hours of light is a little too long at this stage of the tank’s development - try 6 hours and see how that goes, increasing gradually back up to 8 over the course of a month or so. Extra water changes never hurt during this period as well - I think I’d do 50% regularly twice a week rather than doing an 80 and an occasional 50. It could even be that your 80% change is leaving the tank a bit depleted of nutrients for a day or so, giving the algae a chance to pounce.

The diatoms will suddenly pack their bags and go when the time is right.
 
Firstly I think it is a diatomes out break from.the looks of the first pic as @Tankless said but there are a couple of things I think you should look at
1 the 600s is it on 100% for 8 hrs if so that seem a little high to me for a 5 week old tank
I would say 60% for 6 hrs would be plenty to get the tank established and is a good starting point to get a balance going
2 the ferts dont seem any where near enough 2ml tropica is that what is recommended on the bottle I would double that for a starting point if you are doing the water changes like you say it will be ok because your resting them every week
(Better to have too much than not enough)

The mc looks like it would take a trim now would it be the first trim ?

Ps lovely.looking tank
 
C1D7ADBD-6902-4231-9F4B-4F68BD954730.jpeg So this is it now as you can see I did trim the mc after it started going brown my renicki mini also turned full of like a coating algae at the same time along with my repens and epiphyte plants on the rock also my moss has in places turned brown I trimmed some plants and left others to see what would recover better
 
would like to thank @Tankless @Jayefc1 and @Dr Mike Oxgreen for your help and kind messages thank you very much this forum seems a great place for the planted tank enthusiast
yes I am using what was recommended on the bottle as the day I dosed extra was the day I noticed it turning brown , do you think I should reduce my lighting as I can do that quite easily
 
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Definitely reduce the light to 6 hrs and maybe tone it down yo like 60% the tank will bounce back I think the 2ml a day is too little for your plant mass
I've never used the tropica but I do belive the recommended dose is for a low tech tank also move the drop checker around the tank make sure your co2 is doing dissolved all over
 
Would be good to move the glassware to the front, diffuser opposite, still at the front.

skim at back pointing towards the glassware.

you are gonna stunt/kill your stems as it is.

more fast growing stems, I’d echo that.

great looking scape though! 🙂

ps" I think you came into AG?
 
@Jayefc1 will follow all that advice how long should I leave the lighting like that , would you say to dose double once a day or is there a way to work out the amount? Thank you for all your help.
@Siege so put the outflow and inflow at the front and put the diffusor opposite and orientate the skimmer outflow towards the front? there are loads of stems under the skimmer they just don’t seem to have grown as fast think it’s the shade from the rock/skimmer? Yes I purchased nearly everything from aquarium gardens 7hr drive but well worth it are you the guy who helped me in store?
 
@Siege hadn't noticed his glass ware nice spot mate
I'd put the light down yo 50 then probs go up by 5% a week till your where you want yo be with it the 600s is a good light and pretty strong and it's better to let the tank settle
It's probably the flow that is stunting the stem growth
 
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