help with tank 30l

[Mrmikey]

Hey all,

My Nano tank was going well until my HC started going yellow. I reduced the light and it seem to help but then another problem struck...hair algae! My tank now looks rough! I've read a bit about tackling the problem some say use excel (Ive ordered so hopefully it turns up soon) some say trim it right down. I tried trimming it back but it seems to just up root it and using a tooth brush also does the same thing.

Another problem is theres loads of little bits in the tank like dust. I think this has come from me uprooting my plants and moving them around.

NOW, what do I do? Do I wait for my excel and see if it helps?, move all fish/shrimp into a holding tank and dose up? or do I just start again?

If I did start again whats the best substrate for growing HC? one that doesn't need covering and wont cloud up my tank making it look naff.

 

[Dan Crawford]

Hiya, could you give us some stats for the tank please?

it sounds like you have too few ferts, carbon source and filtration but it's hard to tell not knowing anything about your setup

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
I've moved the topic to the Algae forum.

Hair algae is caused by poor CO2. Excel addresses the problem because it is a source of CO2 for the plant while at the same time being toxic to algae. Even if you manage to kill the algae with the Excel, you still need to fix the underlying problem of poor CO2. You'll need to increase the CO2 injection rate (if this is a CO2 injected tank). You may also need to permanently use Excel if this is not a CO2 enriched tank. You may also need to improve your flow in the tank. The 10X rul means that your filter rating should be on the order of 300 LPH for a 30L tank.

Since you did not specify your dosing strategy it is difficult to analyze the yellowing, which could be either a Nitrogen or an Iron shortfall.

Increase the level of your water changes to clear the debris. Photos would help, as this could easily be the onset of diatomic algae, but without a photo it's difficult to determine for sure.

Cheers,

 

[Mrmikey]

HI Dan,

It Mike, popped into the shop a while back.

My set up is:

30l Dennerle tank
Dennerle corner filter
Dennerle co2 80g bottle - I'm currently getting about 10 bubbles a minute and my drop checker is a lime colour with 4dkh water in it. (Is this right)
I dose 1 drop for flora24 every day.
Im not sure what substrate I'm using to be honest but is a right pain! I have a feeling its tera.
Temp: 24

any help would be great.

 

[Mrmikey]

This is my tank after reducing lighting to 11w only, adding TNP+. A little hard scaping and re planting along the way. Thanks to Ceg & Gaurf for the input! mucho appreciated.