Need some advice on how to get rid of this algae

[MJQMJQ]

Your driftwood doesnt leach tannins?I would have some serious leaching from driftwood that size.I dont boil the driftwood because I like the tannins but sometimes it can be too much.

 

[sparkyweasel]

People will call any old wood driftwood to sell it. Real driftwood became popular because it doesn't leach tannins, having lost them to the sea. Wave action removes the bark and any weak or soft parts, and rounds off any sharp bits where it was broken or cut. The disadvantage is that it floats and needs to be fixed down.

 

[Cuber]

Your driftwood doesnt leach tannins?I would have some serious leaching from driftwood that size.I dont boil the driftwood because I like the tannins but sometimes it can be too much.

I did boil the wood for a long time in order to get the tannins out. I also soaked the wood for about a month before I put it into the tank. So for the most part I don't get too many tannins

 

[MJQMJQ]

I did boil the wood for a long time in order to get the tannins out. I also soaked the wood for about a month before I put it into the tank. So for the most part I don't get too many tannins

In that case its prob not the wood that feeding the algae.Only thing I can think of is not enough plant mass really.For now just scrub off the algae manually hehe you might wanna superglue or tie some plants onto the wood as well to give u more area for growing stuff.

 

[Cuber]

OK, another update, I did another big water change 50% + and I also cleaned the filter again and cleaned the tubes and the pipes. Here are some pictures.



I am now working on trying to get more surface agitation. I have tired to raising the Lilly pipe as close as I can get it to the surface of the water, It is creating more agitation but I am unsure if it is enough. So I did buy a small wave maker to try and help. Here are two videos

This one shows without the wave maker


And here is with the wave maker


Let me know if I should keep the wave maker on or if the Lilly pipe is good enough. Any more suggestions are always welcome!

Thanks

 

[Siege]

Now that’s more like it! 🙂

Personally I’d ditch the wave maker as it is blasting straight at the stems.

Instead get a different lily pipe that points upwards or simply stick a sucker type thing on the outside of the glass, under the outlet to tilt the lily upwards if that makes sense.

I can post a picture of what I mean tomorrow if you like?

 

[Cuber]

Now that’s more like it! 🙂

Personally I’d ditch the wave maker as it is blasting straight at the stems.

Instead get a different lily pipe that points upwards or simply stick a sucker type thing on the outside of the glass, under the outlet to tilt the lily upwards if that makes sense.

I can post a picture of what I mean tomorrow if you like?

Yeah, if your able to post a picture it might help me get a better understanding of what you mean.

thanks!

 

[Siege]

No probs will post tomorrow evening.

We’ve done it a couple of times in the shop. Costs pence and works.

Actually one of @Geoffrey Rea few good ideas! 🙂

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

Actually one of @Geoffrey Rea few good ideas! 🙂

It’s all lies. Absolutely know nothing. Every ounce the idiot you suspect

 

[Siege]

It’s all lies. Absolutely know nothing. Every ounce the idiot you suspect

Says the guy who made Tropica’s Telford show tank! 🙂

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

@Cuber

Very much suspect the drift wood you have was stored outside in the elements before you bought it from the pet store i.e. not thoroughly dried out before sale and carrying some unwelcome guests. Think @Guest was bang on the money in this game of Cluedo.

ever since the second month it was set up I have been battling algae. For the most part, it has been blue-green algae but in the past 3 months, it has gotten really worse

The overall health of the plants in the tank looks great despite the problems, they are doing their best to muscle through. All the remedial actions you’ve taken appear to have improved matters so far.

BGA/Cyanobacteria has to be manually removed as much as possible. BBA has to be evicted by forced removal. Can’t say for definite that the source of these problems started from the wood, but they didn’t appear by magic.

Luckily it appears to be one piece of wood. If it were my operation I would remove the wood entirely if possible to eliminate the possibility and do one of the following two options:

1) boil that wood (which is a PITA and isn’t guaranteed to completely solve issues) then re-soak it and place back in the tank or...

2) paint glutaraldehyde on every surface, crevice and edge of the wood (scorched earth style), thoroughly rinse and leave soaking in water for a few days. Glutaraldehyde has a half life so any hazardous effects will subside but do it outside and don’t breath it in. Get a vapour mask that’s P3 rated with goggles (retail for around £30 in the UK) from your local hardware store and some rubber gloves.

Just speculation, bare that it mind, but see if this version of events makes sense given you’re the OP.

 

[Siege]

@Geoffrey Rea

Cuber mentions that he boiled the wood for a ‘long time’.

I wonder if the long period of boiling has caused the wood to soak up hot water fast, rotting the middle way before it’s natural time and leaching organics.

@Cuber
I’m unsure of above so would like Geoff’s view.
Normally we would simply Chuck it in the tank, glue it down with a glue such as JBL Pro Haru and place Purigen in the filter. This combined with water changes will remove the tannins.

I’ll still bet my money on that the problem is lack of oxygen though, maybe the above is increasing the problem?

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

I wonder if the long period of boiling has caused the wood to soak up hot water fast, rotting the middle way before it’s natural time and leaching organics.

I agree and wonder why we think this is a good idea full stop, hence the hesitation to suggest it. Have boiled wood with naturally attached moss stuck to it... the moss carried on growing when placed into a brand new tank with an uncycled filter. Says a lot for the boiling method and preventing life from getting a foot hold, wanted or otherwise.

@sparkyweasel describes what driftwood used to be in the hobby:

People will call any old wood driftwood to sell it. Real driftwood became popular because it doesn't leach tannins, having lost them to the sea. Wave action removes the bark and any weak or soft parts, and rounds off any sharp bits where it was broken or cut. The disadvantage is that it floats and needs to be fixed down.

Oxygen, or lack of, through an inconsistent replenishing either through surface agitation/biological means/electrolysis device/filter design is a limiting factor for any system to acquire a balance in any aquarium. Everything is dependent on o2 twenty four hours a day.

Lily pipes ‘should’ draw water down in a vortex to break the water surface but they very seldom do this these days due to bad QC or the difficulty of blowing and shaping glass into a standard shape. No one wants to pay £200+ for a good lily pipe so we’re back to:

Instead get a different lily pipe that points upwards or simply stick a sucker type thing on the outside of the glass, under the outlet to tilt the lily upwards if that makes sense.

It’s all in the recovery with these sort of scenarios. My point of view is based on being keen on locating the origin of problems, remedial action only matters if you solve this first.

If I’m being completely honest these days I would probably throw away that wood if I had any doubts about it and concentrate on everything else in the tank and look to replace it. It wouldn’t be my first rodeo with regards to a piece of hardscape causing havoc in a tank that got better after removal. However, that’s probably not what most people would want to do or want to hear.

 

[Siege]

.......and in English -

bin the wood................,don’t boil it’s replacement............., in future get more oxygen in the tank!

As you can tell my degree isn’t in science.............! 🙂

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

Look at how healthy your plants are around the wood and look at the wood:







Pretty much all other concerns:

- low o2 (waste organics eating it up)
- low nitrate (under-dosing? or Cyanobacteria eating it up like Christmas dinner? or faulty testing?)

Everything has too many far fetched explanations that involve reaching. Look at the pictures.

Your set up is tight @Cuber so it should reflect this.

 

[Siege]

Bloody obvious when summarised in the pictures. 🙂

 

[Cuber]

Thanks guys! Makes sense from those pictures. I will defiantly be getting rid of the wood. It might take me a couple of weeks due to the fact I will have to order a new place of wood and some more rocks and plants for the escape but once I do I will post som updated pictures I am thinking of getting some real Malaysian driftwood or pacific wood, would that wood be safe? And would you have any suggestions where I could get some online that will ship to Canada?

As for the low nitrates should I be dosing more fertilizer? Right now I am doing 6ml of tropica specialized everyday. Is that enough or should I increase it more

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

I will have to order a new place of wood and some more rocks and plants for the escape

Up to you if you want to rescape @Cuber but I will be silently sobbing into my pillow tonight if you do. It’s a lovely scape and minus that specific piece of wood your plants and your equipment/setup in general is really, really nice. You’ve invested eight months getting it to this point and it’s completely retrievable if you decide to with a tiny bit more persistence.

Alternatively, if you do instead choose to start over all I would say is look at your tank very closely before you do. Look at problem areas and how those problems dissipate inch by inch as you get further away. They’re the best lessons and will teach you more than any smooth running successful tank ever will.

Tropica recommend 6 mL (3 pumps) per 50 L water weekly. So 25 gallons, roughly 95 litres, so call it 100 litres. Given your soil is eight months old and you use RO water I wouldn’t be afraid of doing 1-2 pumps (2-4ml) per day with a water change of 50% weekly. That will still be lean with the stem plants and light set to 100% but theoretically should cover your needs by volume and setup.

 

[Cuber]

Up to you if you want to rescape @Cuber but I will be silently sobbing into my pillow tonight if you do. It’s a lovely scape and minus that specific piece of wood your plants and your equipment/setup in general is really, really nice. You’ve invested eight months getting it to this point and it’s completely retrievable if you decide to with a tiny bit more persistence.

Alternatively, if you do instead choose to start over all I would say is look at your tank very closely before you do. Look at problem areas and how those problems dissipate inch by inch as you get further away. They’re the best lessons and will teach you more than any smooth running successful tank ever will.

Tropica recommend 6 mL (3 pumps) per 50 L water weekly. So 25 gallons, roughly 95 litres, so call it 100 litres. Given your soil is eight months old and you use RO water I wouldn’t be afraid of doing 1-2 pumps (2-4ml) per day with a water change of 50% weekly. That will still be lean with the stem plants and light set to 100% but theoretically should cover your needs by volume and setup.

Ok thanks,

I am not planning on a complete re-scape just a re-scape where the log is. But since I doubt I will be able to find a similar looking piece of wood that would be better suited for a planted tank I will have to make some changes.

Thanks!

 

[Geoffrey Rea]

I am really getting discouraged at this point and if I cant get rid of it soon I am getting rid of the tank.

My mistake, one too many brews last night Interpreted your other comments on top of the above to mean you were going to start over , which would be a real shame. Lovely scape once again by the way. Hope you find something even better to go in it’s place.