help for my planted tank

Hi all, a bit of info on the tank before i ask questions, its a 120litres acrylic aquarium, filtration by internal powerhead filter and HOB, substrate silica sand(black and white mixed), some wood in tank, lighting is by 2 x 24watt T5 tubes and 1 x PLtube. photo period is from 9am til 12, then 3pm til 7pm. tank is heavily planted, have fsh in there, use only excel.

FIRSTLY, Vallisneria, they shoot those runners and they just grow all over, so how does one trim the runners? to still keep ther plant alive and help some other hobbyists with some plants.

SECOND, really worrying at the moment, i have this GREEN SPOT ALGAE, its basically greens spots which are developing on the walls of the tank and onnthe leafs of the planes, IT LOOKS BAD, some leaves are covered with these green spots. HOW DO I REMOVE IT????? when i clean the tank, i wipe the walls with a soft cloth, this does not remove these green spots, they are very very stubborn, and i can not scrub too hard with a scourer or anything like that becuase its an acrylic aquarium and will scratch terribly.

SO HOW do i remove this green spots, and how do i get rid of it???

LASTLY, can one remove ALL the plants in the tank, clean nicely, clean the substrate and so on, and then replant everything, i know this is disturbing the roots and so on, but does anybody do this in their planted tanks? im contemplating doing it this weekend, with the water change. please advise.

Thank you

 

Hi @Nadeem

Once the little plantlet has established itself in the substrate with roots, you can simply cut the runner between the plantlet and the parent plant.

Elbow grease is really the only way.

You can. Keep fish and plants in another container with the current water. Try keep your filter running. Try keep as much of the original water as possible.

Let me divulge a little further...
Your tank sound reasonably well set up. My only concern is the lack of nutrients in the tank. I think your lighting is possibly a little too high, however, if you were to get some ferts into that tank, you would be fine. You could investigate using PFP under the substrate, (especially now if you considering redoing the entire tank). But in my experience, in a small tank like this, you could get away with simply dosing the water with ferts. Seachem Flourish Trace is an EXCELLENT product that you can use in conjunction with your Excel. Remember that Excel is NOT a liquid fertilizer, it is liquid CARBON. Plants need 3 basic elements, (1) Light (2) Carbon and (3) ferts. You have supplied the light and carbon, but the ferts is lacking. With the imbalance between the 3, you are thus getting the algae.

Regards

 

cool, will be trimming those vallis this weekend then, anyone want some vallis, gimme a shout.

i dont think i am too keen on the PFP, i will look at using some ferts, will shop around.

The elbow grease against the tanks walls worries me, because the entire tank moves and i feel like i am going to break or crack something. you think i could use a blade???? maybe if i am careful enough, i wont scratch the acrylic.

Thanx Zoom

 

Isn't that green algae from direct sunlight?

 

It can be from direct sunlight, but usually a sign of deficiency in nutrients.

A stanley blade can be used... or even an old sponge scour. (Just rinse it well)

 

The tank does not get any direct sunlight EVER, so i reckon it is a nutrient deficiency.
Thanks guys, im going to redo entire tank and clean off each and every plant and so on, so will look at either going the PFP route or getting some liquid fert, this green spot algae is really taking over and looks super ugly.

Thanks guys

 

@Nadeem... personally... I would leave the PFP and just get a good water column ferts. Seachem Flourish Trace, or Dirk DSD

 

horkay, i thought the PFP would be such a schlep, to take out all the substrate and all this, BUT THEN, i though this would be a schlep initially, but afterwards would be much less hassle and money.

so why do you go with liquid fertz? @Zoom

would like to know why you would choose to go that wAy, there may be things i am not considering here.

 

You need ferts.... period...

The PFP is a schlepp... and on small tanks tend to turn the water brown for many weeks.
The liquid ferts is just an economical and easy way to do it. (PFP would need to be replaced in 2 years time in anycase.)

 

Guys can I step in here with a few observations:
1. PFP will likely last about a year, depending on how many heavy root feeders you plant
2. PFP should not turn the tank water brown if you cap it properly with inert silica sand (2-3cm layer)
3. PFP can be used as the only source of ferts if you mainly plant root feeders. The fish waste will likely produce the rest needed by the plants. You can also insert some iron nails into the PFP before capping to provide slow release iron. Many people grow plants without water column dosing and rely on fish waste and the sediment for nutrients. This is not to say it is the only way, or that a combination may not be better, but rather don't dose if you don't need to.
4. If you notice plant deficiencies, then dose the water column. Green Spot Algae is not a result of a deficiency in dosing, rather look at the plants to tell you if there is a deficiency. If they all nice and green with healthy leaves then I'd say you have no dificiency.
5. In Cape Town, you will very likely need to dose Ca and Mg, and possibly some bicarbonate. This is to increase the water hardness. Refer to DSD product range.
6. You have far too much light. If you are using T5 bulbs, aim for 1.5 watts per gallon (3.78 litres) if you dose excel. If no Excel, then aim for 1 to 1.2
6. Green Spot Algae (GSA) form hard green spots on the glass and on older leaves and slow growing leaves. It is generally accepted that it is caused by an imbalance between Nitrogen and Phosphate in the water column, in the presence of high light and likely lowish CO2. You are not injecting CO2. What is your water change schedule like? GSA will develop under high light when you have far too much N in relation to P, especially if you do not inject CO2. N can only be taken out the water via a water change. Most people do 50% WC weekly. You can remove GSA with a credit card off the glass. Trim the affected leaves off, as it can't be removed off the plants. Don't use a blade or pot scourer on acrylic tanks. If you fix the root cause the bloom will stop.

 

Thank You laure, I do not use co2, i only use excel, no fertx or anything, just excel.
i do a 30% water change once a week. clean the filters once a month.

so you say i must dose Ca and Mg , where do i get it? in what form? i have not used any of these things before so please excuse my ignorance.

so from here on, WHAT DO I DO? what do i need to buy? and where can i get it? this weekend i intend removing all the plants, cleaning substrate nicely, changing 50% water, and then replanting entire tank, is this ok? then maybe i could start dosing whatever it is i need to dose from monday again.

so PFP must be changed anually? i dont want it, lets stick to the liquid fertz.lol.

Thank You again, i appreciate you guys help, i need it, my tank is so ugly with this GSA

 

I would be weary of ripping everything out. Plan this carefully and ensure you don't endanger the fish when you return them. I recently moved my own 300L tank and I was determined not to introduce any old tank water or anything with a trace of algae. I filled up the new tank with fresh water, planted it, and then did a series of 50% water changes on the temporary tank over the course of 2 days and filled up with water from the newly planted tank (3 changes per day...yes lots of work on that amount of water!) before just netting the fish and putting them in the newly planted tank.

Mulm accumulated in the old substrate is actually a good thing. Not sure why you want to clean the substrate.

Ca and Mg you can buy from Prof Dirk Bellstedt on this forum. He is currently planning a trip overseas for 2 weeks or so, but he should help you upon his return. All other liquid fertilizers you will need can be bought from him. His range of products are formulated to deal with the soft water in the Western Cape area.

A depleted substrate is not the end of the world. Many people recharge their substrates with root tabs, or just step up the water column dosing at this point. ADA Aquasoil is very expensive and also lasts about a year. But most regard it as the best growing medium in the world. Now what? You've spent over R1000 on the substrate and after a year it's useless? What's the point? Well, it is incredible how much difference lean water column dosing and a nutritious substrate can make during those difficult teething periods when you've just set up a tank. That for me is the key.

 

Agree 100% with that Laure... which is why I "simplified" my explanation to saying fertz is needed, because generally a good wc routine with good water column ferts will bring this back into balance.
Also agree that the lighting may be a bit high... but before turning that down, or including pressurized CO2, it would be interesting to start off with just adding liquid ferts to the water column. The Excel may be adding enough Carbon to light ration.

FINALLY... someone said it!!!

@Nadeem... Laure actually pointed out a very valid point... in CT your water gH and kH is very low (from what I've read and seen people comment on) so your Mg and Ca will be low. Didn't think of this actually. (Us "Gatties" have the opposite problem.. too much Mg and Ca) Contact the Professor for some assistance with products to raise this slightly. (You may ned to have your water's gH and kH tested, and then have the Professor assist you with the necessary dosage. (Most LPS will do this either for free, or at a very small fee)