Do I need more light?

Dutchgypsy65

Junior Poster
Jul 5, 2012
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0
1
TN
Hello again'
I've had some new additions since my last post,specs are now 1.5 inch laterite under 2 ich of natural gravel.
A single tube t8 fluorescent bulb 6700K
Diy co2 with bubble ladder.
Driftwood with Javafern and Anubia.
Dwarf hairgrass,Mondo grass foreground.
Crypts,Rotala Indica Pink,Crinum Thaianum midground.
Amazons,Aponogeton ,Green Cobomba and Wysteria in the back.
Lifestock is 3 Guppies,4 longfinned zebra Danios,2 Oto's,2 Yamano shrimp,2 Nerite snails.
My question is,do I need more light?
I'm somewhat reluctant since I have blue/green algae,but do realize I need some more light for my plants to grow.
How do you treat this type of algae?
Am i right that a larger amount of plants will eventually starve the algae.
Any advise would be appreciated.:confused:
 

Biollante

Lifetime Charter Member
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Jun 21, 2009
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I Really Do Not Have A Clue, Yet, I Am Fine With That...

Hi,

Even though you chose not to tell us the wattage, or describe the reflectors or provide any information that might be, well, helpful, I can safely say if it is a 400-gallon tank, it is probably too little light, if it is a quart mason jar, it is probably too much light.
:highly_amused:

{Bonus Observation}
Mondo grass, Ophiopogon japonicus is a wonderful low maintenance turf that never needs mowing and remains colorful all year long. Mondo grass is marvelous as it withstands heat and needs very little water. This may be a clue, the doesn’t need much water part…

Mondo grass may even last a couple of months, perhaps even grow a bit underwater, then quickly rot and become food for, I don’t know, maybe cyanobacteria.
:disillusionment:

Biollante
 

Biollante

Lifetime Charter Member
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Jun 21, 2009
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Couldn't Help Myself... Sorry, Trying More To Be Funny Than Rude

Hi Joe, Dutchgypsy65,

I always play to my strong suite.
:eek:

Sorry Dutchgypsy65,

  • could you please provide more information so we may answer your question appropriately.:)

Biollante
 

Tom Barr

Founder
Staff member
Administrator
Jan 23, 2005
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The temptation to be a smart ass is great.
Remember the day when you knew little about the planted tank or fish in general?
It's okay as long as it's funny.
 

Gerryd

Plant Guru Team
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Sep 23, 2007
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Dutchgypsy65;86063 said:
Hello again'
I've had some new additions since my last post,specs are now 1.5 inch laterite under 2 ich of natural gravel.
A single tube t8 fluorescent bulb 6700K
Diy co2 with bubble ladder.
Driftwood with Javafern and Anubia.
Dwarf hairgrass,Mondo grass foreground.
Crypts,Rotala Indica Pink,Crinum Thaianum midground.
Amazons,Aponogeton ,Green Cobomba and Wysteria in the back.
Lifestock is 3 Guppies,4 longfinned zebra Danios,2 Oto's,2 Yamano shrimp,2 Nerite snails.
My question is,do I need more light?
I'm somewhat reluctant since I have blue/green algae,but do realize I need some more light for my plants to grow.
How do you treat this type of algae?
Am i right that a larger amount of plants will eventually starve the algae.
Any advise would be appreciated.:confused:

Hi,

Could you provide a lot more detail please on the problems you are having and what some of your goals are? Is it only the algae? Do the plants grow or not? Do some do well but not others?????

The more detail you can provide, the easier it is to help you.

The blue/green algae can be caused by low macro ferts and/or a dirty filter. You don't mention anything about your filter or anything so is it dirty or too small for the tank?

Do you dose any macro or micro fertilizers for the plants at all?

I would want to know much more detail about your setup, like filtration, type of lights, # of bulbs, how mounted on the tank, etc etc etc before I recommend more light. Sorry, but keeping aquatic plants has many components to it and thus one thing could lead to poor growth.

Is the tank new? How old is it?????

More info please so you can get the help you seek.

We are not there with you, so you must be our eyes and ears. Telling us as little as you have will not get you a satisfactory answer, as we will just be guessing.

Hope this helps.

Light is what drives plant growth and nutrient demand.
 

Dutchgypsy65

Junior Poster
Jul 5, 2012
6
0
1
TN
Thanks Gerry for your kind words,I'm sure Biollante would have appreciated such comments when he just started,and was merely trying to get some advice .
Anyway Biollante apologies accepted.
With that said.
So the mondo grass bad choice.
The blue/green algae was allready present before I put in the Mondo grass.
Still wondering,how do you treat this type of algae?
Sorry for leaving out the info ,the light is a Zoo-Med Supersun t8 17 watts 6700K single tube in a standard fixture.
The filter is a Penguin biowheel 170 .
I do a 20 % water change once a week and clean the filter pad and try to clean out as much of the algae in the tank as i can.
I'm using Seachem roottabs and 5 ml Seachem Flourish comprehensive Supplement once a week.
The plants are doing a lot better with this.
I've had this tank for about 5 years and just recently was trying to get serious about growing plants in it.
So the tank is cycled and all readings are ok.
Hope this will be sufficient info.
Dutchgypsy65


Every man must think after his own fashion; for on his own path he finds a truth, or a kind of truth, which helps him through life. But he must not give himself the rein; he must control himself; mere naked instinct does not become him. - Johann Wolfgang von Goethe:victorious:
 
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Gerryd

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Sep 23, 2007
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What is the size tank???? LOL That is pretty important :)

Also any info on your diy c02 is good too. How often you change the yeast bottles, size, etc, etc.

The blue/green algae as I stated can be caused by IMO either dirty or underperforming filtration and/or low nitrate. Low c02 can also cause it, and is why a tank must be considered in all aspects of the setup. One change can easily have a ripple effect on the tank.

Also,

all readings are ok
doesn't tell us much, Which readings are these and what are the values? Please note that unless your test kit is calibrated against a KNOWN value, that the reading may well be inaccurate. What type of tests are you doing and how are you doing them?

Sorry, but all your answers lead to more questions...
 
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Dutchgypsy65

Junior Poster
Jul 5, 2012
6
0
1
TN
You're right Gerry,my bad.
I change the diy co2 every two weeks .
The tank is 29 gallons.
Watertemp 78F
And the reading I was referring to are those on the 5-n-1 test strips.
Nitrate 10 ppm
Nitrite 0 ppm,
Total Hardness between 150-300ppm,we have hard water here
Total Alkalinity between 80-120 ppm
Ph 7.4ppm.
The Ph has risen since my last reading,is that because of the fert dosing?
I hope this is enough info.
Dutchgypsy65
 
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Gerryd

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Sep 23, 2007
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Hi,

Okay, now we are getting somewhere.....

Filtration

I know you have a small fish load, but your filter may not be sufficient going forward if you add more. We like to use 10x the tank volume for a main filter and 170 gph falls below that. Also, mfg lie about gph :) The HOB style also outgasses the very c02 you are trying to add.

You may want to think about a small canister filter that would have a larger capacity.

Lights.

T8 will grow many plants fine but your 17w may be too little for the large variety of plant species you have. While some are lower light some are not. The 6500k is useful only to us and means nothing to the plants. We see 6500, 10k, 14k different, but not the plants.

Plants require food as much as fish do. They also need good current to help bring them nutrients and to wash away waste products and debris.

I think with the large # of plant species, you are basically underfeeding them, even with the low amount of light you have.

The BGA can be caused as I have stated (twice now) by dirty or insufficient filtration and/or low macro dosing.

The liquid ferts tend to be mostly water so you are not dosing as much as you may think you are.

I would do the following:

1. Investigate a larger or different filter.
2. Investigate the use of dry macros for fertilization. These are cheaper by far and easy to use.
3. Others like Bio can help more with liquid ferts, but you may need to increase the amount you are dosing. I am no chemist and have never used them
4. I would switch to a large water change, say 40-50%. Also, do an extra one or two a week if you can for a few weeks. Plants and fish both appreciate water changes.

I don't think ph is impacted by fert dosing other than c02 of course.

Basically, for now I think you are underfiltered and are underdosing.

I would still like more info on your diy c02 setup please.

Hope this helps.
 
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Dutchgypsy65

Junior Poster
Jul 5, 2012
6
0
1
TN
Thanks Gerry I'll try your suggestions.
My co2 contains of
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon yeast
2 cups water luke warm.
Into the Hagen Nutrifin CO2 Natural Plant System, instead of the refill pack.
You've also mentioned good current so a small powerhead would do the trick I assume.
And how far down into the tank should I place this ?
BTW I took out the Mondo grass.
Thanks again.
Dutchgypsy65
 

Gerryd

Plant Guru Team
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Sep 23, 2007
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South Florida
Tom Barr;86078 said:
The temptation to be a smart ass is great.
Remember the day when you knew little about the planted tank or fish in general?
It's okay as long as it's funny.

Tom, I try and remember this every day. A part of my job is mentoring and is ez to forget that with my 25 yrs of experiece that I am mentoring folks with perhaps very little to none in the same area. Like a tenured professor against a freshman :) Plus, not everyone learns at the same speed, either.

I couldn't help but notice that both Bio and the original poster both quote the same person in their sig line.

Can this not be a common thread that binds the two of you in planted tank harmony :)
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Dutchgypsy65;86098 said:
Thanks Gerry I'll try your suggestions.
My co2 contains of
1/3 cup sugar
1 teaspoon baking soda
1/8 teaspoon yeast
2 cups water luke warm.
Into the Hagen Nutrifin CO2 Natural Plant System, instead of the refill pack.
You've also mentioned good current so a small powerhead would do the trick I assume.
And how far down into the tank should I place this ?
BTW I took out the Mondo grass.
Thanks again.
Dutchgypsy65

I think you will have better results using the DIY CO2 internal reactor I designed about 15 years ago now.
See under Articles subforum.

It's specific to DIY yeast CO2 and allows the unti to be turned on/off and not dissolve CO2 except during the day when you need it.
Fun to watch also.
 

Dutchgypsy65

Junior Poster
Jul 5, 2012
6
0
1
TN
Update on tank

Tom Barr;86400 said:
I think you will have better results using the DIY CO2 internal reactor I designed about 15 years ago now.
See under Articles subforum.

It's specific to DIY yeast CO2 and allows the unti to be turned on/off and not dissolve CO2 except during the day when you need it.
Fun to watch also.

Since my last post I have upgraded my equipment it is now:
Tank :29 gallon
Filter :SunSun HW-302 3-Stage External Canister Filter, 264 GPH
Light :TMC Grobeam 500 on timer(9hrs/day)
Diy C02 that I run through a Hagen mini Elite that breaks it up into fine bubbles and blows it into the tank ,works really well on timer(9hrs/day)
Ferts Ei method with dry ferts from Aquarium Fertilizers:
20-40 Gallons
1/4 tsp KNO3 3x a week
1/16 tsp KH2PO4 3x a week
1/16 tsp K2SO4 3x a week
1/16 tsp (5ml) traces 3x a week
50% water change at the end of the week
Flora: Driftwood with Javafern and Anubia.
Crypts ,Anubia,Rotala Indica Pink .
Fauna: 3 Guppies,2 longfinned zebra Danios,2 Oto's,3 Black Mollies (who had fry ,4 survived),4 Black skirt Tetras,2 Yamano shrimp,2 Nerite snails.
Thanks for all the good info on this site it has really helped me a lot my plants are doing great.
I still have a little bit of BBA on my Anubia but other than that no Algae at all.
What kind of carpet style plant would do well with this?
Thanks for all the good info on this site it has really helped me a lot and my plants are doing great.
 
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