JaySilverman

Tank parameters

Light: 55w AH Supply
Tank: 25 gallons
PH: 6.6
KH: 80
GH: 80
NO3: 10
PO4: 1
Ca: >20
Fe: 0.30

Dossing PPS + Flourish

Recently I had an issue with green fuzz/BBA algae all over my driftwood and gravel. Also my plants started melting. At the time my co2 was around 15ppm so I figured this was the cause of the problems. So last week I boiled and cleaned my driftwood and removed the top layer of gravel and replaced it with new gravel. I also did a pruning and a 50% water change. All this week I've been trying to up my Co2 and since yesterday I've had it at the level that I have right now which I think is more then enough.

My issues are that so far I haven't noticed much improvement. All though my plants are no longer melting, they still aren't pearling or growing too fast. a little bit of fuzz and BBA have returned on my drift wood and Java Ferns. The BBA also seems to be turning red in some areas and blue in others (wierd I know).

Can you guys take a look at my parameters and give me some pointers on what I should do from here?

Thanks.

titan97

Jay,
How heavily planted is your tank? The more plants you have, the better.
And is your GH really 80?
I run a tank with similar WPG and parameters. I wouldn't expect to see hardly any pearling. And depending upon the types of plants, you might not see too much "fast growth".
My stem plants add about 0.5" per week, sometimes a little more. My other plants are slow growers, but they are putting out new leaves or shoots every couple of weeks. I find that in my tank that lots of janitor-type fish keep it pristine. If you don't have some already, pick up some SAE, otos, shrimp, snails, etc.

I hope this helps

-Dustin

JaySilverman

yes my Gh is 80. Should I lower it? Out of the tap its at 40.

I'm not sure if its heavily planted. Not really. I just did a major pruning. I'll show a pic of the tank and you can decide. I have oto's and corys and tigerbarbs.

trenac

Jay... What brand test kits are you using to test KH/GH?... Do you mean 8 instead of 80?

Your tank is considered lightly planted, adding more fast growers will help with the algae.

If you do have a KH of 8 and a PH of 6.6 that gives you a C02 of 60ppm, which is high. I believe that any readings over 30ppm does not have that much affect on plants, if memory serves me right... Are you running the C02 24/7?

Laith

I think he's giving the KH in ppm carbonate. 80 is equivalent to 4.5 degrees KH. At a pH of 6.6 this should be a CO2 concentration of 34mg/l which is good *if* your KH and pH readings are correct.

So double check your CO2 measurements (pH/KH) and also test your NO3 test kit against a known solution so make sure that you really have 10mg/l of NO3. I prefer to keep my NO3 around 15 to 20mg/l to avoid the risk of it bottoming out...

It's also important to give a change time to gave an effect; at least 2-3 weeks...

JaySilverman

sorry I meant my kh was at 80 ppm. And I'm sure about my No3 and Po4 readings. I use Hagen kits. I turn off my diffuser at night but still let the co2 bubble in the water. I'll give my tank a couple weeks. Hopefully things will pick up.

Bert H

Two other options you could consider if bba continues to be a problem. A lot of folks have reported good results killing algae by dosing Flourish Excel. Do a search, you'll come up with some threads about it.

Secondly, consider a couple of sae's (siamese algae eaters). While some people consider these guys a bit of a pest as they get older, (sometimes a little aggressive and they will eat mosses) I think they can be quite helpful in algae control.

I agree with Trena about adding more plant mass too.

Good luck.

JeffB

Jay

BBA turning Red is a good sign, thats the color of dying bba.

JaySilverman

Well I just added more plants yesterday. But I'm still seing fuzz and bba growing in on my drift wood and java ferns.

trenac

The algae will not disappear in a day from adding plants, it will take some time. If you added a lot of fast growers this will be even better for soaking up the nutrients that the algae feeds on.