[oddsoxdi]

I'm still a relative newbie to planted tanks and tanks in general, having only had one for two years. When I started putting serious plants in the tank, I ordered an all-glass, hinged tank top for the light to sit on and get the most light to the plants. Over time the pieces of the top have developed some sort of crud - you can't feel it, but you can sure SEE it. I generally use vinegar and water to clean this top and let it dry out well before replacing it. But besides the usual salts and other deposits, this clouding or whatever this BLEEP is, is impervious to vinegar, and commercial glass cleaner. I can't even scrape it off with a razor-blade!:frusty::frusty:I just KNOW this damned stuff is cutting down on the good light to my plants.

WHICH IS ANOTHER THING!!! ARG. I see all these pictures of these mind-blowing, jaw-droppingly gorgeous planted tanks, with their crystal clear water and full lush, green (or red, or pink or whatever) plants in all their thick foliage and with branching and all manner of new growth - algae is nowhere to be seen, everything is its own beautiful color, not some green-black lump. Three or four times a year I drop mumbley-mumble amount of dollars on online ordered plants, dutifully put them in with they own little fertilizer tabbs and a month or two later all the beautiful Myrios are but naked stalks, my wonderful Kleiner Bar sword's leaves are getting a thin coat of shmutz that has turned it a really unappetizing vague brown-green. The little shamrocks have been grazed to pitiful green nubs; the Ammania has either shredded, rottend from the stem:twitch: or gotten eaten from the ground up. The wisteria seems to be the only plant that is still looking pretty good but even it resembles trees more than bushes. I didn't think tetras ate plants - or is it that bleeping Rainbow shark? Or do I go on a snail pogrom? I've both the long good ones and the >other< kind.

Do ALL you people who have heavily-planted tanks really have such pristine tanks all the bleeping time?? Ok I guess my questions are - what is that crap on the glass top and how can I deal with getting rid of it - short of ordering another one? Annnnnnd do I have to completely tear the tank down and start from scratch or is there some way I can sorta roll the current substrate back (figuratively speaking) and put other better stuff under it?

No CO2 - I'm not a technowhiz.

Sorry if this is in the wrong thread. I'm sooooo tired of scraping at whatever is on that top I can't see straight.:twitch:

I'm stomping out the word "HELP!" in the snow and waving my arms to you Illuminati!!

 

[oddsoxdi]

Sorry I lost it.:tape2: It's a 20 gallon long, tropical SUPPOSED to be planted. It's been cycled for well over a year and a half now. semi-soft water, to which I add 1/2 tsp aquarium salt per gallon. The fertilizer tabbs are just the 0-0-6 kind you shove in the pebbles. Hmm, the last reading I did here said to up the phosphates and these tabs are phosphate free. But isn't fish poop supposed to have all the other good stuff in it for plants?
I've a double-bulb fluorescent with a flora-gro (for aquaria) and an aquarium bulb (17w). Aqua-flo 150 HOB filter, I also have a small airstone set very low.
Was too ticked to take parameters today but they've been good for a long time now.
The plants I have left are a Kleiner-Barr sword and another medium-sized round-oval-leaf sword (it was a freebie!); a java fern (with ugly black spots and leaves) tied to a piece of wood; some marimos of all sizes; a java moss ball; some assorted cheapo bulbs that you find at Pet store ending in co.; a few pieces of wisteria; two very chewed pieces of Amannia; and 2 dwarf and 1 regular Nymphaea (?) lily that're all just beginning to sprout. There's also a grazed-up-looking little patch of java moss. Even the bulb-foliage has an eaten look to it - am I not feeding these fish enough? Water temp is 78 degrees.

I keep telling myself I love my tank, I love my tank...

 

[oddsoxdi]

Except for the Rainbow shark (which I thought would eat algae - and he seems to - he's all over everything with his little barbels) my current tank is a tetra tank - 3 black skirts, 4 silver tips,3 glowlights and 3 black neons.

Maybe the two fluorescent bulbs I have are low cuz they've been there a while. One of the fluorescents is marked 17 watts; the Flora-life one isn't marked in that way.

And I thought you had to add some aquarium salt for the benefit of your fish - a sort of tonic. It's only half a teaspoon per gallon. Is that too much?

I'd like the long spiral snails to stay but not the >other<, bad kind. Is there a way to get rid of the usual plant-eating snail but keep the Moroccan ones? Snail-picking party!

I'd like to thank all you guys for being so helpful and patient. It's really refreshing to get replies that are helpful and not all 'How could you NOT know that? You rotten excuse for a yuman bean!" Some of the aquarium forums are entirely too caught up in their own knowledge and aren't much help to a newbie. So thanks, guys for your help and your courtesy.

 

[oddsoxdi]

I just did a 20% water change yesterday, I thought if you changed water too often there would be some kind of terrible spike. My original LFS guy (now out of biz) told me to do water changes once a month. ZI've worked it out to once every two or three weeks with vigorous vacuuming between. When I was doing the max water changes once a week I couldn't get the tank to cycle right and ended up killing fish. This LFS guy said a 10% water change would be best - but the forums want more. Is the salt what may have killed all the pretty Myrios, cuz they really DID look eaten right off the stalk.

 

[oddsoxdi]

This is one side of my tank, showing the blackening of the java fern on the wood, and all the algae on my plants and sword.Also shows the losing of foliage along the stems of the Ammania leaving a tree-top look.

 

[oddsoxdi]

This is the other side of my tank showing where my lovely forest of Myrio USED to be - I had to take all the bare-naked stubbs out and replace them with the Greek temple. Shows also my Kleiner-Barr sword with the algae and all the shmutz.

 

[oddsoxdi]

Thanks guys. At one time I WAS battling Cyanobacter, but then put the plants in and fertilized them and it went away. Where do you think the BGA is? Some of the rocks have the dark green stuff I was scrubbing off with a toothbrush. The algae on the oval-leaf sword seems to be just more plain green algae, so I'm just curious. Not trying to be combative here:slywink:

If I DID want to replace the substrate would it really mean an entire tear-down (REALLY not happy with that, since it would mean a total re-cycle and dying fish and all).

And YES that is the shmutz all over the glass!! I've scrubbed and used vinegar and commercial glass cleaner as noted in the original post. Thank you thank you! Now to try easy off or something.

I get it - no more salt.

In the reading ZI've done it said to put the CO2 on during the day, and turn the airstone on at night. All right moe research for the DIY CO2.

Ah yes, the aquarium! The gift that keeps on giving!!