Re: multipart question: planted malawi cichlid tank

[LeighMo]

>I have anubias (one huge one and one little one), java fern, crypts (2), and
>an amazon sword

You've got a very large tank with very few plants in it. Algae will always be
a problem in a tank like this. When you add the extra light and nutrients for
plants, you also need to add *enough* plants to use them all up and not leave
anything for the algae. Generally, 80% of the tank should be planted, with at
least some of those plants fast-growing stem plants.

If you don't want to do this (and it's not easy, with an African tank), then go
back to 80 watts. The plants you have do not need bright light.

>could I be giving too much light for the anubias?

Yes, but I don't think that's causing the holes. It's causing the algae on the
leaves. Shade the Anubias by planting it in the shadow of another plant (such
as the sword), adding some floating plants, or reducing the number of bulbs
over your tank.

>are there any other fish that might do a good job of eating the rough green
>algae that my pleco, 4SAEs, and 3 CAEs don't touch?
>I'm going to try to run the tank for a few weeks at 10 hours light a day and
>see if that cuts the algae down, as it is only a problem on the glass and
>the anubias leaves

Generally, no, nothing touches that algae. Maybe snails, a little. But that
hard "spot" algae that appears on the glass must be scraped.

>I do water changes when I vacuum which is every 45 days or so

That is not nearly enough. I think most Malawi keepers do frequent water
changes, to control nitrate. I change 30% weekly in all my tanks. This helps
control algae, and helps the plants, by keeping any one element from building
up, and adding any trace elements that the plants may have used up. I would at
least step up water changes to twice a month. I realize this is kind of a pain
in a 125 gallon tank, especially in California, but it's worth buying a Python
water changer and keeping your showers short, to do right by your fish.

>The holes in the leaves of my anubias are on the old and new leaves, but
>more specifically I just got the amazon sword 2 weeks ago and it seemed like
>a few days after I put it in the tank, little short 1/2" "tears" appeared
>the leaves like maybe average of one or two on each big leaf. My jungle
>vals seem to be always missing parts out of the sides of their grass like
>blades...sometimes a long ~25" blade will be missing 75% of the width of the
>blade half way up, so its like someone took a bite out of the side of it and
>the whole thing stayed attached.

Hmm. I think it's your fish. You don't say what kind of cichlids you have,
but many of them, like mbuna, are known to eat plants. Puffers are known to
bite plants, though they don't eat them.

>What are the consequences of over liquid fertalizing the tank? I've just
>been following the florapride instructions on the back...once a month. What
>should I up it to?

Florapride has only iron and potassium in it, so there wouldn't much of a
problem if you overdose. I would up your water changes to at least twice a
month, and add Florapride at the recommended dose after each water change.

>I have a pH buffer in the tank and cichlid salt in the
>tank...what would make you suspect calcium as the lacking element?

Deformed leaves and stems are a sign of calcium defiency. But if the snails
your tank are healthy, that's not the problem. They would show a lack of
calcium in weak or bleached-looking shells. It's probably something else.
Potassium, maybe. (Generally, when you add more light to a tank, you also have
to add more fertilizer. Because the plants will grow faster, and use up
nutrients faster. Anubias are often the ones that to suffer if nutrients are
tight, because they are so slow they can't compete with the other plants.)

>What fertalizer would you recommend as a more
>complete one than florapride (remember I do have a laterite layer under the
>gravel).

Tropica Mastergrow or Seachem Flourish. However, given the plants you have,
Tetra Florapride and more frequent water changes are probably all you need.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[LeighMo]

>I have anubias (one huge one and one little one), java fern, crypts (2), and
>an amazon sword

You've got a very large tank with very few plants in it. Algae will always be
a problem in a tank like this. When you add the extra light and nutrients for
plants, you also need to add *enough* plants to use them all up and not leave
anything for the algae. Generally, 80% of the tank should be planted, with at
least some of those plants fast-growing stem plants.

If you don't want to do this (and it's not easy, with an African tank), then go
back to 80 watts. The plants you have do not need bright light.

>could I be giving too much light for the anubias?

Yes, but I don't think that's causing the holes. It's causing the algae on the
leaves. Shade the Anubias by planting it in the shadow of another plant (such
as the sword), adding some floating plants, or reducing the number of bulbs
over your tank.

>are there any other fish that might do a good job of eating the rough green
>algae that my pleco, 4SAEs, and 3 CAEs don't touch?
>I'm going to try to run the tank for a few weeks at 10 hours light a day and
>see if that cuts the algae down, as it is only a problem on the glass and
>the anubias leaves

Generally, no, nothing touches that algae. Maybe snails, a little. But that
hard "spot" algae that appears on the glass must be scraped.

>I do water changes when I vacuum which is every 45 days or so

That is not nearly enough. I think most Malawi keepers do frequent water
changes, to control nitrate. I change 30% weekly in all my tanks. This helps
control algae, and helps the plants, by keeping any one element from building
up, and adding any trace elements that the plants may have used up. I would at
least step up water changes to twice a month. I realize this is kind of a pain
in a 125 gallon tank, especially in California, but it's worth buying a Python
water changer and keeping your showers short, to do right by your fish.

>The holes in the leaves of my anubias are on the old and new leaves, but
>more specifically I just got the amazon sword 2 weeks ago and it seemed like
>a few days after I put it in the tank, little short 1/2" "tears" appeared
>the leaves like maybe average of one or two on each big leaf. My jungle
>vals seem to be always missing parts out of the sides of their grass like
>blades...sometimes a long ~25" blade will be missing 75% of the width of the
>blade half way up, so its like someone took a bite out of the side of it and
>the whole thing stayed attached.

Hmm. I think it's your fish. You don't say what kind of cichlids you have,
but many of them, like mbuna, are known to eat plants. Puffers are known to
bite plants, though they don't eat them.

>What are the consequences of over liquid fertalizing the tank? I've just
>been following the florapride instructions on the back...once a month. What
>should I up it to?

Florapride has only iron and potassium in it, so there wouldn't much of a
problem if you overdose. I would up your water changes to at least twice a
month, and add Florapride at the recommended dose after each water change.

>I have a pH buffer in the tank and cichlid salt in the
>tank...what would make you suspect calcium as the lacking element?

Deformed leaves and stems are a sign of calcium defiency. But if the snails
your tank are healthy, that's not the problem. They would show a lack of
calcium in weak or bleached-looking shells. It's probably something else.
Potassium, maybe. (Generally, when you add more light to a tank, you also have
to add more fertilizer. Because the plants will grow faster, and use up
nutrients faster. Anubias are often the ones that to suffer if nutrients are
tight, because they are so slow they can't compete with the other plants.)

>What fertalizer would you recommend as a more
>complete one than florapride (remember I do have a laterite layer under the
>gravel).

Tropica Mastergrow or Seachem Flourish. However, given the plants you have,
Tetra Florapride and more frequent water changes are probably all you need.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[Christopher Beeckler]

the snails do look more clear than they originally did, what should I do to
add calcium to the tank? (I'll get more plants tomorrow for it too...)

I have a python and my apartment water is free...its just a pain to do the
water change...but I'll step it up to more frequently...


"LeighMo" > wrote in message
...
> >I have anubias (one huge one and one little one), java fern, crypts (2),
and
> >an amazon sword
>
> You've got a very large tank with very few plants in it. Algae will
always be
> a problem in a tank like this. When you add the extra light and nutrients
for
> plants, you also need to add *enough* plants to use them all up and not
leave
> anything for the algae. Generally, 80% of the tank should be planted,
with at
> least some of those plants fast-growing stem plants.
>
> If you don't want to do this (and it's not easy, with an African tank),
then go
> back to 80 watts. The plants you have do not need bright light.
>
> >could I be giving too much light for the anubias?
>
> Yes, but I don't think that's causing the holes. It's causing the algae
on the
> leaves. Shade the Anubias by planting it in the shadow of another plant
(such
> as the sword), adding some floating plants, or reducing the number of
bulbs
> over your tank.
>
> >are there any other fish that might do a good job of eating the rough
green
> >algae that my pleco, 4SAEs, and 3 CAEs don't touch?
> >I'm going to try to run the tank for a few weeks at 10 hours light a day
and
> >see if that cuts the algae down, as it is only a problem on the glass and
> >the anubias leaves
>
> Generally, no, nothing touches that algae. Maybe snails, a little. But
that
> hard "spot" algae that appears on the glass must be scraped.
>
> >I do water changes when I vacuum which is every 45 days or so
>
> That is not nearly enough. I think most Malawi keepers do frequent water
> changes, to control nitrate. I change 30% weekly in all my tanks. This
helps
> control algae, and helps the plants, by keeping any one element from
building
> up, and adding any trace elements that the plants may have used up. I
would at
> least step up water changes to twice a month. I realize this is kind of a
pain
> in a 125 gallon tank, especially in California, but it's worth buying a
Python
> water changer and keeping your showers short, to do right by your fish.
>
> >The holes in the leaves of my anubias are on the old and new leaves, but
> >more specifically I just got the amazon sword 2 weeks ago and it seemed
like
> >a few days after I put it in the tank, little short 1/2" "tears" appeared
> >the leaves like maybe average of one or two on each big leaf. My jungle
> >vals seem to be always missing parts out of the sides of their grass like
> >blades...sometimes a long ~25" blade will be missing 75% of the width of
the
> >blade half way up, so its like someone took a bite out of the side of it
and
> >the whole thing stayed attached.
>
> Hmm. I think it's your fish. You don't say what kind of cichlids you
have,
> but many of them, like mbuna, are known to eat plants. Puffers are known
to
> bite plants, though they don't eat them.
>
> >What are the consequences of over liquid fertalizing the tank? I've just
> >been following the florapride instructions on the back...once a month.
What
> >should I up it to?
>
> Florapride has only iron and potassium in it, so there wouldn't much of a
> problem if you overdose. I would up your water changes to at least twice
a
> month, and add Florapride at the recommended dose after each water change.
>
> >I have a pH buffer in the tank and cichlid salt in the
> >tank...what would make you suspect calcium as the lacking element?
>
> Deformed leaves and stems are a sign of calcium defiency. But if the
snails
> your tank are healthy, that's not the problem. They would show a lack of
> calcium in weak or bleached-looking shells. It's probably something else.
> Potassium, maybe. (Generally, when you add more light to a tank, you also
have
> to add more fertilizer. Because the plants will grow faster, and use up
> nutrients faster. Anubias are often the ones that to suffer if nutrients
are
> tight, because they are so slow they can't compete with the other plants.)
>
> >What fertalizer would you recommend as a more
> >complete one than florapride (remember I do have a laterite layer under
the
> >gravel).
>
> Tropica Mastergrow or Seachem Flourish. However, given the plants you
have,
> Tetra Florapride and more frequent water changes are probably all you
need.
>
>
> Leigh
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/
>

[Christopher Beeckler]

the snails do look more clear than they originally did, what should I do to
add calcium to the tank? (I'll get more plants tomorrow for it too...)

I have a python and my apartment water is free...its just a pain to do the
water change...but I'll step it up to more frequently...


"LeighMo" > wrote in message
...
> >I have anubias (one huge one and one little one), java fern, crypts (2),
and
> >an amazon sword
>
> You've got a very large tank with very few plants in it. Algae will
always be
> a problem in a tank like this. When you add the extra light and nutrients
for
> plants, you also need to add *enough* plants to use them all up and not
leave
> anything for the algae. Generally, 80% of the tank should be planted,
with at
> least some of those plants fast-growing stem plants.
>
> If you don't want to do this (and it's not easy, with an African tank),
then go
> back to 80 watts. The plants you have do not need bright light.
>
> >could I be giving too much light for the anubias?
>
> Yes, but I don't think that's causing the holes. It's causing the algae
on the
> leaves. Shade the Anubias by planting it in the shadow of another plant
(such
> as the sword), adding some floating plants, or reducing the number of
bulbs
> over your tank.
>
> >are there any other fish that might do a good job of eating the rough
green
> >algae that my pleco, 4SAEs, and 3 CAEs don't touch?
> >I'm going to try to run the tank for a few weeks at 10 hours light a day
and
> >see if that cuts the algae down, as it is only a problem on the glass and
> >the anubias leaves
>
> Generally, no, nothing touches that algae. Maybe snails, a little. But
that
> hard "spot" algae that appears on the glass must be scraped.
>
> >I do water changes when I vacuum which is every 45 days or so
>
> That is not nearly enough. I think most Malawi keepers do frequent water
> changes, to control nitrate. I change 30% weekly in all my tanks. This
helps
> control algae, and helps the plants, by keeping any one element from
building
> up, and adding any trace elements that the plants may have used up. I
would at
> least step up water changes to twice a month. I realize this is kind of a
pain
> in a 125 gallon tank, especially in California, but it's worth buying a
Python
> water changer and keeping your showers short, to do right by your fish.
>
> >The holes in the leaves of my anubias are on the old and new leaves, but
> >more specifically I just got the amazon sword 2 weeks ago and it seemed
like
> >a few days after I put it in the tank, little short 1/2" "tears" appeared
> >the leaves like maybe average of one or two on each big leaf. My jungle
> >vals seem to be always missing parts out of the sides of their grass like
> >blades...sometimes a long ~25" blade will be missing 75% of the width of
the
> >blade half way up, so its like someone took a bite out of the side of it
and
> >the whole thing stayed attached.
>
> Hmm. I think it's your fish. You don't say what kind of cichlids you
have,
> but many of them, like mbuna, are known to eat plants. Puffers are known
to
> bite plants, though they don't eat them.
>
> >What are the consequences of over liquid fertalizing the tank? I've just
> >been following the florapride instructions on the back...once a month.
What
> >should I up it to?
>
> Florapride has only iron and potassium in it, so there wouldn't much of a
> problem if you overdose. I would up your water changes to at least twice
a
> month, and add Florapride at the recommended dose after each water change.
>
> >I have a pH buffer in the tank and cichlid salt in the
> >tank...what would make you suspect calcium as the lacking element?
>
> Deformed leaves and stems are a sign of calcium defiency. But if the
snails
> your tank are healthy, that's not the problem. They would show a lack of
> calcium in weak or bleached-looking shells. It's probably something else.
> Potassium, maybe. (Generally, when you add more light to a tank, you also
have
> to add more fertilizer. Because the plants will grow faster, and use up
> nutrients faster. Anubias are often the ones that to suffer if nutrients
are
> tight, because they are so slow they can't compete with the other plants.)
>
> >What fertalizer would you recommend as a more
> >complete one than florapride (remember I do have a laterite layer under
the
> >gravel).
>
> Tropica Mastergrow or Seachem Flourish. However, given the plants you
have,
> Tetra Florapride and more frequent water changes are probably all you
need.
>
>
> Leigh
>
> http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/
>

[LeighMo]

>the snails do look more clear than they originally did, what should I do to
>add calcium to the tank?

You can add calcium carbonate, or crushed oyster shell...but if your tank is
low on calcium, the plants are the least of your worries. The water should be
hard in a Malawi tank.

Do you know the pH, GH, and KH of your water? Are you using anything in the
tank to raise the water hardness? A lot of people use coral sand or other
substrate that raises water hardness and pH. You can also put limestone rocks
in the tank as decoration.

I don't know how experienced you are with fishkeeping, but an African planted
tank isn't the easiest of tanks. I would say that most people who keep African
tanks don't keep plants. It's not impossible, but you should do some research
first. African tanks pose special challenges, some of which make it difficult
to keep plants, too.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[LeighMo]

>the snails do look more clear than they originally did, what should I do to
>add calcium to the tank?

You can add calcium carbonate, or crushed oyster shell...but if your tank is
low on calcium, the plants are the least of your worries. The water should be
hard in a Malawi tank.

Do you know the pH, GH, and KH of your water? Are you using anything in the
tank to raise the water hardness? A lot of people use coral sand or other
substrate that raises water hardness and pH. You can also put limestone rocks
in the tank as decoration.

I don't know how experienced you are with fishkeeping, but an African planted
tank isn't the easiest of tanks. I would say that most people who keep African
tanks don't keep plants. It's not impossible, but you should do some research
first. African tanks pose special challenges, some of which make it difficult
to keep plants, too.


Leigh

http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

> Are the snails eating holes in them?


Snails eat dying plants.

>Would I benefit with getting a CO2
> system for my malawi cichlid pH 8.6 tank? I heard it lowers pH.

You heard right. But is pH the issue?
Most of Malawai ain't that high, it varies location to location and
the fish from there are easy to bred and unless you are getting
sensitive wild caught fish. The salts are still the same, everything
else in the water is the same, only the amount of CO2 is changed and
it affects the pH.
The hard water etc is still hard.
That's the main thing the fish concern themselves with.
pH variations due to CO2 addition have no effects I've seen on rift
fishes.

You will likely need to drop the pH to about 7.4 or so if you have a
KH of 15-20 etc. Parts of Malawai are close to this pH.

I am going
> to get a puffer in a few days to control the snails (my old one died) but
> I'm wondering:

Puffers, SAE's CAE's, plecos ? You sure this is cichlid tank?:-)

> 1) what can I do to control the algae?
> 2) do I have too much/too little light?

Too little.
Algae control is more/too complicated to explain here. Basically, if
you have good dense plant growth, you don't have algae growth. When
the plants are not growing well, the algae will.

> 3) should I get C02 injection?

If you want plants under water, it's a good idea.
Floating plants will do very well though.

> 4) should I adjust my photoperiod more? (the tank gets additional light when
> my roomates leave the lights on at all hours of the night, but those are
> compact florescent bulbs for our living room so it shouldn't be providing
> the right spectrum for plant growth)
> 5) what can I do to control the holes (some look like burns) and wilting?

Give the plants what they need to grow.
Light , CO2 and nutrients.
Floating plants will have enough light and plenty of CO2 from the air.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

> Are the snails eating holes in them?


Snails eat dying plants.

>Would I benefit with getting a CO2
> system for my malawi cichlid pH 8.6 tank? I heard it lowers pH.

You heard right. But is pH the issue?
Most of Malawai ain't that high, it varies location to location and
the fish from there are easy to bred and unless you are getting
sensitive wild caught fish. The salts are still the same, everything
else in the water is the same, only the amount of CO2 is changed and
it affects the pH.
The hard water etc is still hard.
That's the main thing the fish concern themselves with.
pH variations due to CO2 addition have no effects I've seen on rift
fishes.

You will likely need to drop the pH to about 7.4 or so if you have a
KH of 15-20 etc. Parts of Malawai are close to this pH.

I am going
> to get a puffer in a few days to control the snails (my old one died) but
> I'm wondering:

Puffers, SAE's CAE's, plecos ? You sure this is cichlid tank?:-)

> 1) what can I do to control the algae?
> 2) do I have too much/too little light?

Too little.
Algae control is more/too complicated to explain here. Basically, if
you have good dense plant growth, you don't have algae growth. When
the plants are not growing well, the algae will.

> 3) should I get C02 injection?

If you want plants under water, it's a good idea.
Floating plants will do very well though.

> 4) should I adjust my photoperiod more? (the tank gets additional light when
> my roomates leave the lights on at all hours of the night, but those are
> compact florescent bulbs for our living room so it shouldn't be providing
> the right spectrum for plant growth)
> 5) what can I do to control the holes (some look like burns) and wilting?

Give the plants what they need to grow.
Light , CO2 and nutrients.
Floating plants will have enough light and plenty of CO2 from the air.

Regards,
Tom Barr