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Old 06-02-2003, 11:49 PM
Christopher Beeckler
 
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Default multipart question: planted malawi cichlid tank

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/