GardenBanter.co.uk - Algae problem

In article , says...
Yeah it got cloudy after the lights were off for awhile and it cleared up
after the lights were on again. I have been doing some reading in
newsgroups and am trying a couple of things.

I added some Flourish nitrogen to the plants to get some nitrate to them
because there currently is none. I turned up the CO2 a little so my ph is
now 7.1. I am suspecting that the algae is the red kind as it is a reddish
brown color. Not sure on that one. But from what I have read so far, that
could be it. Also a big part of this problem is that the tank is not yet
cycled, is planted and the plants could be holding up the cycling process
somewhat. There seems to be a lot of particulate matter floating in the
water as well which makes me wonder if the filter is going to start
converting ammonia to nitrite. My filter by the way is an Eheim 2028. I
did rinse out the polyester filter about 3 weeks ago and I think that was a
wrong move as the tank wasnt cycled yet so I probably messed up the cycling
process somewhat. I did refill the cannister with aquarium water and I
didn't mess with the other filter media only the thin polyester piece. I
am such a greenhorn and I think I need to exercise some patience and learn
from the experts here. I have also got my LFS person looking for SAE (a
pair) as they like this kind of algae. I turned down the flow of water from
the cannister filter instead of running it full blast. It seems to be
clearing up the water somewhat. The Reddish brown algae is still present
and it looks like a reddish brown fuzz and some of it extends off of the
plant leaves like hair. Nasty looking, I am confident it will go away if
the tank will cycle however. I look forward to anyones expertise here;
Netmax, Elaine or yourself are most helpful and from reading the newsgroups
am learning quite alot and thank you.

A 2028, nice! I doubt that you spoiled anything by rinsing the filter pad though
that filter should be able to go much longer than a week between maintenance. Many
knowledgeable aquarists use a prefilter in front of the canister to really stretch
out the service interval. They clean the prefilter often. The idea being that one
keeps the big stuff from getting trapped in the canister. Instead, it is
completely removed from the system before it has broken down much.

I think you will find things a lot more manageable in a month or so when the
biological system has stabilized. In the meanwhile you might be interested to read
about "Estimative Index" at the www.barrreport.com. A sensible and practical
method is put forth to make sure that your plants have all the nutrients that they
could need. The routine is integrated with water changes, and there is no reason
why you couldn't put it into practice immediately if it appeals to you.

Good luck getting the SAE. I was only able to find them at one place in the San
Francisco bay area, Albany Aquarium. They can ship them overnight if you need to
go that route. My SAE have turned out to be nice fish in their own right, beyond
any function they have eating algae. They are also quite a bit larger than the
popular, algae-eating otocinculus. I have five in a 20 gallon tank. They are
growing rapidly and will need a larger home soon. Your 75G size would be more
appropriate since they can easily get to 3", and up to a maximum of 6". If you
like strange fish, the bristle-nose catfish (ancistrus) is another candidate for
the algae cleanup crew. Most are solitary and only come out at night. We had one,
a female, that was happily swimming and cleaning all day long. The kids would take
great delight seeing how little time it would take her to detect an algae wafer
thrown anywhere into the tank. It was never more than a minute. These are pretty
hefty fish, typically about 3" long full grown. They are completely safe in a
planted tank, maybe the only plecostomus with that distinction.

Geo.