I need some advice. I have set up a 75 gallon planted aquarium a little
over a month ago now. I do not believe it has cycled yet. My ammonia
reading is .1 while Nitrite and Nitrate remain at 0. My plants are growing
a fuzzy brownish algae on them. I did a water change last night and about
two nights before that. (20%) The stuff accumulates fast. I have proper
compact flourescent lighting also. Two 6700 bulbs and two 5500 bulbs and
they are on a timer for about 13 hrs. a day.

I also have for fish, 2 clown loaches, 11 cardinal tetras, 4 amano shrimp, a
fiddler crab and 4 otos.

Should I buy some stuff to aid in cycling the tank? Will it help to clear
up the ugly thready algae that is growing on my plants and on the bogwood?
The ph is maintained at about 7.3 as I use a co2 system also. The fish are
fine, it is just that the tank inside looks like crap compared to when I
first started, I have had plant growth and have even had to trim them, I
clean up the excess leaves also.

Any ideas?

Dan

In article , says...
I need some advice. I have set up a 75 gallon planted aquarium a little
over a month ago now. I do not believe it has cycled yet. My ammonia
reading is .1 while Nitrite and Nitrate remain at 0. My plants are growing
a fuzzy brownish algae on them. I did a water change last night and about
two nights before that. (20%) The stuff accumulates fast. I have proper
compact flourescent lighting also. Two 6700 bulbs and two 5500 bulbs and
they are on a timer for about 13 hrs. a day.

...


Not that I am an expert in avoiding algae ... but one possible strategy would be
to reduce your lighting until the tank is cycled, as confirmed by a nitrite peak.
You could cut back to fewer hours per day or lower the intensity if you have
individual control. Once the ammonia level is driven to zero it should be safe to
return to full lighting.

Thanks; will give it a try.

Dan

I left the lights off to my aquarium this morning and it clouded up also.
So I have set my timers to turn the lights on for an hour and then turn them
off for two hours and so forth.

Dan

In article , says...
I left the lights off to my aquarium this morning and it clouded up also.
So I have set my timers to turn the lights on for an hour and then turn them
off for two hours and so forth.

Dan

It clouded up ? That is a new symptom that you didn't mention before. If it was
cloudy white, then that would be a common bacterial bloom associated with the
uncycled tank. I don't believe that it is much affected by lighting. UV
sterilizers and some water treatments can eliminate it but the best bet is to just
put up with it until the tank has cycled. What kind of filter are you using ?

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.

Dan

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.

I read the article George and it is interesting. 50% water changes and
dosing. Can't hurt. It appears that a small ammonia spike will cause the
algae bloom according to barr.

Thanks for the advice and am going to look for SAEs.

Dan

In article ,
says...
I read the article George and it is interesting. 50% water changes and
dosing. Can't hurt. It appears that a small ammonia spike will cause the
algae bloom according to barr.


It _is_ interesting, and so simple too. Personally, I cheat and only do 30%
changes, in a tank that is not fully planted. That is still a rapid turnover of
tank water compared to common good practice, which might be closer to 20% every
two weeks. I would like to think that the fish appreciate the fresh water as much
as the plants do the nutrients.

The evidence on ammonia prompted me to seek additional filtration for my larger
tank even though I can't detect anything on a test kit.

-Geo.

George:
I did a 50% water change and dosed with Flourish products. The algae has
slowed down. Also the ammonia is building more so I am watching it closely
to see when it hopefully converts to Nitrite. The article on Estimative
Index is good and informative.

If I ever cycle a tank again, I am going to follow the advice of the Chucks
Aquarium planted tank article as it has merit also. Along with the
Estimative Index, I think it is a good way to go for the planted tank
hobbyist.

I will let you know when all is stable and cleared up. Then I will look at
some more fish to add to the tank. I have been looking at the red angelfish
that liveaquaria.com is going to be getting in stock. Ever heard of them?

Dan