multipart question: planted malawi cichlid tank
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/ |
multipart question: planted malawi cichlid tank
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/ |
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/ |
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/ |
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? 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/ |
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? 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/ |
multipart question: planted malawi cichlid tank
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 |
multipart question: planted malawi cichlid tank
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 |
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