About ready to give up....

[flchamp89]

Watched an interesting video on plants today. They talked some about algae(Cory from aquarium co-op). One of the things he mentioned that if you only use the same amount of fertiliser for your plants that you started with, and your plants grow, but you don't raise the amount of fertiliser, then you can get algae because the plants aren't doing as well. Dont know if this is your case but just a thought! Have you noticed any slower plant growth at all? Any deficiencies? Just a different angle to look at. He also mentioned to just try one thing at a time and wait a couple of weeks to see if it has changed. It takes a bit for algae to get established and can take a bit for it to change.

Plus one

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[StevenF]

You might want to try a deep substrate vacuum. Over time organic material will build up in the aquarium substrate. This organic material may contain nutrients your test kit cannot detect. Perhaps over time enough has built up to cause a nutrient imbalance. Next time your do a water change stick your syphon tube as deep into the substrate as it will go. That will remove much of the organic material in that spot. Increasing the number of water changes with a deap substrate vacuum might help.

Also, I have been using PhosGuard to remove the phosphates and it is supposed to remove silicates as well. So I guess obviously this must not always work

Why are you using a phosphate remover and what are your phosphate levels? If phosphates get to low plants growth may slow too much allowing nutrient rich organics to build up. For me I have often seen phosphate levels increasing when a nutrient deficiency developed in the tank. Other people use phosphate remover due to high levels in their tap water. You might want to try stoping the phosphate remover or add fertilizer to the tank if it is not being regularly fertilized.

 

[julielynn47]

I use Flourish Comprehensive to fertilize. I use the phosphate remover because of the black beard algae issue that I had so bad. I was told that phosphates play a huge role in the BB algae growth. I don't have BB algae anymore and so I figure that must be why I don't. I really can't pin point the cause of the BB algae going away because I changed a lot of things. Like the lights for instance. So I am not sure which "fix" actually worked.

I will do the substrate vac when I change the water and see if that helps. I have been running the diatom filter every day again and it is clearing up. But I really wish I could just fix the issue and get that thing put up

 

[cowgirluntamed]

Just want to add this...Don't give up!!! Fighting these problems is very hard and time consuming. I had bba, hair algae, and green spot algae when I switched to the fluval aquasky light. Great light! I did not fertilize....Lol. only had anubias so didn't think of it. I also got cyanobacteria and am still fighting that. My bba problem was mostly solved by lessening the light duration and also using the dimming feature. Just a bit at a time. As for the cyanobacteria....Well...Let's just say the take is soon going to be totally broken down and completely cleaned....Not due to that but parasites. So hopefully the cyanobacteria will get more under control then while the fish stay in quarantine until they go back in tank!!

Anyway...Just hanging there!! Definitely do the deep substrate vaccuming. Give that a couple weeks to see what it does (obviously without your diatom filter). It takes time to balance these things out. But maybe too...Once you get that deep gunk out..?If it doesn't work maybe try going without the phosphate remover? I dunno...Hard to say really! But hang in there!!

 

[julielynn47]

Finally got to get all water parameters. So I have listed them below. These were taken before the water change and gravel vac I did yesterday. So this is how the water has been, not the way it is after the the 50% water change out.

PH - 7.5 ( inbetween 7.2 and 7.6 on the API color chart )
Ammonia - 0
Nitrite - 0
Nitrate - 5.0
Phosphate - 0.0 to 0.25 ( hard to tell on the color chart )

So everything looks really good to me. There was a lot of organic detritus on the substrate that I could not even tell was there until I stirred it up. But other than that, I do not know what the reason could be that is causing this issue.

The tank looked soooo good when I was done with it yesterday. The lights have not come on this morning yet, but I hope the cloudiness is not as bad and that the brown stuff will not grow back as quickly.

I will probably stir up the top of the substrate again today and let the diatom filter clean the water up really good again. I will then take it out, put it up, and see what happens.