Aquascaper 600

[mbsqw1d]

View attachment 127087

Having real issues with staghorn algae again, need to get it under control. I may need to rip up the front right corner and replant it but want to try some other things first.

Only major thing I did tonight was trim my H'ra on the left and plant the stems at the back right, I got a Ludwigia type and it is growing but super slow so wanted to over plant the H'ra to help it stave off algae as some of the lower leaves have diatoms.

So options are
- Blackout - maybe a bit drastic?
- Reduce lighting - not a fan as light is currently really low and only on for 6 hours.
- New diffuser - one of the route causes of staghorn is Co2 circulation issues so considering upgrading from my stainless steel one, its quite a basic piece of kit with just a regular ceramic disc, wondering if a branded one like ADA or Twinstar would give better results?
- Adding airstone on a night - not had it in for a while for cosmetic reasons but I've added it back in, thinking if I highly oxygenate the water it will level out the Co2 levels?
- Spot dosing liquid Co2 - sort of the nuclear option but proven to work.
- More clean up crew - one thing I've not addressed so far is that I've lost quite a few shrimp. At one point I had 20 Amano in there and when I emptied the tank to do this scape I only found 6, the good news is they are now thriving and much much more active than before. I think some of the issue I had is that they came from a shop in a softwater area so I'm going to go to a much more local store in the hope that they will thrive being that they are in the same water. My blue velvet shrimp are no where to be seen either. I am also wondering if what ever my wood was doing to the water before affected this? I'm considering adding some nerite snails too if they had them.
- Changing the circulation - the filter outlet is on the front left and the worst algae is in the front right corner where the water hits the glass and circulates so creating the highest flow. I've moved the pipes around a bit so that the outlet shoots towards the back right corner which is the furthest away from the pipe so thinking the flow will be spread out more as its a greater distance than across the width.

Wills

I have a bazooka atomiser that produces incredibly fine bubbles, I have that sat beneath a small powerheard and I can clearly see the tiny bubbles being distributed throughout the water column. Luckily my scape allows for these bits to be hidden behind a big a.sword. this said, itd be good to not have the tiny bubbles throughout the water column. Perhaps this is where in-line option comes in?
What ferts are you dosing? Sorry if ive asked before. I cant help but think your co2 and lighting is ok, but nutrient wise something is going on

 

[Wills]

I have a bazooka atomiser that produces incredibly fine bubbles, I have that sat beneath a small powerheard and I can clearly see the tiny bubbles being distributed throughout the water column. Luckily my scape allows for these bits to be hidden behind a big a.sword. this said, itd be good to not have the tiny bubbles throughout the water column. Perhaps this is where in-line option comes in?
What ferts are you dosing? Sorry if ive asked before. I cant help but think your co2 and lighting is ok, but nutrient wise something is going on

I’ve tried a few configurations with my diffuser, opposite the outlet, under a power head and under the outlet all have led to problems lol. Distribution in this scape seems to be much better than the last I always got dead pockets but the dropper stays a good colour all the way round.

The fertiliser is tropica premium the brown one without nitrate or phosphate as tap water has it and I do 4-5ml a day as it’s pump activated and I have aquarium soil as the substrate

 

[mbsqw1d]

I’ve tried a few configurations with my diffuser, opposite the outlet, under a power head and under the outlet all have led to problems lol. Distribution in this scape seems to be much better than the last I always got dead pockets but the dropper stays a good colour all the way round.

The fertiliser is tropica premium the brown one without nitrate or phosphate as tap water has it and I do 4-5ml a day as it’s pump activated and I have aquarium soil as the substrate

How much nitrate/phosphate is in the tap water?

 

[Wills]

I don’t have the phosphate but the nitrate is about 25ppm

 

[mbsqw1d]

Phosphate might be too low? Are there fish in here yet I can't remember sorry? If not then there wont be phosphate coming from food. Maybe try adding a couple of crushed flakes of food daily to create some phosphate

 

[Wills]

No fish at the moment but as soon as I can I will be now which is exciting! Might order a phosphate kit to see what I can get.

The annoying thing is that in the first week and a half I had no algae in here and then in a week it went a bit nuts forgot to mention I got a fair coating of green algae on the rocks which hadn’t been there previously

 

[AilyNC]

You are so unbelievably patient! Tank is looking great. How have you held out adding fish??

 

[Wills]

You are so unbelievably patient! Tank is looking great. How have you held out adding fish??

Its a mix of reasons really.

I'm in real conflict about which fish to get, I’m frustrated because of my hard water logic dictates a hard water rasbora/danio like CPDs but was hoping for more from this tank... Add in the lock downs, understocked shops, shops with massive waiting lines outside and its just got to this point. I am happy with just a plantedI just wish I could get on top of the algae....

Wills

*edited as I got a bit ranty sorry*

 

[AilyNC]

Its a mix of reasons really.

I'm in real conflict about which fish to get, I’m frustrated because of my hard water logic dictates a hard water rasbora/danio like CPDs but was hoping for more from this tank... Add in the lock downs, understocked shops, shops with massive waiting lines outside and its just got to this point. I am happy with just a plantedI just wish I could get on top of the algae....

Wills

*edited as I got a bit ranty sorry*

No apology necessary. It's interesting to see how the tank has developed and your own feelings about it.

I've just given up on algae and decided to live with it. I've a touch BBE and i don't know what else but plants are all doing well & fish are thriving. So i give up

 

[mcordelia]

Honestly, the algae isn't visible in the pictures so it's probably not that bad. I am a big proponent of the 80/20 rule lol

 

[AilyNC]

The fish nipple at it & sure it's part of their eci system

 

[Wills]

After tonights maintenance - the Limnophilla at the back was shaped better before the change but should bounce back. Hoping I will be able to start shaping that soon. The Hygrophila Pinatafida is starting to develop and those are the tall leaves you can see in the middle. I will trim these but want it to get established.

Still having real staghorn algae issues but looks a lot better after some maintenance and a trim. Might need to resort to spot dosing Seachem Excell at some point though.

 

[AilyNC]

Beautiful shades in your plants

 

[Wills]

Beautiful shades in your plants

Thanks didn’t get too close otherwise you will see the algae haha

 

[Slaphppy7]

Wow, what a beautiful tank...