Old Tank To New Tank Help

[shrimply]

Hi guys so this is kinda a mixed thread, cause I have a tank at the minute which despite by best efforts is not doing as I wish, but I have a new tank to replace it with so I want to do things properly. I don't want to rush things, but I've taken my time so much that the new tank has sat in its box for 2 months and I'm getting hassle about it.

So to begin with here is the current tank.
It's 3ftx1ftx2ft ( 120l), pea gravel substrate, 55w reflected T8 light, eheim 2213, hydor external heater, hydor koralia nano 900 and plenty of algae.

For a distance it doesn't look bad, up close there is masses of blanketweed and thread algae. What really upsets me is despite my best efforts I can't get simple plants to grow, I've tried both java and willow moss but they get chocked up with gunk and then algae takes over, I have some riccia floating on the top, which is supposed to be a weed but just shrivels up and dies. I dose around 10ml of DIY Tropica Plant Nutrition Plus recipe from James' Planted Tank. Both light tubes are one for 6.5 hours with 15mins either side of this with just one tube on. I'm gussing maybe I need a carbon source of some sort but I'd rather avoid this if possible.

Now the replacement tank is a Vicenza 180 Black/Silver
http/www.hagenservice.de/site/productInnovationsDetail/fluval_kombination/fluval_vicenza180?setLanguage=en_EN

It was bought because I managed to get the whole set for £280 which seemed too good a deal to turn down, but as I said currently its still in packaging.
The plan is probably to switch the old filter and heater onto the new tank, though and not fully decided on the filter situation. I plan to use clay cat litter substrate but apart from that I'm not totally sure what else I'm going to do. Undecided about whether to keep my branches or not. I don't have loads to spend on decor or plants, so I'd like most of my decor to be foraged if possible and plants are going to be the sort of slow growing undemanding types that I have currently, but any suggestions on exactly what to do is appreciated.

Really I'm looking for advice and suggestions about how I can make this as successful as possible and what would look best, I want to take my time setting this up to get it right first time

 

[pablothebetta]

You could probably use those branches, though I'd make sure there's nothing left of the algae on them (to try to prevent your new setup from being stuck with it). A 20 minute soak in a 1:20 bleach solution might work - it seemed to work fine to kill any snails on some plants I bought a while back. After soaking, if I remember rightly, a soak in dechlorinated water should remove the bleach.

As for plants, what have you got at the moment? Is that java fern in there? It looks pretty healthy. You could re-use your plants if wanted, though again I'd remove any algae. You could ask on the planted classifieds if anyone would be willing to give you any 'spare' plants, too.

Finding the reason that you've got an algae bloom may be worthwhile, as otherwise you could just end up with another in the new tank. I've seen this guide in posts a few times: http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm
What about trying a blackout in the 'old' tank? I've heard that can help.

 

[shrimply]

well I'm really looking for advice on where I'm going wrong with what I'm doing, and if I'm going to have to change anything in the new tank with the slightly different lighting( 55w T8 to 48W T5)etc.

You could probably use those branches, though I'd make sure there's nothing left of the algae on them (to try to prevent your new setup from being stuck with it). A 20 minute soak in a 1:20 bleach solution might work - it seemed to work fine to kill any snails on some plants I bought a while back. After soaking, if I remember rightly, a soak in dechlorinated water should remove the bleach.

I wouldn't be bleaching anything... the branches are heavily rooted with Java and Windelov fern which I'd keep intact. they'd get a gentle scrub but not overly much.

As for plants, what have you got at the moment? Is that java fern in there? It looks pretty healthy. You could re-use your plants if wanted, though again I'd remove any algae. You could ask on the planted classifieds if anyone would be willing to give you any 'spare' plants, too.

If I need plants I will buy them, I'm just not going to spend a fortune doing so, I don't want anything complicated, just low demanding plants

Finding the reason that you've got an algae bloom may be worthwhile, as otherwise you could just end up with another in the new tank. I've seen this guide in posts a few times: http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm
What about trying a blackout in the 'old' tank? I've heard that can help.

I don't really need to solve the algae issues in the old tank, because I'm getting rid of it, just need to work out where I am going wrong.

 

[shrimply]

So no other thoughts

This place seems a lot less busy than it used to be, which is a shame there used to be so many active knowledgeable people wiling to give advice.

 

[shrimply]

Still nothing... I guess I will have to stumble along by myself then

 

[angelfishguy]

This place seems a lot less busy than it used to be, which is a shame there used to be so many active knowledgeable people wiling to give advice.

+1

 

[shrimply]

ok gonna bump this up one more time see if I can get some advice, I really don't want to make the same mistakes again and its very frustrating that I can't keep simple plant alive.

 

[faildeadly]

I think the post earlier was genuinely trying to help and you pretty much dismissed all of their ideas. Might be why no one else is willing to help. But the post makes a very valid point, try and fix the problem in the old tank first before moving tanks otherwise the problem will just follow you.

 

[shrimply]

I think the post earlier was genuinely trying to help and you pretty much dismissed all of their ideas. Might be why no one else is willing to help. But the post makes a very valid point, try and fix the problem in the old tank first before moving tanks otherwise the problem will just follow you.

While I appreciate help, I am looking for advice about what may be wrong and for suggestions, both aesthetic and practical, to make my new tank better than the last. And while I may have "dismissed" the posters "ideas" this was mainly because they weren't really answering what I was asking. You also kinda contradict yourself. You talk about fixing the problem in the old tank, yet no one has actually suggested how to do that. The poster you speak of suggested two ways of killing algae but if the problems aren't corrected it will just come back again. I'm trying to find the source of my problems because despite a lot of reading I really can't understand what I am doing wrong.

I'm not meaning to be argumentative or ungrateful, I'm just disappointed. When I started with planted tanks this place was full of clued up members who really knew their stuff and were incredibly helpful. They just don't seem to be around any more or at least not imparting their knowledge on me