FoundMoney
Fish Crazy
I've been getting back into the hobby with renewed enthusiasm lately and have a few new posts up. They're a bit rambling and haven't gotten much response so let me get to the heart of the matter.
Is anyone having long term success with a planted tank, moderate lighting (2+ WPG) and no use of CO2?
I ask because my tank has gone through various peaks and valleys in regard to plant and algae growth. When I first started my tank there was no algae and slow plant growth. Then my plants started growing more vigorously, say after 6 months. Six months after that I had algae problems. The first type of algae that was a real problem was hair algae. I believe this coincided with my ceasing to use something to remove phosphates that are present in my local water supply. Removing the phosphates solved that but I also experienced beard algae in my tank which is pretty muc there constantly although at low levels.
Over the past 6 months I've had less time to devote to my tank. I've been doing water changes on a monthly basis. Water chemistry seemed fine for the fish but I started getting blue green algae. I am now trying to get back on track and am back to performing weekly water changes. I have scraped most, if not all of the BGA and cleaned my filter. I have stopped short of a blackout or using Maracyn.
My question is, through regular maintenance, is it possible to have a moderately planted tank, see decent plant growth and keep algae at bay with lighting of 2.5 WPG and no CO2 injections?
My regimen now goes something like this. Weekly water changes of about 20% in my 30 gallon lightly to moderately planted tank. Every week I vacuum the gravel as I remove the water. Every fourth week still do the water change, but I don't vacuum the gravel as much and I clean the filter out. When I add the water I include the recommended dosage of liquid plant fertilizer, which includes iron and trace elements (no macro nutrients). Once during the week, between water changes, I also add Flourish Trace to add in some more trace elements. I also add Flourish Excel in the recommended dosage every other day. When changing my filter I also add in a fresh piece of Polyfilter to remove phosphates and to prevent against anything else the might contaminate my water. I am also looking to add in some more plants, such as anachoris.
When I kept up a similar regimen in the past it seemed to work. However, my problem has been maintaining consistency. This really isn't that much work, maybe an hour a week. I think I can maintiain this kind of a schedule moving forward. Is this going to be successful in the long run? It seems like this worked for me in the past but the tank always seems to go out of balance at some point.
Looking for tips, tweaks, suggestions and pats on the back.
Is anyone having long term success with a planted tank, moderate lighting (2+ WPG) and no use of CO2?
I ask because my tank has gone through various peaks and valleys in regard to plant and algae growth. When I first started my tank there was no algae and slow plant growth. Then my plants started growing more vigorously, say after 6 months. Six months after that I had algae problems. The first type of algae that was a real problem was hair algae. I believe this coincided with my ceasing to use something to remove phosphates that are present in my local water supply. Removing the phosphates solved that but I also experienced beard algae in my tank which is pretty muc there constantly although at low levels.
Over the past 6 months I've had less time to devote to my tank. I've been doing water changes on a monthly basis. Water chemistry seemed fine for the fish but I started getting blue green algae. I am now trying to get back on track and am back to performing weekly water changes. I have scraped most, if not all of the BGA and cleaned my filter. I have stopped short of a blackout or using Maracyn.
My question is, through regular maintenance, is it possible to have a moderately planted tank, see decent plant growth and keep algae at bay with lighting of 2.5 WPG and no CO2 injections?
My regimen now goes something like this. Weekly water changes of about 20% in my 30 gallon lightly to moderately planted tank. Every week I vacuum the gravel as I remove the water. Every fourth week still do the water change, but I don't vacuum the gravel as much and I clean the filter out. When I add the water I include the recommended dosage of liquid plant fertilizer, which includes iron and trace elements (no macro nutrients). Once during the week, between water changes, I also add Flourish Trace to add in some more trace elements. I also add Flourish Excel in the recommended dosage every other day. When changing my filter I also add in a fresh piece of Polyfilter to remove phosphates and to prevent against anything else the might contaminate my water. I am also looking to add in some more plants, such as anachoris.
When I kept up a similar regimen in the past it seemed to work. However, my problem has been maintaining consistency. This really isn't that much work, maybe an hour a week. I think I can maintiain this kind of a schedule moving forward. Is this going to be successful in the long run? It seems like this worked for me in the past but the tank always seems to go out of balance at some point.
Looking for tips, tweaks, suggestions and pats on the back.
