# I have no algea problen not sure why...



## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

I have a 75 gallon tank and I have only a little bit of algea I barley dose my lights are inefficient but my tank is beautiful.

Specs: std 75 gal glass tank 48" wide 18" deep, not sure on height

Substrate is 2 40lb bags of gravel rock frol LFS, and a 10lb bag of red and black flurite mixed in. 

Lighting is cut moded 48" shop light with a 8000 k bulb and a 6500 k bulb from HD, light is typically about 10 hrs, the bulbs are 32 watts each.

3 medium pieces of Manzanite driftwood

Dosing: I dose Excel almost every day and Flourish Iron once a week

Plants 2 large amazon swords, a bunch of I think asian vals, some hair grass, and cobomba (sp).

Circulation is 2 HOB filters that I was given with tank, not sure on out put and a mini underwater filter I have in the corner for some added circulation. 

Fish: 4 Cory cats, 1 red tail shark, 1 medium flying fox, 1 horse face loach, 1 medium bala shark, 7 large tiger barbs, 1 large gold groumi, 1 medium gold angle fish, 1 GSP, 2 German blue rams, 2 small catfish not sure on name and 2 cherry barbs, 2 medium high fin plecos

I always get crap for my fish load but i have only lost 1 cory cat in the past 5 months.

I have a little bit of algea on the glass here and there but my plants are growing very well and are very green. I am adding more light very soon, doing the exact same as above.


matt


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

Why is my tank growing well and my fish are healthy, but I see problems with others and algea and they have very nicely set up tanks. I dont understand why?

Matt


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## dj2606 (Oct 15, 2008)

First time I have ever seen anyone complain they have no algae ;D. But to answer your question simply, your lighting is .85wpg (watts per gallon [total wattage/gallons]). Most people have problems with algae because they have 2-3 wpg and unbalanced nutrients/Co2.


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## Pinto (Mar 22, 2008)

Trust me you don't want any algae.


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

LOL ok cool, yeah not complaing about not having algea at all. I have another shop light that i am doing the same thing to now to add some more light. The corner nearest the window gets a lot more light and has some algea on the glass but just a little. On that side of the tank my amazon sword is getting very large. I was thinking of adding some more light another 6500k and an 8000k to help.

Thank you,


matt


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## plantkeeper (Apr 30, 2007)

Why add more light? You just "bragged" about a perfectly balanced system (nutrient uptake is enough to be sustained by the bioload) and healthy growth. Now you want to just bang more light on it? For what purpose? Just faster growth?

You have low demanding plants and they are growing well. Why not just sit back and enjoy the tank. I always found that tinkering (and adding things just because) is counterintuitive most times and never productive.

_If it ain't broke, don't fix it._


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

I'm hardly bragging, you missed the point. I have seen and read where people have low light tanks and high light hig tech tanks and they all have algea problems. I was wondering what I am doing differently that is causing me NOT to have algea. 

I really want to grow hairgrass thats why I am wanting to add more light. I have always loved the look. At .85 watts per gallon I dont think I have enough penetrating light to grow hairgrass adequetly. I have only had my tank for a little under a year now and there is so much I learn all the time. 
I originally had one HOB filter on the tank and 30 watts of light, and DIY C02. I have slowly upgraded as my budget allows. I am just trying to figure out what I SEEM to be doing right. My tank is not perfect but I do not seem to have the problems that many others do.

Matt


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## dj2606 (Oct 15, 2008)

Most people have algae because of an imbalance with lighting, nutrients, Co2. So upgrading your light will require you to also up your nutrients and Co2. If you keep your tank in balance you should not have algae issues. 

gmccreedy did not miss your point, just stating that if your tank is running without issue leave it be. The old saying "if it ain't broke don't fix it." You are right also, more lighting will be needed to grow hair grass (1.5-2wpg approximately). But I believe you should do more research in how your tank is balanced and how to keep it in balance before slapping more light on to grow a certain plant. I recommend reading stickies on fertilizing regimens, Co2, and lighting to get a better understanding.


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## plantkeeper (Apr 30, 2007)

Yea, sorry. That came off a bit harsh in my post. Thanks for clearing that up dj.


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## dj2606 (Oct 15, 2008)

It's all good. 

Feel free to ask any questions you may have after researching. There is loads of info and it can be a little overwhelming at first.


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## rich815 (Jun 27, 2007)

how long has this tank been up and running?


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## surpera1 (Feb 18, 2009)

keep up your search for the algae - i'm sure you will find it - hahahahahahahahah - or it will find you rather - i have 2 small plecos who live to eat algae all day


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

Ok cool, thanks guys. I decided to add a little more light to see what happens. As I did the first time around I cut up another shop light and fitted it into a new box I made. For the time being I only added 1 32 watt 6500K bulb. I have a couple of small swords that have been growing real slow. I will keep this setup for a could weeks to see if I notice any algea difference and see how the plants grow.

I also just ordered some more flourite from the local guy to. One of the guys at my local place gave me handfull of Christmas moss that I am going to attatch to some driftwood and see how that does. I will also keep up on my reading on algea and nutrients. 

Ohh, and the tank has only been setup for just under a year, I think about 9-10 months cant remember.

Matt


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Haha! Amen to that post!

I firmly believe that a planted tank must be established slowly. That means low light because the light really messes things up in the first 4-6 months. But the general mentality is to get things going as fast as possible. 

A low light tank with good or high fish load can maintain beautifully growing plants with crappy light. That is exactly what Xtremefour has. We don't see many such tanks because most of us want it fast and want it now 

Xtremefour,

Do your filters plug up and need cleaning every week? Or your filters run with no decrease in flow for many weeks?
My guess is that you don't have to clean the filters very often. An uninterrupted filtration is something else I believe in. Usually we clean our filters too often and by doing so we consistently disrupt the natural establishment of microorganisms. I'd be surprised if you clean your filters every week or so.

--Nikolay


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## prBrianpr (Nov 18, 2007)

well I have a 30g tank and I make like 4 differents setups in 3 years, all have algae problems sometimes. I also had a 1 gallon tank with bulbs plants (walmart) and cabomba, etc.. never i saw algae in it and all the plants was freaking healthy, no ferts, the light was incandecent, have guppies in it. In all my small aquarium I never have a algae problems and maybe little insignificant algae in some setups even if I use a overdosing of ferts. In my 30g if I overdose ferts or feed a lot the algae bloom appears. All depends of the balance


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

niko said:


> Haha! Amen to that post!
> 
> I firmly believe that a planted tank must be established slowly. That means low light because the light really messes things up in the first 4-6 months. But the general mentality is to get things going as fast as possible.
> 
> ...


Nikolay and all thank you for your responses.

One of my HOB filters that has the short extension will flow realy good for about a month before I give it a good cleaning. The other filter I usually clean about every 2-3 weeks I made an extension tube for it so it would reach the botton and I dont know if it has enough power to suck the full height of the tank. I do see loss of filtration with that filter.

I will take some pics with my phone and see if I can post them tomorrow. I have a vid but it would not download to my work comp.

I removed the t8 8000k bulb last night because it just kept flickering and was annoying me. I think I need better balasts. But I just went ahead and put in a T12 6500k from HD. So now I have 3 48" 6500k bulbs. The color of the tank has a more green cast now but my wife said she liked that color better. As mentioned I will see how this goes for a couple of weeks.

Matt


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## xtremefour (Sep 30, 2008)

Here is a pic of one side of my tank, I will post more pics when I can get them loaded.


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