# New 30 gal needs fert help



## my name is mike (Apr 12, 2007)

Hi, i am new to this forum and new to planted tanks --

here is what i got in my brackish 30 gal (SG 1.005):

Java moss
Java fern and lace java fern
crypt ciliata
cambomba
vals
moss balls 
water sprite (a not pictured, new addition)










65w PC 6700k -- i am dosing with half a cap of excel every other day and 1/2 a cap of flourish twice a week. current photo period is 5hr on, 2hr off, 5hr on.

I'm starting to get algae on the glass and some on the plants and decor that get closest to the surface.

i have some nice growth, especially with the cambomba, java fern, water sprite and crypt ciliata - the tank has been planted for about a month and a half

Any advice for adjustments on ferts, photo period, etc. would be greatly appreciated as this is my first experience with aquarium plants -- Thanks!


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Reduce light to 4 hours max per day. Keep nitrate under 20 ppm and phosphate under 2 ppm. Some have reported the elimination of green spot algae at 4 ppm phosphate. Also make sure you have sufficient potassium and micro nutrients n iron.


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## my name is mike (Apr 12, 2007)

would reducing the light's intensity help ??? -- perhaps downgrading to NO Flourscents and a lower wattage -- if im correct, i think i have pretty low light plants --


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

The problem is not intensity but duration. I run my light 4 - 5 hours per day. Plants do not receive 8 hours of sunlight per day!


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## my name is mike (Apr 12, 2007)

thank you sir --- ill give it a try 

ill also try adding potassium and iron


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

furballi said:


> The problem is not intensity but duration. I run my light 4 - 5 hours per day. Plants do not receive 8 hours of sunlight per day!


What's the justification of this? Even if they don't receive 8 hours of light per day, the direct sunlight they get is more intense than what we're providing artificially. Here he has about 2 watts per gallon.

Instead...I see no mention of fertilizers and a light fish load. I'd either add low doses of ferts or increase the bioload.


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## furballi (Feb 2, 2007)

Didn't I said that light intensity is NOT the issue? A longer photo-period gives algae a greater chance of tanking over if the tank is not well balanced. Explain to me why one must run the light for 8 to 10 hours per day? If you can't grow healthy plants with only 3 hours of quality light, then you need to fix the nutrients in the water/soil.

The growth rate of plants is *NOT DIRECTLY* proportional to light intensity!


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

My question on justification was specifically your wording.



> Plants do not receive 8 hours of sunlight per day!


If you had *My* in front of Plants I wouldn't have taken offense at your statement.

Why must I run my lights 8-10 hours per day? Because I like to look at my tank. That's all.

And while growth rate is not directly proportional to intensity, it is definitely related. The higher the lights the higher metabolism of the plants and higher nutrient uptake. If you don't want to reduce intensity or increase nutrients, then you reduce photoperiod to control nutrient uptake. This is your choice.

As for using light to balance the tank, I guess it is one way to get things in balance but only if everything else is in balance for that exact photoperiod.

That's not the way I would prefer to control things.


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## my name is mike (Apr 12, 2007)

i guess i dont understand how to tell if my tank is balanced, other than algae running wild means its not -- also, when the alge does run wild, im not sure which way to go -- do i need more light or less light, do i need more ferts or less ferts, and so on and so forth -- is this trial and error until you get it right the only way to go about it?, or is there some baseline at which i can start, i.e. i have x amount of light for x amount of gallons, with x amount of fish and x amount of plants. the fertilator doesnt seem to shed any light on that for me, i really feel like im flying blind -- any suggestions??


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Yes... take a look here.


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## ianmoede (Jan 17, 2005)

Dont forget CO2 injection! Easily the most important missing piece of this puzzle.


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## my name is mike (Apr 12, 2007)

thanks mike -- thats the kind of magic bullet i was looking for --- 

my new plan will be to downgrade the lighting, giving me a more low tech tank that wont reqire Co2 and any crazy water changes -- 

afterall, that was one of my motivations for planting the tank (less water changes)


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

Glad to help.

It works for me on two tanks.


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## my name is mike (Apr 12, 2007)

would you mind running through one of your setups that is working -- i.e. tank size, lighting, dosing, water changes, etc. -- just interested in what someone is actually doing ... 

thanks for all the help


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## turbomkt (Mar 31, 2004)

In my 55g I've got a number of mosses, fissidens, crypts (wendtii and parva), java fern (normal and windeløv), water sprite, bacopa, HM, glosso, and riccia. I think that's about it.

I've got 2x65w over the tank. Inhabitants are RCS, CRS, dwarf corys and two brisltenose plecos. For this tank, I actually don't dose this tank regularly. When I do, I follow what I linked.


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