# 29 gallon 3 month old tank with a bunch of issues



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

Ok - so I'm new to planted aquariums. And I feel like I've made a bunch of mistakes... not beating myself up here, just want to get everything back on track. I essentially have 4 questions right now that I would appreciate input on. I hope my organization of this post isn't too confusing. If so, I can go back and edit. Ok... here it goes, and thanks in advance.

I started my tank about three months ago. I foolishly introduced some java ferns with black beard algae on them into my tank, not realizing that the algae wasn't a part of the plant. Once I figured out that problem, I took those plants out, but since then, I have black beard algae appearing elsewhere in my tank: on a lighthouse ornament, and most troubling, on my anubias. *Question #1:* What should I do to get rid of this problem algae? Take the plants out and soak them in h2o2? Soak them in Flourish Excel? Try a siamese algae eater or a bristlenose pleco? Add another light fixture, or break up the light period? Or should I try DIY co2 or pressurized co2?

I'm a little overwhelmed by the options. *Question #2: *Also, I have a snail problem that I would like to treat with some snail eaters... maybe zebra loaches? Since I don't want to overstock I'd rather not get fish to treat my algae problems...

Right now I have:
29 gallon tank with Penn Plax Cascade 700 Cannister Filter
Coralife T5 2x18 watt Freshwater light fixture - 9 hours/day
3 inch gravel substate with base 1 inch mixture of laterite/gravel.
Plants: crypts, anubias, java fern, java moss and Echinodorus tenellus. 
Fish: 6 neons, 5 harlequin rasboras, 2 otos, 3 bronze corys, 3 albino corys
Chemistry: 0 ammonia, 0 nitrites, <12.5 ppm nitrates, ~7.0 pH

I don't use CO2, but Flourish Excel instead - 1 capful/day. When I first started dosing fertilizers, I was trying to follow Flourish's chart, using Trace, Iron and Potassium. When my water turned green i laid off on the Trace, which didn't solve the problem. So I stopped the Potassium, and I don't have green water anymore. I do occasionally get green spot algae, which I've been reading might be caused by introducing free iron into the water column. So I've stopped dosing with Iron this week as well. *Question #3:* Should I be using co2 or any other fertilizers in addition to Flourish Excel?

Finally, I think I need a new filter. It seemed to be doing a great job at the beginning, but lately I've noticed quite a few suspended "particles" in the water... not really sure what they are other than junk or debris, but *Question #4:* shouldn't my filter be getting rid of that? Should I try an Eheim cannister?


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi swimfast59,

Welcome to APC! I'm glad you decided to come out of the shadows and into the light! Tell us a little about your tank and what you would like to accomplish; maybe post a picture or two.

When I started a few years ago a member suggested that I start by reading the "Sticky's" at the beginning of the "New to Planted Aquariums", "Lighting", and "Fertilizing" sub-forums. By doing so I saved myself a lot of time (and money) getting up to speed and learning the basics. If you have been lurking in the background, you probably have found this helpful guidelines.

The "stickys" recommended above would answer a lot of your questions but here some suggestions to your questions.



> Question #1: What should I do to get rid of this problem algae? Take the plants out and soak them in h2o2? Soak them in Flourish Excel? Try a siamese algae eater or a bristlenose pleco? Add another light fixture, or break up the light period? Or should I try DIY co2 or pressurized co2?


To deal with Black Brush Algae (BBA) I do the following:
Clean my filter & remove all debris in the tank
50% water change twice a week
Dose Excel at 2X daily recommended dose (you will lose any Val)
Increase my CO2 level



> Question #2: Also, I have a snail problem that I would like to treat with some snail eaters... maybe zebra loaches? Since I don't want to overstock I'd rather not get fish to treat my algae problems...


My tanks are snail free. I used a very complicated method, whenever I saw a snail I smashed it against the glass and let the Corys and Angelfish have a snack.



> Question #3: Should I be using co2 or any other fertilizers in addition to Flourish Excel?


With the wattage of your bulbs (hopefully 6700K) you don't have to have CO2 but it will help plant growth. I would certainly consider DIY CO2 as an option. Excel is not a fertilizer, it is a source for carbon and at stronger dosages has algacide properties. For starters, I would recommend picking up a bottle of Seachem Flourish Comprehensive and dose per the directions to get some nutrients in you aquarium. You can learn more in the "Fertilizing" sub-forum.



> Question #4: shouldn't my filter be getting rid of that? Should I try an Eheim cannister?


When was the last time you cleaned your filter and/or changed the filter material? I do my about one per month. BTW, no charcoal in your filter, it removes fertilizers.

Hope this helps; I am glad you joined us!

CDosing Excel at 2X D


----------



## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

I agree with Seattle. As for the BBA, check to see if you have any source of 'organics'. In my tank, it comes from a rock that i brought in from outside. Everywhere within 3 inches of the rock i get BBA!

I love my cascade filters. It should be completely cleaning your tank, if it is cleaned often. Like Seattle, I clean mine about every month. Make sure you're filter floss is clean in the filter too.

What kind of snails are they? If they look like this, then they're only beneficial. However, if they look like an apple, or are round, they could be eating your plants. Seattle's option is the cheapest (although sorta confusing ) Other options include "assassin snails", or some kind of loach like you said.

You don't need to add fertilizers or co2 if you are happy with your plant growth, or unless you're getting deficiencies or more algae problems.


----------



## kimcadmus (Nov 23, 2008)

Welcome to the forum. All great and sound advice above. There are lots of knowledgeable people here at APC.

floating debris + BBA + lots of common pond snails indicates a buildup of organics. You have primarily low light, slow growing plants so they aren't generally demanding depending on you local water. IF you don't see deficiencies in the plants and BBA is the primary problem then the suggestions above to clean filter and step-up water changes is the place to start IMHO.

BBA is very common on slow growers like anubias and java fern. Excel and H202 each work well and you might alternate them weekly but as seattle aquarist suggested getting the possible water quality issues inline is the key.

You may also reduce the quantity of food you feed until the tank is back on track.

Good luck,


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

First off, thanks for the warm welcome and advice!

Seattle, you are correct about the online research. I've been reading lots of different forums, but with that I've learned some conflicting information. I know that every tank presents its own set of variables, so I figured I'd post here and see what advice I could get about my own specific problems. But I will definitely take another good look at those stickies you mentioned. Especially Ferts!

BBA - I will definitely follow your plan of attack Seattle. Sounds like a good place to start. And thanks Flash for your opinion about the Cascade. I wanted to make sure that it wasn't less capable than an Eheim, which people seem to rave about. The last time I cleaned my filter was exactly 4 weeks ago, and I'm going to clean it tonight when I get home from work. Maybe I'll clean it every 3 weeks till I get the BBA under control. As for media, I just use the sponge, tons of filter floss and bio rings.

Snails - I have been crushing them up every day... usually about 12-15. I wish I had malaysian trumpet snails, but sadly, they are just pond and ramshorn snails. I'm hoping their population dwindles. I'm probably going to order a few assassin snails online in a couple of weeks and see how that goes. I'd rather not get any loaches because I'm not sure how well they get along with my cories and the new baby cory that hatched in my tank a few weeks ago.

Ferts - I will pick up a bottle of the Flourish Comp that you talked about Seattle. I'm pretty sure my tank is deficient right now... I noticed for the first time last night when I got home that some of the older growth on my crypts had melted/reabsorbed. About 5 leaves in total... I'm also going to set up a DIY CO2 this weekend. I know its not completely necessary, but everyone seems to agree that it will benefit my plants. I just hope the yeast bomb I'm making doesn't explode...

Edit: I added a picture of my tank to the post. The water in the tank when I took this picture was a little green... its not green now. And I added some java moss to the little rock besides the filter intake. Otherwise, thats pretty much what my tank looks like!


----------



## riseabovethesun (Jul 15, 2010)

I would highly suggest using assassin snails, I have 4 in my 36 gallon and they have done a miracle over the past few weeks. I also didn't want to add anymore fish to my tank and I don't have the proper size for a majority of those fish. But assassins are wonderful, they will leave lots of empty shells though, but do wonders!


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

Rise - Where did you purchase your assassin snails? I only seem to find them on ebay...


----------



## riseabovethesun (Jul 15, 2010)

I couldn't find ANY anywhere then one day I went to my local fish store and they had some, I had been calling and calling they finally ordered some in, so I stalked the store until they had them. A lot of small local places will order things in for you, at least they do here. But other than that I haven't seen them anywhere besides online. 

I went into the store the same day later to get a few more and they were already gone, so they go quick.

Aquabid.com is always a great site, I know plenty of people who use it successfully.


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks for the suggestion. I'll probably try aquabid out then.


----------



## riseabovethesun (Jul 15, 2010)

No problem, aquabid.com can have amazing deals sometimes you just have to check in a couple of times. There are always all the buy/sell/trade sections on a lot of fish forums that might have some.


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

OK - so the tank is so clean I could drink the water. Maybe not! But its very clean. I vacuumed thoroughly and did a 70% water change. Filter's clean too. I think that perhaps I've been packing the filter floss too tight... when I cleaned my canister I saw that some of the filter floss was relatively clean looking, and some was very dirty... maybe it was packed so densely that the water wasn't really going through all of it but rather around?

I have my new ferts and I will start dosing as per Seachem's recommended schedule tomorrow. I figure that is a good place to start. I also pruned alot of the leaves off of my crypts and anubias that had BBA on it, and took my lighthouse ornament out because it had BBA too.  I'll do a soak sometime this week and kill the BBA before putting it back in.

I also opted not to do DIY CO2. Although it sounds like fun (at first) to drill holes through bottles and such, I opted to be lazy and buy the Nutrafin CO2 kit and a small internal filter to act as a CO2 reactor. Although the nutrafin chamber is on the small side, hopefully it will be less likely to leak than a plastic soda/juice bottle. Once I run out of the Nutrafin supplied "stabilizer" and "activater", I'll mix up my own yeast/baking soda concoction. As for the CO2 reactor, I just want to make sure I'm on the right track. I couldn't find the Hydor mini filter in store, so I picked up what looks to me like a decent alternative, the Duetto DJ 50. Looks like its working, although the little bubbles being emitted by the filter aren't shooting all the way across the tank, I imagine that enough CO2 is dissolving that the Duetto is doing its job. I'll test the ph tomorrow and see how much its dropped to figure out if I'm getting good enough results.

Lastly, I ordered my assassin snails on aquabid. I should have them by Wed/Thurs. Thanks again for all the help everyone.


----------



## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

Sounds like you got everything worked out! You mentioned the filter floss. Just as a heads up, i go through that stuff pretty quick, and rather than buying the actual 'Cascade' floss, i buy it in bulk from a lfs. I got over 35 sq feet for $25. Much better than 5 sq feet for $10 after shipping.


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

Right Flash - I'm not using the proprietary filter media either. I guess I'm getting a good deal for floss too, however, I only see it sold by the ounce. I'm paying $10 per pound at my LFS. When I get my list together of supplies I need, I'll probably order floss too online all it once to save $ on shipping.


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

Just wanted to give you guys an update.

After cleaning out my tank and filter last weekend, pruning all my plants and doing a h2o2 soak with my driftwood, it looks like my BBA has greatly diminished. Also, with the h2o2 soak, I killed a very large number of snails I didn't even know where embedded in my java ferns and driftwood.

Today, my assassin snails arrived. I got 12 of them. They were cruising all over the tank when I left this AM and hopefully will start cutting down my snail problem ASAP. 

I also installed a black background on my tank. It looks absolutely beautiful. I had no idea a background could make such a difference. I also picked up a pearl gourami. He looks so cool!

Plants are looking good. My micro grass in particular is really taking off. Here's another pic of the tank I took today.


----------



## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

What algae?  Good job remedying the tank!


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi swimfast59,

Nice work! It looks like you are on your way, keep us posted!


----------



## swimfast59 (Aug 19, 2010)

Well there is very little algae, if any, now. I credit the pruning and fertilizers that I've added. I've noticed that my crypts and anubias have new growth and my micro grass has six new plantlets already. Haven't noticed much new growth from my java ferns yet though, but they do look healthy.

The initial soak of 1 cup of h2o2/2 gallons of water that I did for 30 minutes last weekend with my driftwood and java ferns didn't seem to work. The brush algae looked as healthy as ever. So this past Saturday, I did 1 liter of h2o2/2 gallons of water soak for 30 minutes in a separate bucket with one of the anubias nana and the driftwood. I rinsed everything off and placed back into the tank. The next day, the algae was turning red, and within three days, there wasn't a trace of the algae anywhere to be found. I'm pretty sure my two otos were munching on all that algae, so I'm not going to be feeding them any zucchini till next week.

My pond snail population is definitely decreasing thankfully. The assassin snails are doing the trick. They also have turned out to be a fantastic addition to my tank. Their shells are nice to look at, and I must admit that I was amused this morning when two of these snails were hording a sinking wafer that was wedged underneath the driftwood and the cories were trying their hardest to get around the snails and to their food. LOL

I did almost remove the hornwort I added to the tank a week and a half ago. It shed like crazy for about a week. It has settled down now, and isn't shedding anymore. I guess the plant must have been in shock. But what a mess it made.


----------



## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi swimfast59,

Sounds like it is getting better and better! How about some updated pictures please when you get a chance?


----------

