# Diagnosis and Recommendation Needed



## spitfire (Jul 21, 2006)

This is a new 55g tank. I have some odd algae growing on these flat stones with riccia attached - see photos. I am using high light (1x55w 11 hrs and 2x55w 4 hrs per day). I am injecting CO2 - tap is 7.6 and my controller is set at 6.8. The CO2 seems to run all the time - which makes me think I am not injecting enough CO2. The plants have been growing very well since day one. There is a lot of pearling and like I said the stem plants grow almost a half an inch a day. I am interested in the algae growing on the stones which have riccia grass attached. This is the only area where this algae is growing. I also have the dusty green algae on glass. The otos seem to be doing fine with the dusty green algae, but have not shown much if any interest in this other algae. 

Thanks in advance for your help with this one - this is my first planted tank and it has only been running for 8 days. I am starting ferts this week after 50% wc.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Difficult to tell exactly what it is but it sort of looks like BGA and can appear when there is a lack of NO3.

You're probably low on all your nutrients since you haven't been fertilizing at all up until now. What kind of ferts and how much are you now adding?

And how are you getting the CO2 into the tank? If it's running all the time and the controller and solenoid is working correctly, you're not getting enough CO2 into the water.

And welcome to APC!


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## spitfire (Jul 21, 2006)

I am not dosing right now. I felt that I had a week of grace period since it was new tank, new substrate, etc. I am going to start dosing this week - using greg watson ferts. I have my Co2 hooked up to a reactor coming out of my Eheim canister filter. The controller is set to 6.8 and never seems to get below 7.0. I checked calibration and set controller to 6.5 tonight and used the needle valve to increase CO2 input. I removed the riccia stones and tried removing as much of the algae as possible. I would like to grow the riccia since I spent some money on it - I am going to try floating it to save what I have. Any other ideas on how to save the riccia until I get past the tank break in period? Any other suggestions - do you feel my lighting is adequate or should I increase the 2x55w period or decrease it? I know I should change only one thing at a time - so I will try increaseing the CO2 and then start dosing ferts. I have heard different techniques for the glass algae - do I leave it alone for 20 days or do I clean it every day and use blackouts, etc? I am new to this and feel that I have a good setup - just want to know more and be prepared to handle situations as they arise. This is a great forum - thanks for members who contribute and share experiences.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

A "normal" light intensity for a 55 gallon tank would be 2 watts per gallon or 110 watts. If you use only one 55 watt bulb you are providing a very low light intensity. So, I suggest running both 55 watt bulbs together for 8 to 10 hours a day.

The green dust algae, if that is what you have, will go away if you leave it totally alone, no touching of it at all, for 2 to 3 weeks, then wipe it off the glass. Blackouts don't work with that particular algae.

The slime you show in the picture doesn't look familiar to me, so I have no idea what it is. But, adding more CO2 is a good step for almost any algae infestation. Personally I wouldn't use a controller. I would just adjust the bubble rate until I got the amount of CO2 in the water that I wanted, usually watching to see that no black brush algae starts growing, and the fish don't show signs of discomfort. You have to slowly increase the bubble rate a small amount every day or two, watching the tank often and carefully when doing that.


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

> The CO2 seems to run all the time - which makes me think I am not injecting enough CO2.


When you are using a pH controller, you don't need to be overly cautious with the CO2 flow rate. Open the needle valve to get as much Co2 dissolving in the reactor as possible without any bubbles escaping. Then rely on the controller to turn it on and off when necessary.


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## spitfire (Jul 21, 2006)

*Setting Controller*

My tap water comes in around 7.6 with an 8 degree hardness. Where should I set my controller? I originally had it set at 6.8 but it seemed to stay around 7 - so I have since moved in to 6.5 and it stays around 6.6. At this setting the fish are doing fine. I am not sure what pH I should be shooting for. I am running one 55w regular light for 10 hours and a blue actnic bulb for 10 hours. Then I run 2 55w regular bulbs for 4 hours in the middle of the day. Should I run all the lights for 8 hours instead?


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

> My tap water comes in around 7.6 with an 8 degree hardness


If you've done this already, just ignore: Test the pH of your tapwater after it has sat overnight- any CO2 that was already dissolved in it will escape so you can get an accurate reading. Is 8 degrees hardness your general hardness (GH)? If so, test your KH (carbonate hardness). See the chart here: http://ca.geocities.com/[email protected]/CO2.Tables.6.to.8.pdf Find your KH, and then set your controller to the corresponding pH that will give you about 20-30ppm of CO2.



> I am running one 55w regular light for 10 hours and a blue actnic bulb for 10 hours. Then I run 2 55w regular bulbs for 4 hours in the middle of the day. Should I run all the lights for 8 hours instead?


I'd suggest starting with 2 of the regular 55w bulbs for 10 hours. Go easy with the light for now until you get the ferts and CO2 in order. If you're just starting out, having tons of light is like putting a new driver in a race car- it can get out of control and go bad really fast.  Once you start to get the hang of things, you can add more light. A discussion of actinic blubs here: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/equipment/29562-actinic-lights.html?highlight=actinic


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## werner (Jul 6, 2006)

spitfire said:


> I am using the Aqua Medic 1000 Reactor and when I increase the CO2 too high it causes the reactor to epty of water adn fill with gas. I am not sure if this is good or bad - this is my first planted aquarium.


Sounds like that's a bit too high. Watch it and try to set it so the amount of gas in it stays constant (the amount dissolving = the amount that's being added.) If you have an adjustable water pump on it, you can fiddle with this too.


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