# [Wet Thumb Forum]-Spider webs in the aquarium?



## pilot281 (Apr 5, 2003)

I recently planted my aquarium (2 weeks ago) and the plants are doing great. 55w for a 29 gallon, and a DIY CO2 generator. I use an air stone to difuse the CO2, as suggested, and there is a film building up on the stone whch I was told its normal. But among the plants there seem to be strings that look like spider webs forming. What are they and why? I can remove them with my hand but will they come back? Thanks in advance for any help.

--Chris


----------



## pilot281 (Apr 5, 2003)

I recently planted my aquarium (2 weeks ago) and the plants are doing great. 55w for a 29 gallon, and a DIY CO2 generator. I use an air stone to difuse the CO2, as suggested, and there is a film building up on the stone whch I was told its normal. But among the plants there seem to be strings that look like spider webs forming. What are they and why? I can remove them with my hand but will they come back? Thanks in advance for any help.

--Chris


----------



## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

In my tank the otos have long stringy poop that looks like a spiderweb, but it is a simgle thin string only occasionally seen.

I suggest you build a DIY bubble counter to scrub some of the yeast from the line, those strings, if they are not from the otos, could be yeast that has traveled into the tank. The airstone will plug up and reduce the CO2 flow as it does.


----------



## 2la (Feb 3, 2003)

It's the wispy beginnings of thread algae. My guess is your tank is a little off-balance nutrient-wise, but if you right the ship you stand a good chance of combating it without the need for algae-eating animals.


----------



## anonapersona (Mar 11, 2004)

Oh, I forgot about that, my tank started with black hair algae by the 10th day! I wasn't able to remove it by hand, tough stuff. 

2la is probably right on this, algae, not yeast. But the bubble counter is a good thing to add anyhow.


----------



## Heady (Mar 4, 2003)

Sometimes snails can leave trails as well.


----------



## Homestar (Apr 16, 2003)

2la, I have this forming as well. I would not describe it as spider's but more like cobb webs.
I don't understand what a "balanced" water column is. I do weekly waterchanges of 1\4 my 20 gal., have 3.? wpg. PH 7, KH 6, GH 18 (high, I know.. Baltimore City Tap). I dose .75 ml Kent Gro daily, really didn't see the cobb webs until I started with the Kent Gro. Before that I just dosed Liquid Gold Iron daily. I started the Kent Gro because I thought it would help with the Glosso and the Red plants. Since the Gro, I have had less spott and green film on the glass but the cobb has appeared...Chao.
Ps.: Thanks for reading this long post, as you all know these trails of a hobbiest mean alot to us.
To the Moderator: I know this should have been in the algae section, sorry all.

Chris from Baltimore


----------



## 2la (Feb 3, 2003)

KB, the assertion that your tank may be off-balance was not intended as any type of criticism with how you're maintaining your tank, so I hope you weren't taking it that way. I'm speaking more to the actuality of newly planted tanks and how they often go through an almost predictable cycle of algal blooms before a relative nutritional equilibrium is achieved and the plants are able to keep most algae in check.

In the case of tanks where the plants have been newly purchased--and two weeks certainly qualifies--we must remember that most plants are grown emersed and must transition into a submersed form after they're kept totally underwater. This transition can take several weeks with part of that time occurring at the pet store. Even when these plants have been underwater for a long time at the place of purchase, many plants (a lot of Cryptocoryne species being fine examples) will still require a transition period during which time they must adapt to _your_ tank's specific environmental conditions.

For those plants that haven't spent much time at the pet shop, the transition also entails the utilization of starches and other compounds already present within the plants' own tissues. So plants transitioning from emersed to submersed life will utilize few nutrients in the water column during the initial stages of adaptation and will instead draw upon stored energy within their own tissues. Add to that the fact that their emersed leaves will be in the active stages of deterioration (shedding)--coupled with your own well intended fertilization scheme--and you can easily create a situation of excessive nutrients in the water column without ever realizing it, hence the common problem of algal outbreaks in newly planted tanks.


----------



## Homestar (Apr 16, 2003)

Nah, I didn't think that you were being mean. But I don't want this thread algae to grow. So if you sound mean but give me clues to get rid of it... I will take it








I'm kinda sacred about this nutrient scheme I'm going on. I don't know what my plants need, I've had a hard time finding nutrient test kits,etc.
It's just a blind faith thing. Blind faith in Kent gro, I'm not satisfied with this. Could you give me any links or a lecture on how to understand dosing? Chao.

Chris from Baltimore


----------



## 2la (Feb 3, 2003)

Chris, there's a boatload of information in the Fertilization forum. Bear in mind, though, that oftentimes it's more about minimizing the extent of an algal outbreak than it is about avoiding it altogether. Even advanced aquatic gardeners encounter problems early on. The good news is that these problems tend to resolve spontaneously after some time as long as you remain faithful to a good fertilization scheme.


----------



## Homestar (Apr 16, 2003)

Yes 2la, the webs have "resolved spontaneously." Thanks for your time. Chao!

Chris from Baltimore


----------



## JaySilverman (Jun 19, 2005)

it could be just cob webs that got on the plants b4 you put them in the tank. I've had this happen once.

From lashes to ashes, from lust to dust


----------



## ckll (Jun 20, 2003)

Greetings everyone! 

This is a GREAT forum! Learned a lot of stuff from everyone. Thanks!! BTW, I'm new to planted tank.

I recently tried DIY Co2 with yeast. I guess I put too much of it, and most of it got into the water column. It appeared as stringy and sticky threads all over the tank, particularly on plant leaves and wood. 

Did 2 major water changes and cleaning the filter canister to get rid of it. Not sure if this is what pilot281 is experiencing..


----------



## 2la (Feb 3, 2003)

They're not spider webs; as you can see in the original post, the plants had been planted two weeks prior, and the "webs" were actively forming. It was hair/thread algae in the beginning stages, a common thing to encounter in newly established tanks.

 
(Click for pics)


----------



## ckll (Jun 20, 2003)

2la, I clicked on the links and viewed some of your photos. You have an IMPRESSIVE collection!!

This has nothing to do with the topic of this thread (sorry







) but how do you make Rotala Macrandra and Nesaea sp. healthy & red?

The shoots of my R. Macrandra came out reddish pink but after a few days, they would turn green in patches.

My Nesaea is not doing well at all. After 1 month it's more the less the same height.

My tank's statistics : 16 gallons, 2.7wpg, pH=6.5, kH=5, base fertilizer, dosing with SeaChem Flourish, Flourish K and Flourish Iron

Thanks!!


----------



## 2la (Feb 3, 2003)

Thanks, ckll. Perhaps a moderator could split this conversation into a new thread (if that's possible)?

Anyways, I have to admit that the Nesaea was fresh from Fishvet.com, though I did have pretty good success keeping it that red. Ultimately, though, my smaller tank was overrun with algae due to neglect (school demands), and I tossed the Nesaea. Bear in mind, though, that there are at least two species of Nesaea circulating in the hobby, N. crassicaulis and N. pedicellata. The former is red, the latter is mostly green to orangish even under high-light conditions. IME, and confirmed by the conversations that go on here, I think the secret to getting really red plants is to keep the nitrates low (5ppm or below), the iron relatively high (about 0.2ppm), and the lighting high (2.5W/gal and up, though more important is having the Nesaea or Rotala right under the lights). I never got my plants more red than _before_ I started dosing with KNO3 to improve overall plant growth. Maintaining low nitrates to improve the red coloration is still possible for me, but the margin for error (i.e., forgetting to dose on a certain day) is reduced and nitrate deficiencies will start to show, particularly in my glossostigma.

2la

 
(Click for pics)


----------



## ckll (Jun 20, 2003)

Thanks, 2la!!

I don't test Nitrate and Phosphate (though I think I should). I assume the fish load and feeds will contribute, but have no control on them.

I notice that since adding Flourish Iron, green spot algae on glass takes hold very fast. Would you recommend that I get some Iron tabs to stick into the substrate at the base of the red plants ? (BTW, I have a Limnophila species that was gorgeously red at LSF that I got them. In my tank, they are super-green).

You mention that nitrate deficiency shows in your glosso. You mean their growth is stunted? My glosso grows relatively slow. I have a photo to show what it looks like after one month of planting but dunno how to stick it in here. It has this brown line that forms around the leaves periphery too. Sorry for the long read


----------

