TimboS
Thu Aug 21, 2008, 05:16 AM
Hi all,
Algae, diatoms, whatever you want to call them. They seem to be a rather persistent annoyance. Let me briefly explain my situation:
*124L AquaOne Euroview tank. 4 discus, the biggest no more than 9-10 cm mouth to end of tailfin. A few bristlenose, a clown loach and three female siamese fighters.
*My tapwater (in northeast Adelaide) is a KH of 0 to 1 degrees, and GH of 8 or so degrees. This however is aged for a week in a small tank using a filter with zeocarb before being used in a water change. The pH doesn't change during this, staying at something like 7.4, but in the main tank this reduces to about neutral before a water change.
* I use an internal (24W) internal UV filter and small Eheim pick-up filter for surface agitation but no air stone.
* My substrate is a mix of sand and small aqua one quartz (about an 1" worth over the bottom)
* There are not many plants - predominantly one large and two small anubis. No plant supplements.
* The lighting is that ridiculous AquaOne PR series reflector with twin 18W globes and is on for 8 hours a day.
* NO direct sunlight on the tank.
* Feeding is twice a day. The food is only ever frozen hikari bloodworm and spiruline brine shrimp (my fish are fussy devils). Two blocks in the morning, two blocks at night.
What's the problem? The roots of my anubis are covered in a brown algae (diatoms?) that looks terrible and the inside of the glass walls of the tank get a very fine, almost woolly, covering of something. (The white threads, for lack of a better description, are not noticeable until you are up close looking and are only a couple of mm long at most). Also, the surface of the water gets rather bubbly around the tank edges, presumably because of salt.
The above description of my tank has come to cause me the least problems since having discus. I have tried plant supplements and more light, but the diatoms get worse. I have tried cutting back the food, but it barely changes anything, etc. (Still, having said that, if anyone sees a glaring problem please bring it to my attention).
My tank also seems to have a very fine sediment through it and has become more obvious now that I have black backing against the rear wall of the tank.
At the end of the day, my tank has never been like display tanks in various stores where the aquatic plant foliage is pristine, unblemished green and the water is pretty much sediment free. (It's been close, but not as much as I would like).
I guess I am asking if anyone can see a problem with my setup that may cause diatoms or algae. (In fact, there's a bit of green algae forming on the side of some ornaments and driftwood in the tank. Only a small amount, but it is there and it has me baffled).
???
Timbo
Algae, diatoms, whatever you want to call them. They seem to be a rather persistent annoyance. Let me briefly explain my situation:
*124L AquaOne Euroview tank. 4 discus, the biggest no more than 9-10 cm mouth to end of tailfin. A few bristlenose, a clown loach and three female siamese fighters.
*My tapwater (in northeast Adelaide) is a KH of 0 to 1 degrees, and GH of 8 or so degrees. This however is aged for a week in a small tank using a filter with zeocarb before being used in a water change. The pH doesn't change during this, staying at something like 7.4, but in the main tank this reduces to about neutral before a water change.
* I use an internal (24W) internal UV filter and small Eheim pick-up filter for surface agitation but no air stone.
* My substrate is a mix of sand and small aqua one quartz (about an 1" worth over the bottom)
* There are not many plants - predominantly one large and two small anubis. No plant supplements.
* The lighting is that ridiculous AquaOne PR series reflector with twin 18W globes and is on for 8 hours a day.
* NO direct sunlight on the tank.
* Feeding is twice a day. The food is only ever frozen hikari bloodworm and spiruline brine shrimp (my fish are fussy devils). Two blocks in the morning, two blocks at night.
What's the problem? The roots of my anubis are covered in a brown algae (diatoms?) that looks terrible and the inside of the glass walls of the tank get a very fine, almost woolly, covering of something. (The white threads, for lack of a better description, are not noticeable until you are up close looking and are only a couple of mm long at most). Also, the surface of the water gets rather bubbly around the tank edges, presumably because of salt.
The above description of my tank has come to cause me the least problems since having discus. I have tried plant supplements and more light, but the diatoms get worse. I have tried cutting back the food, but it barely changes anything, etc. (Still, having said that, if anyone sees a glaring problem please bring it to my attention).
My tank also seems to have a very fine sediment through it and has become more obvious now that I have black backing against the rear wall of the tank.
At the end of the day, my tank has never been like display tanks in various stores where the aquatic plant foliage is pristine, unblemished green and the water is pretty much sediment free. (It's been close, but not as much as I would like).
I guess I am asking if anyone can see a problem with my setup that may cause diatoms or algae. (In fact, there's a bit of green algae forming on the side of some ornaments and driftwood in the tank. Only a small amount, but it is there and it has me baffled).
???
Timbo