2FT Starter Planted Tank

Awesome!

 

So I did a DIY C02 as per @Nirvashen video he found on youtube, been running at a decent rate for the past 2 weeks, but I dont think it has much of an impact compared to a decent system.a

I also added 3 otos and my shrimp colony has taken off, I can see 3 generations of shrimp with the 4th on the way...

Any suggestions for the algea as the otos dont seem to be making decent progress?

 

Tanks looking amazing. For algae I'd choose a bristlenose. Mine works tirelessly day and night really

 

A 2 foot tank is definitely too small for a bristlenose - they need almost double that volume of water for long term happiness.

@oupoot That algae looks a lot like staghorn algae to me. @Nina_W did a great write up on the common types of algae, causes and possible solutions here: https://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/threads/balancing-a-planted-tank.35620/page-2#post-445128

Some type of liquid carbon, being Seachem Excel or Scape Liquid Carbon, will apparently help to sort it out. Other solution is pulling the affected plants/hardscape and doing a hydrogen peroxide dip

 

For the DIY CO2 i would use a chop stick that is cut off at the end if you don't have a diffuser, i find it works better than a air stone you can get quite small bubbles if you just play around with it enough

 

@fux940510 thanks for the link, i did start reading it earier today but got busy and didnt finish it. I have been dosing with scape carbon but it seems to come back within a day again, and thats what baffels me, and I am a bit paranoid to overdose the carbon

@Nirvashen ill give that a go as I have a few spare chop sticks, makes sense in a way as its a bit denser than the airstone i think

 

@Nirvashen I did the chop stick as you suggested, I am really surprised at the difference it makes

Regarding the Algae, it looks black/grey ish if its in the water, but when I pull it out its green...

@A new day I want to dose liquid carbon, but afraid that using more that the recommended to spot dose poses a danger to the fish.

Do I turn all my filters off, spot dose, wait say 30 minutes and then do a WC?

 

glad its working a little bit better, the really old school airstones were wood

 

lol a good a reason as any to rescape the tank i guess...

Yup, as always... the bubbles are a lot smaller and the shrimp was all over it after i put it in, not sure why they loving it so much

 

I had the same issue when I tried DIY CO2. Peroxide dipping or spot treatment works a charm.

 

I tried the DIY C02 to try and get rid of it lol

 

So I took everything apart Friday afternoon and did a lot of plant removal/trimming but not much of a rescape, but i did remove any plant that looked like it was just hanging on.

I found one dedicated shrimp as well, he was making his way up and in to the HOB, but could not get a decent photo of it



I am assuming thee plants rooting like this is because of lighting as they are usually behind the driftwood?



Here is the algae after I did the cleanup and dosed liquid carbon 3 times the recommended dose for a day and then a water changed a few hours later:



I lifter the driftwood with a few broken chop sticks, cable tied and mossed up:



Cories in their new hiding spot:



Edit: Full tank shot:

 

Is your light just a white light, or is it blue/white (so has some blue lights in it as well)?
I read a bunch of things recently that said blue light promotes string algae growth. If it is blue/white, maybe try putting some tape of the blue lights to prevent it all coming right back.

 

Its a white only Jebo Light, a R300 Cheapie. I have reduced the light time to see if that makes a diffidence.

 

Look at the light spectrum it outputs - if I remember correctly those Jebos are heavy on the green... plants can only really make use of red and blue spectrum light.

Consider replacing with a dedicated grow bulb - it will look reddish, and may help a lot with your weird algae issues.

 

Yes agreed, it was only used to treat Algae problem, I was so paranoid and kept on hovering to make sure all the tank occupants are fine

I also planted a horn-wort upside down as an experiment to see what the plant does.

@Nina_W Thanks for the suggestion, the Jebo was originally a cheap buy just to get back in to the hobby, and as I have had 0 success in the past with planted tanks(Before LED and special substrates) I didnt want to fork out a ton of money on a Zetligh as @Nirvashen recommended

The algae is a very nice red while its dying at the moment, add a bit of colour to the tank as well that I like