New plants

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 30 mL KNO3 (7.5 ppm), 30 mL KH2PO4 (1.2 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I received some plants today: 2 Anubias nana, 1 Echinodorus 'kleiner bar,' 2 bunches Rotala magenta, 2 stems Lobelia cardinalis (small form).

There were snail eggs all over the nana and the kleiner bar, so I spent some time scraping those things off--gross. I usually soak the plants in a 1 Tbsp aluminum sulfate/Liter water solution for a couple hours to try to kill those snails, but I probably don't soak them long enough, or it's not concentrated enough, since usually one or two snails make it through. So far, though, I 've been able to catch and squash the one or two snails that sneak into the tank.

I did a (slightly over) 50% water change today, since I needed to clean out the clogged sponge prefilters anyways:
25 mL Amquel+
3 tsp baking soda
1 tsp Equilibrium

I cleaned out the sponge prefilters of both the filters and cleaned out the AquaClear filter. I left the Eheim alone.

I'm trying to lower the GH from about 8-9 to 5-6, so I only added one tsp of Equilibrium. I'll measure the GH tomorrow, since it takes several hours for the Equilibrium to fully dissolve in the water.

Sponge prefilters and water flow

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH: 9
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I noticed that after almost two weeks, the DIY sponge prefilters that I put over the intakes of the filters are getting clogged and are significantly slowing down the flow rate of both filters. The AquaClear filter has slowed to a trickle, and the Eheim canister is starting to get air in the canister. I'll probably have to clean it out tomorrow and clean it more regularly after that (every week). On the other hand, assuming I clean the sponge prefilters regularly, that should hopefully cut down on the need to clean the filters as frequently.

Thoughts on red plants and green water

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
I've noticed that my "red" plants are growing in particularly red lately, especially the Rotala indica/rotundifolia. The rotala is much more consistently red and the leaves are growing in broader than usual, even though I have been consistently keeping the NO3 levels above 10 ppm. Usually, people recommend keeping nitrate levels at 5ppm or less to bring out the reds. When I have had low nitrate levels, the plants were less green, but they were more yellow than red. In my opinion, these "yellow" plants are N deficient. It seems that keeping the phosphate levels up above 1 ppm seems to actually help bring out the reds, as well as help the leaves grow in more lushly. Overall, this seems to be a better option to bring out the reds in a healthy manner.

On the other hand, the green water has been at its worst this week after the heavy pruning/uprooting. It's getting to the point where I am having trouble even seeing into the tank. I'm just gritting my teeth until the next water change and am waiting for the time when the diatom filter finally comes in.

I'm also still having problems with some of the java fern leaves turning brown and melting away, including new leaves, while other leaves stay green. I found a posting where people were having the same problem.

I've read that that algae growth might be encouraged by harder water, so I think I will definitely lower the GH for the next water change. The java fern melting problems also seem to begin at the same time I was upping the dosage of Equilibrium, so by lowering the dosage of Equilibrium (to lower the GH), I hope that will have some effect on the java fern melt as well. I'm not sure if it's because of excess potassium, or some Ca/Mg/K ratio imbalance. I'm going to try to reduce the GH levels from 8-9 to 5-6.

Adding cherry shrimp/bantha fodder

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10-20 before dose
• PO4: 0.75 before dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 15 mL KNO3 (3.75 ppm), 20 mL KH2PO4 (0.8 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 22.5:2.6 = 8.7

Notes:
I received my order of 15 cherry shrimp today from petshrimp.com. I would highly recommend getting your shrimp from this site. The owner seems to take good care of his shrimp, he's responsive to your questions, and the prices are very reasonable. The site normally ships through USPS priority, but since I always get priority mail late, I used overnight express mail instead. The juvenile shrimp all arrived looking very energetic.

Acclimating the shrimp

They're so tiny (0.25-0.5 inch long), when I put them into the tank, they pretty much disappeared into the 60 gallon tank.

Those shrimp sure are little...

I hope the two angel fish decide not to make an expensive snack out of the shrimp. They're pretty well hidden (especially with the current green water), so I hope they'll be able to hide from the fish until they reach adult size.

Right after adding to tank

They were initially transparent when I received them, but they started to color up almost immediately after being added in the tank. Within minutes, they seem to already be busy eating away.

My husband asked to see the shrimp in the tank. I warned him that they were very small, and when he finally spotted one, he exclaimed that they were going to be bantha fodder. He then asked what they ate. I told him they fed largely on algae. He then replied that the shrimp were going to grow very well in the tank. Ha ha, very funny.

Pruning Rotala indica/rotundifolia

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10-20
• PO4: 1.0
• Iron:
• Dosing: 20 mL KNO3 (5 ppm), 15 mL KH2PO4 (0.6 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 18.75:1.8 = 10.4

Notes:

Unfortunately, after the pruning of the Rotala indica/rotundifolia + water change, the water has become more cloudy. It seems that whenever I stir up the substrate and/or significantly prune back plants, it will trigger/aggravate the green water.


I'm still PO'ed that the System 1 diatom filter does not fit on my tank, meaning it will take at least a week and a half to get in the other filter (Vortex XL) and try to clear up this &*%$ green water. I also hope that the diatom filter will clear up the "green dust" algae. My theory is that the green dust algae will float around in the water till it settles on a surface and starts growing, so I hope that when I wipe the algae off the tank walls (suspending it back in the water), the diatom filter can then filter out the suspended algae. Otherwise, it would just settle back down and start happily growing again.

I also set the light duration from the usual 12 hours to 11 hours. I want to see if that has any effect on algae. A lot of people seem to like to set it to 10 hours, but I'll start slowly.

When pruning, the Rotala can be topped and and replanted, or the stem tops can simply be trimmed off. For some reason, it appears that replanting the tops result in the Rotala growing back more quickly than just trimming off the tops. Also, the tops are lusher and bushier than the bottom half of the stem, so I usually try to replant tops if I'm not feeling too lazy. The problem with replanting the tops is that I will tend to stir up the substrate while uprooting the bottom stem halves, which then causes the green water to get worse.

System 1 diatom filter does not fit

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:10 before dose
• PO4: 0.2 before dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 15 mL KNO3 (3.75 ppm), 25 mL KH2PO4 (1 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 13.75:1.2 = 11.5 (*)

Notes:
The System 1 diatom filter doesn't fit over the lip of my acrylic tank! It seems like it was fitted more for glass tanks. It also seems like very cheaply made and of flimsy quality, which is surprising given its $100 price tag. It was very easy to get running (no priming needed, no dumping of the diatom powder into the tank), as opposed to what I've read about the Vortex filter. But I don't have a choice, so I've placed an order for the Vortex filter and am going to return the System 1 filter.

50% water change:
20 mL Amquel+
5 tsp Equilibrium
2.5 tsp baking soda
1 tsp epsom salts

I heavily pruned back the overgrown Rotala indica/rotundifolia, and again aggressively vacuumed the gravel. I also took out most of the Ludwigia "Cuba," which was growing too leggy on the bottom for my taste.

(*) Dosing ratio includes initial nitrate/phosphate levels measured before dosing.

Green water slowly coming back

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
Well, it looks like the green water is slowly, but surely coming back. Damn. Each day, it's getting a little more cloudy. It seems like I need to run the diatom filter to try to get the levels low enough (getting it tomorrow) to get rid of it once and for all. The plants are growing at a nice rate though with the higher phosphate/nitrate levels, it already looks like a jungle in there.

I still haven't gotten my order of plants/cherry shrimp from aquariumplants.com. I emailed them about my order, no response. When I finally called them, they said they were out of stock of the ludwigia peruensis, though the website said they were in stock. They were supposed to call me back about when they were getting it in, but no response again. I don't know why these internet plant retailers are so flaky!

I decided to order the cherry shrimp from petshrimp.com, instead, which has a better price per shrimp ($2.50 versus $4.50). The owner there (Mustafa) also seems to take good care of his shrimp and was much more responsive to my questions.

Green dust algae

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10-20
• PO4: 1.25
• Iron:
• Dosing:
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:

Notes:
The green dust algae is still growing at its usual pace on the tank walls. People usually suggest keeping the phosphates up (> 1 ppm), but I haven't noticed any difference.

Perhaps the diatom filter (when it arrives...) will help to get rid of the algae spores floating around, and help get the green dust algae levels down.

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing:
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm)

Limnophila hippuroides "Gratiola" growing in nicely

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10-20
• PO4: 1.25
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL KH2PO4 (0.4 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:2 = 5

Notes:

Limnophila hippuroides "Gratiola," shortly after purchasing from a LFS. The leaves were a nice deep purple, though not very bushy.

After a couple weeks in my tank. The tops have grown in nice and bushy, but the new leaves are growing in a pale green, instead of the deep purple, probably due to the lower light levels (the LFS had metal halides). The tops, though, are beginning to turn a nice red (esp. the plant to the right).

You can see that the leaves on the stargrass to the left are showing green and white bands, which is probably because of a deficiency in iron. During the night, the leaves will grow, and in the morning, the leaves will show white in the new growth. I dose iron in the morning, so any growth during the day would grown in green. Thus, the green/white banding.

Green water clearing up!

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4: 0.75 ppm
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 15 mL KH2PO4 (0.6 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:1.6 = 6.25

Notes:
The poor gourami died today, from the high CO2 levels. It seems that the larger bodied fishes are more sensitive to high levels of CO2.

On the other hand, the green water has surprisingly cleared up about 85% (second day so far). I'm not sure what was the trick that did it, but just to recap, here are all the steps I took:

• Increased the nitrate (10-20 ppm) and phosphate levels (1 ppm) and maintained them consistently. I basically tested every night to make sure the levels did not fall too much, and dosed at night.
  
• Increased the CO2 levels. I had it originally at 19-24 ppm, increased it temporarily to 24-30 ppm, though now it's back at approx. 24 ppm. I might try to up it again to 30 ppm, depending how the tank looks this week and keep a close eye on the fish.
• Increased the flow rate of the AquaClear filter from the usual min rate to the max rate.
  
• At the next weekly water change (ie after several days of doing the above steps), did the usual 50% water change, but this time aggressively vacuumed the gravel to suck out as much of the detritus and mulm as possible.

And voila, clear water! And this was after 2-3 weeks of green water. It's still too early to say whether the green water is really gone, but things look good so far...

I noticed that if I don't dose the Flourish and iron chelate, the water will remain clear all day. Otherwise, it will cloud up slightly as the day progresses (thus the 85%).

Also, another good effect of running the air pump at night is that the next day, there's no "surface scum" film on the water, meaning I don't have to run my Eheim surface suction extractor.

Preparing for the cherry shrimp

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH:
• NH4: 0
• NO2:
• NO3: 10-20 after dose
• PO4: 1.25 after dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 40 mL KNO3 (10 ppm), 20 mL KH2PO4 (1 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 10:1 = 10

Notes:
50% water change:
25 mL Amquel+
5 tsp Equilibrium
0.5 tsp Epsom salts
2.5 tsp baking soda

I pruned back a lot of the stargrass. It had grown so dense that the bottoms were rotting, so I cut and replanted a lot of the tops.

For the water change, I dosed 5 tsp of Equilibrium, instead of the usual 6 tsp, and added 0.5 tsp of epsom salts. I was also very aggressive in vacuuming the gravel during the water change.

The water looks pretty clear today. There's no sign of the "brown sludge" algae so far.

In preparation for getting my cherry shrimp, I've cut a spare AquaClear filter sponge to size and after cutting an X into the sponge, I jammed it over the filter intakes of my AquaClear and Eheim filters. The shrimp are so small that they tend to get sucked up into the filters. It doesn't seem to be affecting the flow rate too much.

I also found a good resource on shrimp: www.petshrimp.com.

The dwarf gourami hasn't been looking so good. It's probably due to the CO2 levels. I don't know if it's going to make it, but we'll see. I went out and got an air pump and another timer. I then set the timer so that the air pump is running at night. I was thinking of just turning off the CO2 at night using the solenoid, but I've found that the solenoid sometimes doesn't work (it sometimes seems to "jam" in the off position until you toggle the power several times) and if the CO2 is not constantly pumping, the water will backflow to the check valve, and I've had the check valve fail after prolonged contact with the water. So, instead, I've settled on this more complicated method.

I also went out and purchased diatomaceous earth from a pool supply store for the diatom filter I'm going to receive next week. It was $10 for 25 pounds, a lifetime supply, but much cheaper than purchasing it from an aquarium retailer ($10-15 for 5 pounds).

Algae decreasing

• pH: 6.7 (morning), 6.8 (evening)
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4: 0.75
• Iron:
• Dosing:
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:2.4 = 6.25

Notes:
The tank today looks better today in terms of algae. The "brown sludge" algae is almost gone, although the green water is still as cloudy as ever. The little bits of BBA growing on the rock seem to have completely disappeared. There's still green dust algae growing on the tank walls, but I will keep the phosphate levels up more consistently next week to see if that gets rid of the green dust. It's hard to pinpoint exactly what is making the difference. I've increased phosphates (0.75-1.25 ppm) and nitrates (10-15 ppm), which have helped plant growth, especially with the addition of extra phosphate. I can see that when adding phosphates in approx. doses of at least 0.5 ppm, the plants seem to have noticeable growth spurts as a result. Over the past day or two, I've also upped the CO2 levels from approx 19-24 ppm to 24-30 ppm and increased the flow rate of one of the filters. Overall, some or all of these changes seem to encourage increased plant growth and suppress algae growth. Everyone seems to have a theory as to why algae grows or doesn't grow, which I don't attempt to do. I can only report the changes I make and the results. The plants, though, need pruning, and I'm afraid of whether reducing the extra plant matter will again result in an algae increase. We'll see what happens after the pruning.

Tonight, several hours after the lights were out, I saw the larger angelfish (Bully) repeatedly gulping air. The CO2 levels were about 30 ppm. Worried, I reduced the CO2 rate a bit from 2 b/s to 1.7-8 b/s. In the future, I might run an air pump at night to help oxygenate the water. We'll see.

Reduced BBA

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10-20
• PO4: 1.25
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:2.4 = 6.25

Notes:
I have tiny bits of what looks like BBA (black brush alage) growing on a rock. The rock sits in an area of lower water circulation than other parts of the tank. This morning, I increased the flow rate of my AquaClear filter from the usual min rate to the max rate. I usually keep it at the min rate to prevent the CO2 from escaping, but I wanted to improved circulation in the tank. Last night, I also upped the CO2 rate a bit. Well, this evening, I noticed that the amount of BBA had mysteriously decreased in half. I don't know if it was because of the increased circulation or the increased CO2, or if perhaps the SAE suddenly decided to snack on the BBA, but I definitely noticed the reduction.

Increasing phosphate levels

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH: 9
• NH4:
• NO2: 10-20
• NO3:
• PO4: 0.5 ppm
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 40 mL Flourish potassium (~8 ppm), 15 mL KH2PO4 (0.6 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:2.4 = 6.25

Notes:
I bit the bullet and ordered a System 1 diatom filter from petsmart.com for $100, since it had free shipping this month (Enter in "PAWDEAL3"). It should arrive next week. I'm still debating whether to soften the water for the next water change by dosing less Equilibrium. I like the harder water in that it seems to help the stargrass stay nice and green (no more black patches). If I soften the water, I could try dosing more potassium separately, but then I would worry about keeping the proper proportion of potassium to Ca/Mg. Having too much potassium in proportion to Ca/Mg may cause a deficiency in Ca/Mg. I may wait and try the diatom filter first before softening the water to see if that has any effect.

Some of the stargrass leaves were showing a little bit of black patches on their leaves, so I added an extra 8 ppm of potassium.

Even though I haven't really tried to maintain the Redfield ratio for a long enough period to judge its success, I decided I wanted to skew the phosphate levels higher, to a target level of approx. 1 ppm, instead of the "ideal" 0.5 ppm for 10 ppm of nitrates. I feel that it is too difficult to rigidly maintain this ratio. I like more the Tom Barr theory that an excess of nitrates/phosphates is okay, won't cause algae, and can suppress other types of algae like green dust and green spot algae. It's more flexible, at least. Currently, there's not too much green spot algae, though there is still some green dust algae growing. It's growing more slowly than last week, though.

I've also upped the CO2 levels a bit from 1.7 bubbles/sec (24 ppm) to 2 b/s in order to try to up the levels a bit to a target of 30 ppm.

Still brown patches in java fern leaves, needs Mg?

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 10
• PO4: 0.15
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 10 mL KNO3 (2.5 ppm), 15 mL KH2PO4 (0.6 ppm), 1 tsp epsom salts (2.8 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 15:1.8 = 8.33

Notes:
I'm still noticing that that the leaves of the java fern are developing brown patches, before dying off. I suppose it must be a nutrient deficiency, but I have no idea which one it could be. I'm already dosing > 30 ppm of potassium and about 14 ppm of calcium and about 4.2 ppm of magnesium. I looked back at my logs, and noticed that up to a couple weeks ago, I had been dosing some additional magnesium from magnesium sulfate (epsom salts) in addition to the Mg that comes from Equilibrium, since recommended levels of Mg are in the 5-10 ppm range. I dosed an extra 1 tsp of epsom salts (adding an additional 2.8 ppm) today to see if it has any effect on the leaves. I also chopped off the worst of the leaves.

I usually dose iron and flourish first thing in the morning, but today, I dosed them late in the day. I noticed that the green water was clearer today up to the point where I dosed the flourish/iron. Either both or one of the flourish and iron seems to encourage the green water to multiply during the day.

I also just realized today that I've been running the phosphate test incorrectly, adding too big of a water sample, which has been throwing off the results by at least 0.3-0.4 ppm higher than it's supposed to be. Oops. I should really try reading those instructions better... So, this week, the phosphate levels have been lower than I've thought.

The plant addiction aka money hole

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5-10 before dose (almost 10)
• PO4: 0.5 before dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 5 mL KNO3 (1.25 ppm), 5 mL KH2PO4 (0.2 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 12.5:1.2 = 10.4

Notes:
I placed an order with aquariumplants.com for some Ludwigia peruensis, Rotala magenta and Echinodorus Kleiner Bar. I also couldn't resist ordering some red cherry shrimp, which are damn expensive ($44 for set of 10). I just hope that the shrimp make it through shipping and that the angel fish/dwarf gourami don't see them as an expensive sushi dinner... I've never tried this retailer before, I hope everything works out without any hitches.

Cutting down iron and Flourish, lose sparkle?

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:5-10 before dose
• PO4: 0.2
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 15 mL KNO3 (3.75 ppm), 10 mL KH2PO4 (0.4 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio: 11.25:1.0 = 11.25

Notes:
I've noticed that as I look at the progression of pictures of my tank over the last several weeks that the plants look more bedraggled nowadays, less luxuriant. I think it's because I've been cutting down on the iron and the Flourish down to a third of their original dosing in an attempt to figure out how to stamp out the algae. I've also been cutting down the phosphates in half, so that probably has an effect as well. I'll probably try upping the iron and Flourish up a bit this week to see if that makes a difference.



Also, for this week, I'm going to track my NO3:PO4 dosing ratio to see if there is a consistent ratio which will maintain the Redfield ratio. I've read online that a lot of people have success with a ratio of 10:1.

Limnophila hippuroides growth

• pH: 6.7
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5 before dose
• PO4: 0.35 morning before dose, 0.2 evening after first dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 30 mL KNO3 (7.5 ppm), 5,10 mL KH2PO4 (0.2, 0.4 ppm)
• NO3:PO4 Cumulative Dosing Ratio:7.5:0.6 = 12.5

Notes:
50% water change:
25 mL Amquel+
6 tsp Equilibrium
2.5 tsp baking soda

I originally got 3 stems of Limnophila hippuroides "Gratiola" from a LFS. In the store, the gratiola was a very pretty deep mottled purple with spiky leaves. It requires high light (the store had metal halides), but I liked the look so much that I decided to try it out. I cut the stems in half and planted the 6 stems. Two weeks later, the cut stems are beginning to branch out and the tops have grown 1-2 inches. It's not particularly a fast grower, unlike the Ludwigia "Cuba," which I got at the same time and which has already reached the surface. The new leaves of the gratiola are growing green on top and reddish underneath, instead of the pretty purple. It's probably because the lights are not bright enough.

Back to my favorite topic, algae, I read that algae favors hard water conditions. If the algae doesn't improve much over the next week, for the next water change, I'll probably try to reduce the hardness of the water (usually around 8) down to 5-6 by reducing the dosage of Equilibrium. Before I raised the hardness of the water, the stargrass used to get black patches on its leaves, probably due to insufficient levels of potassium, which Equilibrium also supplies. If I reduce the Equilibrium dose, I might dose some extra potassium separately to compensate.

Over the next week, I'm also going to try to maintain a nitrate/phosphate "Redfield" ratio, which supposedly is an optimum ratio of nitrogen to phosphorus of 16:1 that minimizes growth of green algae and cyanobacteria (blue-green algae). Raise the ratio too much, and encourage the growth of green algae. Lower the ratio too much, and encourage the growth of cyanobacteria. The equivalent nitrate: phosphate ratio is 23:1. Well, I don't know if this works, but it's roughly in the range of what I usually shoot for anyways, so we'll see...

Algae Gallery

"green water" algae

For a mild case, the green water is not colored green, it is more of a neutral cloudy color. If the algae becomes more concentrated, the green color will become more visible. You can tell it is green water as opposed to a bacteria outbreak if you can see that it grows worse over the course of the day and becomes better after the night.

For me, green water is triggered when I uproot plants/stir up gravel and trim the existing plants back severely. A popular theory is that stirring up gravel may release ammonia from decaying plant matter into the water, triggering a growth of green water algae. Stirring up the ammonia, combined with a severe pruning of plants that would otherwise soak up the ammonia, creates a double whammy that greatly increases the probability of a green water algae explosion. Once the algae has grown to sufficient numbers, it seems to enjoy the same nutrient/light/CO2 parameters as your plants and will happily coexist with the plants, even after the initial ammonia supply has been depleted.

If the green water is advanced, you cannot "starve" it to death by minimizing nutrients. Minimizing phosphates/nitrates do not work to starve green water. I have observed that both dosing and starving phosphates and nitrates do not seem to have much effect on green water. On the other hand, though, I have observed that dosing micro nutrients (e.g. Flourish or TMG or PMDD) and/or iron seems to slightly encourage the growth of green water, if the green water already exists.

If the case of green water is mild enough (e.g. slight haze to water), then you can successfully eradicate it if you can increase the rate of plant growth and/or increase the number of fast growing plants. Don't be afraid to dose sufficient levels of nitrates/phosphates/potassium. They will not make the green water worse and will help encourage plant growth. I had slightly hazy water in a tank with 2 watts/gallon lighting, and when I added an extra watt/gallon (with sufficient nutrients and CO2), the boost in lighting encouraged plant growth such that the day after adding the extra lighting, the haze simply disappeared. Of course, if you have high lighting but have a bottleneck elsewhere, such as insufficient nutrients or CO2, then again, you will not be maximizing plant growth, and green water will take advantage of the opportunity and persist.

If the case of green water is severe enough (e.g. tank looks like pea soup), then the green water will block light and/or take up nutrients to the extent that plant growth will slow down even further, until you will no longer be able to use plant growth to outcompete the green water. Water changes will not be successful. There will always remain enough of the green water such that it will simply bounce back. You must completely eradicate the green water through other means.

Although I have not personally tried this method, blacking out the tank for several days is probably one good (and cheap) option to try to kill the green water. I have observed that the population of green water definitely decreases after each night, and so a blackout of multiple days should work to kill green water. I am guessing, though, that the problem with this method is that you must ensure that the green water is completely gone during the blackout, or else it will simply grow back, especially since you will also be slowing down plant growth with the same blackout.

Although I have not personally tried this method either, adding daphnia to your tank (separated from your hungry fish by some sort of partition/fine netting) is also said to work to remove green water by having the daphnia feed upon the algae.

Diatom filters work by manually filtering out the green water algae from the water. I have used the Vortex XL diatom filter. You must make sure, though, that the filtering grade of the diatomaceous earth (DE) is fine enough to filter out the free floating algae. I had initally used a DE brand that was not fine enough (it was called "All-Clear"), so that the diatom filter ran for hours without filtering out the algae. Also, you must run the diatom filter for a long enough period so that it removes as much of the algae as possible. I ran it till the water was crystal clear, and then kept it running for a couple hours longer. Again, I think it is very important to get the population of the green water algae as low as you possibly can in order to help prevent it from growing back.

For me, though, running the diatom filter is a hassle, in terms priming and charging the filter bag with DE. A lot of this hassle, though, is related to the design of the Vortex brand. Another brand called System 1 is designed to be self-priming and is much easier to charge, but it didn't fit over the wide lip of my acrylic tank (glass tanks will be fine), so I couldn't use it.

When doing water changes, it seems to help at least a little bit to vacuum up as much of debris/plant mulm as possible from the gravel.

Although I don't know if this had any effect, after a water change, I would also add a dose of bacteria starter. At least it doesn't hurt. In the same vein, you may also consider adding more biological filter media to your filters in order to encourage more growth of ammonia consuming bacteria.

Notes on using a UV sterilizer coming soon...

After manually removing/killing the green water, you must then focus on carefully encouraging the growth of plants and/or increase the number of plants in order to prevent a comeback. This means making sure you have sufficient macro nutrients and CO2 relative to your lighting. I avoid dosing iron/micros for the first couple days after clearing out green water in order to lessen the probability that the green water immediately grows back while the plants are still recovering. You may need to repeat the treatment (e.g. running the diatom filter a second time a week later) while you wait for the plants to fully recover.

For those who insist on seeing the silver lining in green water, one beneficial side effect of a severe case of green water is that it also seems to reduce other existing algae.



brown sludge (diatom?) algae
I nicknamed this the "brown sludge" algae, since this seems different from the normal brown diatom algae I've seen in tanks that are newly set up. Here are its characteristics:

• It sits in little piles on top of the plant leaves, but otherwise does not seem to particularly attach to any plants or gravel. It does not have any threads or filaments.


• The brown sludge blows off easily. Stirring the water currents will easily blow it off the leaves of the plants.


• It has a goopy, slimy brown appearance that is shaped in brown droplets when suspended in the water. In this way, it seems to differ in appearance from brown diatom algae, which is usually a little coarser in appearance and more clumpy.


• It disappears by morning but grows back over the course of the day.


• It seems worse right after a water change.

Unknown green algae. ID anyone?

• It does not seem filamentous.
• It is bright green.
• It does not smell bad or feel too slimy (ie probably not cyanobacteria).
  
• When it grows thick enough, you can peel it off the leaf in a sheet.
• If the layer of algae is thick enough, when you press it between your fingers, it feels like mini bubble wrap, like you are popping small bubbles.
• It grows at a moderate rate, grows back within several days.
• It grows discretely on a leaf, meaning it doesn't form "cobwebs" or span across multiple leaves in a single sheet.

Getting rid of green water with a diatom filter?

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing:10 mL iron chelate (1.0 ppm)

Notes:

Well, the tank is pretty much the same today as before in terms of the green water/ brown sludge. Increasing/lowering phosphates have not had much effect. There has been a decrease in other algae, but that might be from the increase in plant matter as the new plants settle in and the pruned Rotala starts growing back.

You can see the brown sludge sitting on the leaves of the Rotala indica in the picture to the left.

It seems that you cannot starve the green water to death without a significant increase in quick growing plant matter. My tank is pretty densely planted, but I've been switching out the fast growing stem plants with slower growing plants. So even though a tank may be fully planted, what's more important is how much of those plants are fast growing (nutrient sponges). If I let the tank become a Rotala jungle, I'm sure the green water would disappear, but I really don't want the plants to grow too much more than it already has. It already looks pretty wild and unkempt. The picture to the left is a side view of the tank at its most cloudiest. You can also see green dust? algae growing on the right wall, possibly due to my tinkering with the phosphates this week. The green dust algae seemed to crop up with the low phosphate levels.

My latest hypothesis is that the cloudy water (green water) might be related to the brown sludge that builds up on the plant leaves during the day. Maybe it's the build up of dead algae that settles out of water? In any case, after some research, it seems that my most preferred recourse is to filter out the green water algae via a diatom filter. I'm reluctant to get one because of the price (currently $90 at petsmart.com). Blacking out the tank would be a no cost solution, but I'm not thrilled about the idea of staring at a blanketed tank for a week. I could get a UV sterilizer, but it supposedly oxidizes iron and I already have enough trouble providing enough iron for the plants. Oh well, I'll probably get the filter, since I'm tired of the haze and watching pieces of brown sludge poo drift around in the tank.

A good link to info on green water.

Sufficient PO4/NO3 in water?

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH: 8
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4: 0.35 before dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 15 mL KNO3 (3.75 ppm), 10 mL KH2PO4 (0.4 ppm)

Notes:
There seems to be slightly less algae/cloudy water today. The brown sludge algae? was gone in the morning, though it came back to a certain extent later in the day. It makes me wonder if the plants do better (and algae does worse) if there are high enough concentrations of NO3 and PO4 in the water. I dosed some phosphates/nitrates for tomorrow to see if that helps beat down the algae.

I've found a link on a forum with exactly the same description of the brown sludge as mine:

• It sits in little piles on top of the plant leaves, but otherwise does not seem to particularly attach to any plants or gravel. It does not have any threads or filaments.
• The brown sludge blows off easily. Stirring the water currents will easily blow it off the leaves of the plants.
  
• It has a goopy, slimy brown appearance that are shaped in brown droplets when suspended in the water. In this way, it seems to differ in appearance from brown diatom algae, which is usually a little coarser in appearance and more clumpy.
  
• It disappears by morning but grows back over the course of the day.
• It seems worse right after a water change.

I'm wondering if there is some relation to either the water hardness or perhaps even excess potassium. After the 50% water change, I add about 35 ppm of potassium via the Equilibrium. Now, if there is potassium left over in the other 50% water, the levels could be even higher. I also noticed that the posters tank parameters all had GH of 8 or higher. I don't know if there is any relation of a moderately high GH to this problem. I'll keep this in the back of my mind. I might add less Equilibrium at the next water change to soften the water up a bit. There's also been a lot of rain lately in my area, so there might be a change in my water supply (water runoff mixing in more minerals) that is encouraging this brown stuff to grow.

Notes and Observations

• Surface scum: My preferred method of getting rid of the oily film which builds up on the surface of the water is to run an air pump with an air stone every night (scheduled by a timer). The water will be clear the next day, and the fish appreciate the aeration at night. I've used an Eheim surface suction extractor, which works as well, but it requires frequent fiddling. The black mollies I tried were not effective for me.
  
• Green spot algae (GSA): when the pressurized CO2 (24 ppm) was shut off for a couple days, the amount of green spot "algae" on the tank walls multiplied significantly. Although I have read that low phosphate levels (e.g. less than 0.2-0.3 ppm) can also trigger green spot algae, I haven't noticed this in particular. For me, low phosphate levels seem to trigger green dust algae instead.
• Excel: An overdose of Excel works to kill most algae in my tank, except for green dust algae. Start with a 5x daily overdose for the first week, and slowly reduce the dosage till you reach a minimum effective dosage. Fish and invertebrates will not be harmed.
  
• Green water: My preferred method for getting rid of green water is to use a diatom filter. I used a Vortex XL diatom filter, which works well, but it is a big hassle to use the diatomaceous earth (DE) powder. Not all DE powders are alike, you have to make sure to use a brand with a grade of DE granule size that is small enough to filter out the "green water" algae. Celite Aquacel is a brand which will work. Although the UV Sterilizer (18x Turbo Twist UVS) is much more convenient, it didn't work very well for me, and it is more expensive to purchase.
• Glosso growing upwards, not creeping along the ground: Most likely, you do not have sufficient lighting.
• Black patches/holes on java fern leaves: The nitrate levels are too low (around 0). Your nitrate test may indicate sufficient levels, but do not believe the cheap test over what the plants are telling you. Increase nitrate dosing to maintain levels of least 10 ppm, and check to see that new leaves are growing in whole. The leaves that are already damaged will not recover: trim those leaves off.
• Getting rid of Ramshorn snails: One or two Yo yo loaches will get rid of all of the small ramshorn snails. They will not be able to eat the larger snails, but you can just let the larger snails grow till they are easy to pick off, and eventually, the cycle of multiplying snails will be broken. Do they eat shrimp? I don't know, they may do so. My tank is very densely planted, so I have a hard time tracking my shrimp population, but I still have shrimp hiding out in the hairgrass. Another drawback of the loaches is that they will often uproot any plants not firmly planted deep in the substrate.
• Getting rid of ostracods: I had baby angelfish that were spawned from my mated angelfish pair, and they demolished the plague of ostracods to the point where I can't see even one. Perhaps getting one or two baby angelfish might work for you. The other fish in the tank will just mouth the ostracods and spit them back out.
• Nitrate levels: For my high light tank, having zero levels of nitrates for more than a day will cause disaster in the tank. All the plants will start melting down. Always make sure to keep your nitrate levels consistently above 5 ppm (preferably at least 10 ppm). A. reineckii, glosso and H. zosterifolia enjoy higher nitrate levels and will grow more quickly with higher levels (> 10). R. indica/rotundifolia, on the other hand, actually seem to grow more quickly (and turn pinker) with lower levels of nitrates (0 to 5). Overall, though, it is better to keep up the nitrate levels. Otherwise, it will take several weeks for your plants to recover and grow out again.
• UVS and Iron chelate: Don't run a UVS while using iron chelate. It seems to cause some chemical reaction with the fertilizers (white haze in water) which then results in severe nutrient deficiency signs in the plants. Just don't ask what the chemical reactions are.
  

Minimizing phosphates not effective?

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5-10 (after dose)
• PO4: 0.75 (after dose)
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 10 mL KNO3 (2.5 ppm), 10 mL KH2PO4 (0.4 ppm)

Notes:
It's only been a couple days with minimum levels of phosphate, but the water is still cloudy. Interestingly, almost as soon as the lights go out, the cloudiness clears right up, and as the lights go on, the cloudiness increases over the day. I decided that minimizing phosphates wasn't having much effect, except to possibly slow down plant growth, so I dosed some phosphates and nitrates today.

I've noticed that when I dose phosphates, plants will grow faster and bigger. The stargrass leaves are double the size of what they originally were when I first received them from an online retailer. Without the phosphate dosing (ie phosphate levels near zero otherwise), plants seem to grow more slowly, with smaller or even stunted leaves. Usually, the Rotala indica grows 6-10 inches over two weeks, but currently, the growth is noticeably slower, and some of the leaves are smaller. The algae levels haven't been changed much with the lowered phosphate levels, though.

Over the past several days, there's been this new brown gunk that looks a bit slimy and goopy. It does not seem to really attach to anything: water currents will blow it off of plants, but it is there on a majority of the plants. It does not have the same appearance as brown diatom algae, which has more texture and is more clingy and clumpy. I assume it's some algae, because even when I clean it out, it will reappear the next day, though I'm not positive, since I haven't seen this type before. Perhaps it's dead algae remains? I dunno.

Lowering phosphate levels...

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5
• PO4: 0.15
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm)

Notes:
Water is still a bit cloudy, don't know where the imbalance is. The phosphates are pretty low now.

Cloudy water from phosphates?

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5
• PO4: 0.2
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm)

Notes:
Today, the water was slightly cloudy. I had dosed 0.4 ppm phosphates last night and 5 mL Flourish this morning. It was probably due to the phosphates, though it possibly could have been due to the Flourish. I'll probably just try minimizing phosphate levels for the rest of the week to see if that makes any difference in algae levels. I've been trying to keep the NO3:PO4 at a 10:1 ratio, but I'm not happy with the algae growth, so I'll try to lower the PO4 levels. I'll wait till the water clears over the next day or two, and then I'll dose another 5 mL of Flourish (but not phosphates) to determine whether the cloudy water was due to the Flourish.

I've read that excess iron levels can cause algae growth as well, but I want to try minimizing phosphate levels first before trying to lower iron levels, since the stargrass is so greedy for it. I've already reduced iron levels to about 0.5 ppm (from 2.0 ppm) after I had drastically pruned out the Rotala indica, and the stargrass seems to be mostly satisfied with the lower levels.

Trying to prune glosso

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4: 0.15 before dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL iron chelate (0.5 ppm), 10 mL KH2PO4 (0.4 ppm)
  

Notes:
The glossostigma has grown well, sprouting runners that are growing horizontally. The roots, though, do not seem to always penetrate the flourite gravel well, often sitting just above the gravel. The runners then grow on top of each other, so that when you try to peel off one of the layers, all the layers stick to each other and come off together. Then, when you try to replant the runners, the glosso, which tend to float, stick more to your tweezers than to the gravel, and you end up making a mess in your lovely glosso carpet. So, after some frustration, I decided to phase out the glosso and start replacing it with a mix of M. micranthemoides (baby tears) and hairgrass. I ripped out over half the glosso and transplanted over plugs of the hairgrass (hairclub anyone?).

Several weeks ago, I had ordered Ludwigia glandulosa, and that's what I assumed I got, but after looking at several photographs of L. glandulosa, which have almond shaped purple leaves, I realized I received something else. It looks like I have Alternanthera reineckii (Red Temple) instead. When I first got the plant, the leaves were green on top and slightly reddish underneath. The new leaves, though, are growing in a nice red.

Water circulation

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 0-5 before dose
• PO4: 0.2 before dose
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL iron chelate (1 ppm), 15 mL KNO3 (3.75 ppm), 5 mL KH2PO4 (0.2 ppm)

Notes:
50% water change:
20 mL Amquel+
2.5 tsp baking soda
6 tsp Equilibrium

I moved the Eheim cannister spray bar from the back to the side of the tank in order to make it (slightly) less visible. I noticed that with good water circulation, less algae grows in areas where water is circulating and the plants seem to grow slightly better. So while it may be good to have little surface agitation, it's also good to have good water circulation beneath the surface.

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL iron chelate (1 ppm)

Notes:
I usually never bother to run tests the day before a water change or add much ferts except for the daily iron dosing.

Lower the phosphate levels?

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3:
• PO4:
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 10 mL iron chelate (1 ppm)

Notes:
There seems to be more algae today. Possibly due to dosing of phosphates yesterday? Over the past day or so, it seemed to be declining until today. With less plant matter in the tank, it seems that it's much more important to keep a tighter rein on the level of phosphates, keeping it around 0.2-0.5 instead of 1.0.

Brown spots on java fern leaves

• pH:
• Temp:
• KH:
• GH:
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5-10
• PO4: 0.2-0.5
• Iron:
• Dosing: 5 mL Flourish, 10 mL iron chelate (1 ppm), 10 mL KH2PO4 (0.4 ppm)

Notes:
I noticed a couple of the java fern leaves, including new leaves, suddenly have gotten brown patches all over, and some of the little plantlets on one of the leaves have gone all brown. They must have developed over the past couple days. I don't know what's happening there...

Heavy pruneback = more algae

• pH: 6.8
• Temp:
• KH: 5
• GH: 8
• NH4:
• NO2:
• NO3: 5-10
• PO4: 0.5
• Iron:
• Dosing: 10 mL iron chelate (1 ppm)

Notes:
After the drastic pruneback (>60% plant matter) over the weekend, algae started growing again. There's less plant matter, so I've been dosing less. Since I was out for the past couple days, I haven't dosed anything for the past couple days. Hopefully, over the next few days, the algae growth will slow down again. The numbers above are for yesterday.