# New tank syndrome + vacation does not a nice tank make



## Higher Thinking (Mar 16, 2011)

Did you leave the light on for the entire time you were gone? Vacation or not, that shouldn't be happening in a set up no matter how new or old. I would look to adjust lighting and CO2 levels. At this point, just pull all the algae that you can and work on establishing correct levels. I can't tell from just the one picture, but this might be one of those times where bombing everything with algae fix would be beneficial.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Yeah, time got really crunched before I left and I didn't get a chance to pick up a timer. Meaning that yes, the lights got left on the whole time. Now that I'm back, I can get the photoperiod sorted out.

It's a 7 gallon tank and I've never used chemical fixes before. How harmful is it to other plants, or do I need to pull them and treat them seperately? Would it affect fish? There's no fish in the tank currently, but I'm planning on getting them soon.


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## MiSo (Oct 26, 2005)

restart the tank. that's a mess.
do a quick bleach dip on plants to kill what algae you can.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

scrub the walls, take the plants out and remove the algae. a light bleach dip will be fine for getting rid of the algae on the plants, just look up dosing. if i remember correctly, i used a 1 part to 10 part bleach dip for about 15 minutes.
you dont actually have to remove everything if you have patience. if you dont feel like waiting, just redo it. it always seems like a bigger project than it is, but its not more than you can handle.


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## auban (Jun 23, 2012)

Kehy said:


> Yeah, time got really crunched before I left and I didn't get a chance to pick up a timer. Meaning that yes, the lights got left on the whole time. Now that I'm back, I can get the photoperiod sorted out.
> 
> It's a 7 gallon tank and I've never used chemical fixes before. How harmful is it to other plants, or do I need to pull them and treat them seperately? Would it affect fish? There's no fish in the tank currently, but I'm planning on getting them soon.


you can try algae fix, but in my experience, it doesnt always work for green spot algae or for green water. 

the bleach dip can be hard on soft leaved plants, but usually wont destroy all the leaves unless you leave it in too long. i would say its less damaging than peroxide though.

if you dip them in a bucket of water with a lot of dechlore in it, it wont really affect the fish.


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## concepts88 (Oct 4, 2012)

If it is a new tank. I recommend you do a reboot.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Alright, so a couple hours of elbow grease and a hardscape redo later...


Did I do good? I didn't dip the plants, with the thinking that they'd be going right into the same tank, with the same algae, just to get reinfested.
This is pretty much the types of algae that's left. How do I get rid of it without pulling out everything? Would Algaefix work against this stuff?


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## concepts88 (Oct 4, 2012)

If you have no fauna in there, go for it. 




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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

I would, but I looked at some at my LPS (the only one for 40 miles) and even a small bottle was $20...ugh. Think shrimp, snails, or otos would be able to take care of it for a longer term solution?


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## concepts88 (Oct 4, 2012)

Only Amanos eat algae and I don't think they eat what you have. Snails, if they so feast they are going to go into a population bloom. 




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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

I was mostly referring to nerites, which don't breed in freshwater. But even regular snails shouldn't be too hard to control in just a 7 gallon tank. There'd be a population boom, then a decrease once there is no longer the food to sustain them


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## R.sok (Sep 24, 2012)

Looks a lot better....IMO, If I were you though I would restart, take the plants out & either dip them or throw them away. Drain the tank "leave the substrate" then go to your bathtub & run the hottest water inside while scrubbing the tank " I usually use my hand or a paper towel" keep doing this till the water is clear, drain then refill.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

IF there is no fish yet... get some excel or metracide and do some heavy dosing for a week or so to kill it off


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Really, it's just that one corner left. I'm thinking heavy vacuuming would work pretty well for that. I'll still do heavy doses of excel, see if that does anything. 
The only way this won't come back is for a better light control schedule (working on it), and for the plants to grow in enough to block out some light. Normally having all this light is a good thing, but I was just wanting a nice relaxed low light, easy maintaince tank.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Did round 2 of cleaning. Vacuumed the trouble corner, and did a heavy dose of Excel. After a week of Excel (maybe ferts too?) I'll see how things are. Just algae on the plants left mostly. What else can I do about that?


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

So just a couple days with the excel and the tank seems to be getting better. The biggest problem algae I can see is stuck to the crypt, sword, and java fern leaves. Some marselia could use some help as well, but we'll see how things look by the end of the week. 
No pics until then, so you can judge for yourselves whether the Excel has made a difference.


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## HybridHerp (May 24, 2012)

I think things will be fine if you continue on your present course. Might take some time though.


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

Whoa, a week with Excel made a HUGE difference. Still have some algae, but even the stuff that didn't want to come off the plants is coming off. Also made me realize how much I like marselia, while the other plants were just dealing with being covered with algae, the marselia just put out new non-covered leaves!

Less than 3 weeks ago:

Now:

The java fern was coated in really thick algae I couldn't remove without damaging the plant. With the Excel, it pretty much just fell off.

Still some algae left on the marselia and other plants, but I'll keep up the heavy Excel for probably another week, then reduce the dosing. Pretty clear that I'll need to keep using it though, there's just too much light. Will get a timer when I get money


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

Whoa dude....

edit: Whoa for holy crap the transformation and DAT ALGAE


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## Kehy (Feb 5, 2012)

puopg said:


> Whoa dude....


Was that the good whoa or the bad whoa? Inquiring minds must know.:hihi:


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