# Restarting Tank-Help



## Axelrodi202 (Jul 29, 2008)

Inert sand is a terrible substrate for plants. Amano often wrote how he'd intentionally place inert sand where he wanted to keep an area clear of plants. One of the core principles of a planted tank is you want to support a lot of healthy plants, lest algae grow uninhibited using the photosynthetic resources provided (light, nutrients, etc.), and inert sand, even when capped, makes this harder to do. These days I only use it in tanks where I only have epiphytes (Bucephalandra, ferns), and no rooting plants. 

Capped substrates are another curve ball. I have tried them in the past and almost always regret it. Rescaping is an extremely perilous and nerve-wracking venture, for fear of releasing substrate particles into the water column, leading to a nutrient spike and potential algae bloom. Furthermore, mineralized soil substrates can be very variable depending on your source and process, leading to mixed plant-growing capability. Considering these, along with the time and mess involved, I would avoid them.

I've never used dolomite, but if I remember correctly it's more of an iron supplement and doesn't contain many other macro or micro nutrients. 

Your algae sounds like BBA. This algae in particular is one caused by a high level of dissolved organic compounds, such as mulm, detritus, etc. A poor substrate choice leads to (or at least makes it very hard to prevent) poor plant growth and health, leading to a profusion of shed leaves, which contributes to the organics load. However low CO2 also plays a role - I'm not sure how bright your lights are, but you may need to supplement CO2 or somehow dim them (screen on cover or raising them). Do you have PAR values (the manufacturer often provides these)?

As for the specific benefits of Aquasoil-type substrates, I discuss this early on in my latest tank journal. I lost this tank's previous incarnation (which had a capped topsoil substrate) to an extreme BBA infestation (worse than yours by far). Later in the journal, I discuss (and will update soon with) some further 'struggles' with BBA, but honestly these are limited to maybe a dozen visible spores in the entire tank, even after things have gone amiss for several days. Essentially my experience is it's directly related to organics load - other causes that are usually associated with BBA generally also harm plant health and increase organics. 

Personally I haven't used Fluval Stratum, but have heard of people having decent results. However I have heard that it's structural integrity is poorer, and that it may turn to mush after a year or so. Personally I'd just go with the ADA substrate. The cost difference, in the grand scheme of things, isn't that significant, but ADA substrate has proven itself time and time again to produce excellent results. I have some in a three-year-old tank that still supports some beautiful Cryptocoryne nurii with no additional dosing.


----------



## OVT (Nov 29, 2011)

This is your first post on TPT, I am not sure how you could have posted on this subject here before.

IMHO, breaking the tank down and starting anew is not the right way to go - if you don't end up with the same problems, you will end up with different ones. I personally see no reasons why your tank cannot be "fixed" - it will take time and some education but you will learn a lot in the process.

There are multiple introductions on this forum on the basics of planted tanks - from substrate comparisons, to lighting, to plants and beyond.

My personal Chapter 0: planted tanks require regular care. As you said, the substrate is covered in algae and detritus - have you tried to clean it up? That would be my step number one. My next step would be to decide what kind of tank you would want to end up with? Slow growing plants with less maintenance, a lush green tank with with different plants, a tank with plants of different colors, a specific biotope? You have a lot of choices. One way to narrow them down is to look at pictures here on TPT and on the web. Once you find a tank that appeals to you the next step is figuring out how labor intensive that tank is and whether you are willing to put that effort and money to achieve it.

One of the reasons I bring the effort of regular maintenance is because of your statement about your corys - gravel does not damage their barbells, unclean substrate does.

The theory is pretty simple - the choice of plants drives the light selection. The light selection drives the need to fertilize the plants. The practice is a bit more involve but the journey can be more fun then the destination.

Above all, enjoy!


----------



## sweeneycam (Dec 30, 2015)

I cannot figure out why it reset my account. I've looked for the posts for some time now, and I cannot find them. 

To respond to your suggestions, I would say yes, I have tried to remove it. Every water change I do (weekly) I was removing it, but it comes back with such a voracious nature, that it covers up by the next week. Whats worse, is every time I remove it, it disturbs the sand, which is black underneath. All that organic detritus has been building up over the years and every time I mess with the bottom, it releases all of that into the water column, something my filters can't handle, apparently. 

All the plants I have purchased have been covered in this stuff, and then melt away. The sword has returned, which is good, but the Frill, Crypts, Moneywort, and Dwarf Hairgrass have disappeared. 

I am quite ready to put forth the extra effort and money right now. I would like to achieve a Amazonian Biome specific tank. I have read so much about gravel and cory barbels, and noticed it for myself, when I switched away from a gravel based tank (which I vacuumed on a weekly basis) my cories barbels returned. So I would prefer to stay away from gravel, based on personal experience. 

I am willing to re-cycle the tank, taking the time and effort to get it right this time. After I moved, all of these problems started. I have tested my water, and it seems to be on par with what it was at my previous residence, slight nitrates, no chlorines or chloramines, slightly basic water, (7.4). I have a Hospital tank I can hold my fish and plants in while the other tank re-cycles when I set it up. I would prefer to start from scratch and work on building something new, because it seems all of my problem started when I disturbed the sandbed after my move.

So the lighting is a problem I believe, because the light is on for 8 hours a day, but what I've come to realize in this house is the amount of light it gets from our ceiling windows in the morning. Being a teacher that works far from home, I leave before the sun rises, and now that its summer, I see the sun rise in my house and realize that its getting DIRECT sunlight for about 4 hours in the beginning of the day. So, it ends up being between 12-14 hours of light a day. 

With the Sand Bed, It has Laterite underneath, but after I moved, and added water back in, it stirred up that sandbed and all of the laterite in it. I am also realizing what a poor decision laterite and sand were. When I first started this guy 2 years ago, I operated under the assumption that I knew all the things because I have kept an SPS coral tank with refugium and sandbed for nigh on 10 years now and it works brilliantly!

My mistake.

Planted tanks are another WHOLE ball game. So now that I am done teaching for at least the next two weeks, its high time I do something about this tank. I have neglected water changes the past few months, but I did them regularly every week. I don't dose with anything anymore, too afraid to do that. I have some fish that I really want to keep alive, and they are my major concern right now. I want to get to a luscious green tank like I've seen with so many other tanks, but I want to do it safely. 


OVT, have you used Sand before?

Bump: I looked at some BBA algae info and control websites like this one https://fishyaquaria.wordpress.com/2010/05/04/tackling-the-black-brush-algae-bba/
and it seems like BBA sticks or clings to things... is that true?


This algae clumps, and forms little balls that sit on the sand. Is that still BBA? It actually isn't growing on my plants, or at least its not the same stuff growing on my plants... that might have been BBA,


----------



## Nordic (Nov 11, 2003)

Direct sunlight is a death sentence algae wise.


----------



## sweeneycam (Dec 30, 2015)

So I think I've decided not to restart the tank, and here is what I've done thus far:

I have left the light off for two days. I find that it gets indirect sunlight for about 3 hours and direct sunlight for just 1, by my count.
I have scooped a lot of algae off of the sandbed, but it seems to be growing back already, even with the lights off. 
I am doing a ten gallon WC today, and probably another tomorrow or Friday. 

Any other suggestions?


----------



## grizzly_a (Sep 9, 2014)

Have you done the Algae One Two Punch? I would recommend you give that a shot to shock the algae and give you a bit of time to deal with the problem. It shouldn't hurt the fish and you don't have shrimp. It's worked really well for me on staghorn, BBA, and some other black/dark green algae.

What is the black stuff that you're stirring up? Laterite is typically reddish in color.


----------

