# What am I doing WRONG!!???



## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

I recently set up this 75G and am having some algae issues and even plant issues. I'm somewhat new to the hobby so i'm super frustrated. I had green algae that went away after i raised the light fixture for a couple of days and added a hugry pleco. Now i have this brownish stuff growing on the glass especially near the substrate and on my cichlid stones. How do i get rid of this. I dose leaf zone once a week per bottle instructions and i dose Liquid co2 daily. I'm not sure if i'm using too much or too little light? At the moment i'm running two 39w geismann while i wait for two more in the mail. I bought the light off craigslist and it came with blue bulbs for corals. I run the two lighter ones once in a while. I posted a pic of the height between the tank and fixture, is it too low? I have the light on a timer from 11:00am to 10:30pm. too much? Is ten the limit? Any pointers would be awesome! Oh, and what the hell is wrong with my wisteria?


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

My anubius has stated to yellow too, it was nice and green before in my 10G it's been in here for about two 1/2 weeks.


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## starrlamia (Jul 31, 2012)

Do you know the k rating on your bulbs? I don't know offhand what rating reef bulbs have. 

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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

unsure, it came witht the fixture. wanna say it's between 6500k-10000K but i doubt its the latter. they say 39w aquablue+ giesemann.


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## sp33drhno (Jan 8, 2009)

the brown stuff looks to be diatoms, and is perfectly normal on a new tank. it should go away on its own eventually. the giesemann aqua blue+ won't do much for the plants.


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

sp33drhno said:


> the brown stuff looks to be diatoms, and is perfectly normal on a new tank. it should go away on its own eventually. the giesemann aqua blue+ won't do much for the plants.


That has to be the problem because all my other tanks have the same treatments and i've never had an issue. I have some 6700k's on the way so i hope that solves it! Also, have any of you guys used or know about colormax bulbs? Are they good for plants as far as spectrum?


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

sp33drhno said:


> the brown stuff looks to be diatoms, and is perfectly normal on a new tank. it should go away on its own eventually. the giesemann aqua blue+ won't do much for the plants.


It all makes sense to me now! On sat i did a 25% water change and did my weekly dose of leaf zone. Since the light isnt the right spectrum the plants are not photosynthesizing properly hence the exposion of diatoms! I think that when i get the light up tomorrow it will be on the right tract. I is a fairly new tank but i've never had this much diatoms, i feel this is the reason. Thanks for the input.


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## LB79 (Nov 18, 2011)

For the algae, large water changes and perhaps a BN pleco would solve the problem, as well as getting the right lights for the plants, of course. Once the plants are growing strong, the algae will have little change to grow on them like it is now.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

the lights are fine. not perfect but plants will grow with them

what are u doisng?
diatoms are photosynthetic.. they need the same lights plants do


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## Aquatic Delight (Mar 2, 2012)

aquatickid said:


> have any of you guys used or know about colormax bulbs? Are they good for plants as far as spectrum?



the colormax bulbs are really intented for making fish look good. you can grow plants under them, i use them next to 6500k bulbs. the tank in journal had the colormax and 6500k until i got a LED set up.


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## NWA-Planted (Aug 27, 2011)

I just switched out my 10k bulbs for aquaflora

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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

i took a very dim shot of my bulbs for color reference
from left to right
ge starcoat 6500
geiseman aquaflora
wavepoint red (is purple, lots of blue)
geiseman midday


plants grow phenominal, and fish color is not sacrificed the plants use morel ight frm the wavepoint than the aquaflora its mostly red and blue. gives the tank a natural look as well when mixed with a midday or 6500 k bulb. fish look awesome under it as well
also as u can see the geise midday is very green. looks very bright. its no brighter than the ge starcoat and plant growth appears to be the same under either bulb

so we can see that different bulbs can get the job done.. i used to fret over bulbs a while back as well. now i just pick ones that look good and have a decent spectrum


have u tested ur nitrate or phosphate levels? plants basically looked starved for nutrients. this could also be carbon shortage as well. liquid co2 is a poor supplement in my opinion. lower ur light levels a little, drop to one bulb for 10 hours a day until things get healthy, or ur gonna continually fight algae and poor looking plants


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

Well, i just got two Geis...aqua flora and two colormax in. I ordered two more aqua flora also so i think that willdo. I've had the aquaflora in for two days and i can already see the difference. I'm grateful for all the input! Also on a side note my convicts just breeded for the first time. Not too bad but i got about 20 fry. It's the first batch so im sure next one will be more. At least they aint eating them! Well, when it's all said and done i'll have 4 aquaflora and two colormax. This should be enough! Today i also noticed that the diatons are not as intense in color, i hope it's fading.


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> i took a very dim shot of my bulbs for color reference
> from left to right
> ge starcoat 6500
> geiseman aquaflora
> ...


I dont have a test kit for phosphates but i have a freshwater master test kit. All my amonia and nitrate nitrite are non existing. Weekly water changes and i dont over feed. I just cant afford co2 injection at the moment so i figure liquid is better than nothing. The only algae problem i have is diatoms and i think its because it's kind of a new tank, less than 2months. Since i changes the bulbs to aquaflora and colormax the plants have showed immediate improvement.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

Wonderful. However nitrate at zero is a problem. Plants need it. Api leaf zone is basically iron. So u might invest in dosing some more ferts.

Nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium at a bare minimum. The other micros wont hurt but u can survive without them on a low tech tank.. but zero readings are gonna give u the yellowing plants u see in the pictures. Nitrogen is needed for chlorophyll production!! And that is the basis for how the plant generates its food!


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

Cool, so what's the best way to introduce all these different things into the aquarium? Is seachem flourish any better than leaf zone. Money is an issue because I don't have an unlimited amount to put into the hobby because I have five kids! Enough said on that, lol. Does anyone know of a mix or a way to mix a good solution for the plants? I can even order online if need be, gotta love bill me later!!:icon_roll I'm addicted to this hobby now and I just want to do what's right. I was looking into a way to get testers for all these substances but I couldn't find anything really. Just ph, kh, stuff like that.


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

a good place to start is green leaf aquariums. its a forum sponsor. they have a green fert package that has everything u'll need in an easy to dose dry form for about 20 bux.

dry fertilizers are very cost effective. that package will likely last more than a year for u

edit: you will likely want to invest in a decent teaspoon measuring kit.. or a cheap teaspoon measuring kit.


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> a good place to start is green leaf aquariums. its a forum sponsor. they have a green fert package that has everything u'll need in an easy to dose dry form for about 20 bux.
> 
> dry fertilizers are very cost effective. that package will likely last more than a year for u
> 
> edit: you will likely want to invest in a decent teaspoon measuring kit.. or a cheap teaspoon measuring kit.


I definately gonna check that out! Thanks


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

HD Blazingwolf said:


> a good place to start is green leaf aquariums. its a forum sponsor. they have a green fert package that has everything u'll need in an easy to dose dry form for about 20 bux.
> 
> dry fertilizers are very cost effective. that package will likely last more than a year for u
> 
> edit: you will likely want to invest in a decent teaspoon measuring kit.. or a cheap teaspoon measuring kit.


Well, i ordered the package but now what?! It didnt come with any instructions. I dont have a co2 system but i dose liquid co2 daily when lights come on. My plants are definatly deficient. they are growing but yellowing and even slighly browning on the edges. I have two colormax and 4 giesemann 39w aquaflora bulbs. What do you suggest? Does anyone have any input? Do i just add it to the water in powder form? THANKS!


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## starrlamia (Jul 31, 2012)

Ei dosing is a good place to start, there is a calculator if you Google petalphile, I don't have the link offhand 

Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

starrlamia said:


> Ei dosing is a good place to start, there is a calculator if you Google petalphile, I don't have the link offhand
> 
> Sent from my Nexus S using Tapatalk 2


does it make a difference if i use co2 gas or not?


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## HD Blazingwolf (May 12, 2011)

if u leave all ur bulbs on then yes, u need co2.. i'd ty running half ur lighting configuration and see if things improve
as far as dosing, 

For higher light, Co2 enriched tank's that are moderately 
to heavy planted.

Add o2 to your tank daily, by either air stone or surface
agitation.

Dry Dosing... Use measuring spoon's found at 
most department store's in the utensils section, scoop 
appropriate amount and toss in the tank, simple as that!

I use to keep an old travel mug under the tank, and 
keep fertilizers in large spice bottles, scoop appropriate 
amount into cup, dip in tank, stir and serve.
Tsp=Teaspoon

*Dry Dosing Plantex CSM+B... 
Converting 1 tablespoon to 250ml H20, 
20 ml = 1/4 teaspoon of dry fertilizer. 
There are 12 - 1/4 teaspoons dissolved
250ml/12=20.83ml. 

20~40gal
50% H20 change-weekly
1/4 Tsp-KN03 3x a week
1/16 Tsp-KH2P04 3x aweek
1/2 Tsp-GH booster once a week 
5ml or 1/16Tsp-Trace 3x a week
Optional
1-2ml-Fe/Iron 3x a week

"If dosing a 10gal highlight C02 enriched tank, 
divide above regime x2" 

40~60gal
50% H20 change-weekly
1/2 Tsp-KN03 3x a week
1/8 Tsp-KH2P04 3x a week
3/4 Tsp-GH booster once a week
10ml or 1/8Tsp-Trace 3x a week
Optional
2-4ml-Fe/Iron 3x a week

60~80gal
50% H20 change-weekly
3/4 Tsp-KN03 3x a week
3/16 Tsp-KH2P04 3x a week
1 Tsp-GH booster once a week
15ml 3/16Tsp-Trace 3x a week
Optional
4-8ml-Fe/Iron 3x a week



since u are not going for a high tech tank right now, start with no co2, and dose half the reccommended levels for your tank size


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## aquatickid (May 23, 2012)

Thanks Blazin! I'm gonna go through this thing and figure it out. I run an air stone at night that comes on when the lights go out automatically. I turned all the bulbs off except two 39W aquafloras and soon im taking out one colormax and then turning one back on. For a total of three bulbs, i also raised the light fixture a bit and it sits about 24 inches from the substrate.....what do you think?


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