# Starting over, need help cleaning this up! 56k warning



## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Long story short: went from this....









...to this...









...'cause I got lazy.

Tank crashed due to not keeping up with the DIY co2 most likely. So, I'm starting over and have removed as much algae as I could including most of the plants. These pics show what's left and I need to know the experts opinions on how to best clean this up for a fresh start. The substrate is EcoComplete, and I will be going to pressurized co2 before starting anything major.

















Are these worth saving?

















Any help is appreciated. Anything worth saving? Can the EcoComplete be saved? Should I gut the rest of the plants and plunge the tank into complete darkness for a while? More info provided if needed.

Thanks in advance!!!

Aaron


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## Centromochlus (May 19, 2008)

A 3-day blackout would probably give you the best results. But i would first try to manually remove most of the algae "clumps". That will help a ton.

The plants still look healthy, so i don't really think you need to discard them. 

Good luck! Your tank looked beautiful in that first pic. :thumbsup:


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

AzFishKid said:


> Good luck! Your tank looked beautiful in that first pic. :thumbsup:


Thanks!

I'll give the blackout a shot. Should I stop the DIY co2 during that time? It's not putting out more than a bubble every 5 seconds or so, but the plants that are left are pearling some.

Believe it or not, I did pull out most of the algae clumps. I've been taking handfuls of substrate out on a daily basis, as well as anything I can grab. I should have taken a picture before I cleaned it up.


Aaron


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## diveshooter (Jan 20, 2010)

I would toss all the substrate and start from scratch. Scrub all your driftwood and any rocks with a bleach solution and rinse throughly.Otherwise that algae will just keep coming back. With pressurised co2 and the right balance of light and ferts you'll be back on track in no time.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

I'll give the blackout a shot, 'cause I'm not really looking forward to throwing out $100 worth of substrate. Although, I have wanted to try mineralized topsoil....

...but yeah, I admit, I don't think I'll ever get it all out of there.:frown:

Aaron


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## OverStocked (May 26, 2007)

A blackout plus hydrogen peroxide dosing would do the trick. Search the forums here for hydrogen peroxide.


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

Don't throw out the substrate. There is nothing wrong with it. Once you get consistent co2 in there the algae will go away. And hydrogen peroxide will go a long way with helping getting rid of it until you can get your co2 in check.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

If I use the h2o2, I don't think I'll be able to use the spot treat method, so I'll have to dose the whole tank. Popular advise seems to be to shut off the filters, dose, then perform WC 30 to 90 mins later. Sounds good, but, I'm concerned that this will wipe out any biological filtration that I have. Any thoughts on that? I don't have anywhere else to put the fish waiting for the bacteria to come back.

I've got the lights off for now and tank covered. Should I try that for a few days, or hit it with the H2o2 during the blackout? I just did a wc and filter clean today, but I do need more practice....:icon_redf 

Thanks for all the advise!

Aaron


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## sewingalot (Oct 12, 2008)

I don't know if pouring h2o2 in a tank will help. I really would be hesitant to suggest this do to the many deaths recently from others pouring peroxide either accidentally or to get rid of algae. 

How about trying to pull up the top layer covered with algae and treating it outside of the tank? Do this before a water change to keep the mulm from flying everywhere. And I wouldn't do it all at once. I would do a section at a time over a period of days or weeks.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Well, I'm on day 3 of the blackout. Should I see any algae left? I still see some green hairy stuff on the substrate. How long is it safe/good for the fish?

Thanks.

Aaron


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

My tank was in bad shape too, okay it is still pretty rough looking. I let the pothos shade the tank and the filter and heater were turned off for a month or so. In the winter! I pulled out the pothos, cleaned out the filter, vacuumed the gravel, scraped the glass and in a couple weeks with proper fertilizing it looks like a planted aquarium again.

Vacuum that gravel. Fertilize properly. Change water.

Long ago I tried black outs and H2O2 for various algae problems. I found that adding P and N did the trick. Encourage the plants rather than kill the algae.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks for the advice!

I won't have my co2 setup for a couple of weeks yet. I just got my ferts (aquariumfertilizers.com rocks, btw! Lightning fast shipping.) but I've only got a few plants left in the tank. You think I should still start dosing ferts now? I had planned on waiting for the co2 and few more plants.

Thanks.

Aaron


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## captain_bu (Oct 20, 2007)

Kathyy said:


> My tank was in bad shape too, okay it is still pretty rough looking. I let the pothos shade the tank and the filter and heater were turned off for a month or so. In the winter! I pulled out the pothos, cleaned out the filter, vacuumed the gravel, scraped the glass and in a couple weeks with proper fertilizing it looks like a planted aquarium again.
> 
> Vacuum that gravel. Fertilize properly. Change water.
> 
> Long ago I tried black outs and H2O2 for various algae problems. I found that adding P and N did the trick. Encourage the plants rather than kill the algae.


Removing the pothos was a good idea, it is a houseplant not an aquatic...

Your suggestion to concentrate on growing plants instead of killing algae is right on!


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## abcemorse (Jul 24, 2008)

Personally I'd yank the few plants you have left, use a gravel vac to somewhat carefully pull what aglae you can off the substrate and leave the lights off till you're ready to replant. Fish won't mind and that should get rid of most of the algae, throw in some WC's while waiting for CO2 stuff, plant heavy with fast growing stems to start. As stated, focus on spoiling the plants, not killing algae. Appropriate lighting, good CO2 & nutrient levels should take care of the rest. Oh, you'll probably need a good dose of patience in there too!!  GL


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

I am dosing low as there aren't many plants in the tank, a bazillon lilies, dozen crypt pontederiifolia, half dozen crypt petchii, few small bits of Java fern and some sad Anubias nana stems is all. I was shocked to see the difference after they got some fertilizer though. With heat the snails got to work cleaning the leaves and now there is nice green algae on the glass instead of red gunk. My CO2 is still giving me fits, pretty sure they aren't getting any right now.

Maybe feed according to how what size tank your plants that are left would fill up? I figured my tank is about 25-50% full so dosed for a 60 gallon tank when it is a 100 gallon tank.

I have the pothos growing out of the tank, not submerged but it is way out of scale anyway. It is in water behind the open top tank now. Probably sneak back into the tank again, this isn't its first eviction.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Thanks for the advise! I was planning on re-scaping anyhow, so maybe I will yank the plants. The fish won't have anywhere to hide, but most hang near the surface anyways.

The rock I had in there got soaked in bleach/water for a couple of days and is now drying. Anything else I need to do to it before I throw it back in there?

Aaron


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Just so that I'm clear, should I start dosing dry ferts before I get the co2 setup?

Thanks.

Aaron


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## Kathyy (Feb 22, 2010)

I did. The plants cannot use as much NPK without CO2 but they need some. How much light are you putting over the tank? Maybe consider cutting back a little? A clean tank with happy plants is like baking a cake. Too much or too little of anything messes it up, must be in a balance whether you are making one cupcake or a wedding cake.


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Right now, I've got approx 90w of T5 running 4 hours on, 4 off, then 4 on again. Starting to see the algae come back on the substrate, so maybe I'll just kill the lights until the regulator arrives in the mail.

I've started dosing 1/2tsp of KNO3 3x/week, and 1/8tsp of KS2O4, KH2PO4, and CSM+B 3x/week with 50% wc 1x/week, just to get in the habit.

Aaron


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## TheRac25 (Nov 5, 2008)

yeah that seems like alot of light on a 55


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## arn24 (Jan 31, 2009)

Recently, I've been running the T5's only a couple of hours a day. Otherwise, less than 2wpg. I would think that would be considered 'medium' light?

Aaron


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