Jennifer

Hi Rob, glad you could join us!

:rotf: Seriously, I am getting really intrigued by these great algae photos.... ...I wonder if there is an algae appreciation society....? :smln:

Does any one have any BBA that is red/dying?

Scary stuff! :tears: Thanks for the pics

There are 'Facebook pages', and 'Facebook groups.' More info about the differences can be found here. 'FB pages' require anyone who is interested to 'like' the page and anyone who is not a member of FB can see the page and its contents. With this sort of page you can also get a 'vanity url' once you have 25 members (e.g. http://www.facebook.com/FNZAS as opposed to a random lot of numbers and symbols after the Facebook bit). 'FB groups' can be open or closed and are more for small communities but you must be logged in to see them. The FB group for Chch Totally Tanked is open but because it is a group page, it is not visible to everyone. Our club may need to look at changing that...but unfortunately, 'groups' cannot be transferred into 'pages' so your members will have to like/join the new page again. Maybe other clubs would like to consider doing this change for their clubs so we can make these pages more accessible to prospective members. Happy to help if anyone wants some assistance in making this happen.

Omg, that is like the best pic ever (and also like a horror movie) I can just imagine the look on your face when you saw it. :nilly: Someone's on fire today.... :gigl: (waits for the next post) :spop:

Great pics! Hee hee never been so happy about seeing algae before! :happy2: Any algae blooms out there?? Or really long thread algae?

Oh, please send me a pic of it for the algae treatment guide, I would be so grateful! Btw, this is a hard one to pin down the cause of. One thing is pretty certain, plenty of CO2 and good circulation are essential but high nitrates and a reduced light intensity/photo period seem to also be key. Keep in mind though, nitrates over 30ppm are not well tolerated by some fish and of course high CO2 also has its risks.

More than 5 email addresses?? Ugh... Btw, I am sure you can scrounge up some algae to photograph for me!

Really? That's odd. Never had that happen before. Try the email address here: If that doesn't work, I will PM you an alternate address. Don't ask why I have so many email addresses either... :nilly: BTW, thanks for the pic guys, keep 'em commin!

Thank you! Does anyone have an algae bloom (green water)?

Send it, better than nothing! No, not really. Nice pic tho. Green spot on the glass is more what I am looking for. Hard to get a good pic of it tho.

Excellent! Does anyone have any photos of green dust algae and green spot algae?

I'm so glad I fought to get that smiley added, I had a feeling you would like it Ira. Yes please! Excellent! Thanks! All photos welcome!

Are you dealing with an algae onslaught in your tank? Have you read algae treatment guides that really didn't seem to offer a workable treatment for dealing with your algae problem? Have you given up on planted tanks altogether becasue of all of the algae problems? Have you read 100's of queries on the forums over the years from people suffering from algae problems and wish that the answers could be simplified? Do you want to be famous on the website/Aquarium World magazine with published photos? :happy2: We are in need of some original images of freshwater tank algae for a guide that we are developing about identifying algae and dealing with algae problems. These photos need to be fairly good in terms of being able to clearly identify the type of algae and you need to own the rights to the images. You will get full credit for the photos (if you wish) when they are published on the website/magazine. If you think you might have a good photo, send it to me now at the email below. The more photos we have, the better the resource we can develop and the sooner we can make it available for all to benefit!

Here's my 380: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/?p=1114 It does have some downsides, but it is also a good tiny contained tank perfect for my desk. Have fun! Planning new tanks is always one of the most fun parts of keeping planted tanks. :happy2:

Welcome to the forum. When you are first starting out it is good to master the basics. Another option to the suggestions above is to start off simple with something like: Light: aim for an 11 watt tube and start with a 4 hour photoperiod that you increase by one hour each week until you have a 6 hour photoperiod Substrate: anything you like, sand is better scale for that size tank IMO Plants: start with easy plants like ambulia and java fern to start, they will grow fast in those conditions. Start off with a lot of low light/fast growing plants to increase your chances of success (and minimal algae) Fertilisation: for that size tank you can afford to buy some of the easy liquid ferts to try out. Start with Flourish Comprehensive and Flourish Excel. They will last ages with such a small tank. Dosing regime: dose Flourish Excel once every other day and Flourish Comprehensive once a week. In the second week, increase the Comprehensive dose to twice a week. Fish: stock it with very small fish like sparkling gourami and dwarf danios. A good amount of them will help to boost the nutrient levels (nitrate and phosphate) in the tank to feed the plants. Make sure your filter is cycled first though. Give that setup a good three months to mature. Once you get it down then you can experiment with increasing the phtoperiod, changing ferts, injected CO2 and adding different plants.

Lionfish are pests and are invading many oceans around the world. http://www.sciencedaily.com/releases/2011/03/110314141606.htm

If you don't need as much CO2, it is best to have a low constant level rather than none, fluctutations are a recipe for staghorn.

Those plants won't be using many nutrients especially if they have been shocked from getting pruned or rearranged so you won't need to dose as much until they settle in (aka your CO2 and nitrate could climb to an unhealthy level for the fish).

Sulfa Trimeth (aka sulfamethoxazole trimethoprim or SMZ TMP) is usually sold as a generic by the same name. Triple sulfa is another related antibiotic that is sold. These are prescription-only medications that are prescribed to humans and animals. You must get them from your local vet and your vet will need to see the animal, or have an established relationship with you in order to prescribe it.

Copied from my PM reply to the query: The problem with fish is that it is very hard to test them to see what antibiotic is best, so it is really just guesswork. Also, swimbladder problems can be caused by numerous things so it is even more difficult to be sure. Also, only a veterinarian can dispense the medication and legally they can basically can only do it after they have seen an animal. Unfortunately there are few fish vets around but if you already have a good relationship with a vet in your area you can go to them and show them a good reliable source that details the dosage and medication recommended for the symptoms your fish has. They will want to confirm the symptoms/clinical signs that the fish has to be sure they are prescribing the right medication so if you have a video of the fish or some good photos that will help. If the vet prescribes SMZ TMP, it is very easy to use, you pretty much just dissolve it in the water. There is an antibiotic that you can get from a pet store for the treatment, it is called Furan. That might be worth a try if you don't know a local vet.

This sounds good. Now just sit back and wait. :cofn: It is great that you trimmed back the leaves, this will stimulate the plants to grow. What was your list of plants again? The swords will take a couple of weeks at least to really start growing fast so it might be good to get some floating Indian fern or something like that until the others get big, more is always better in terms of plant biomass.

I didn't call an FX5 a sump. I meant that for tanks larger than a 6ft I would use a sump! :nilly:

The problem with algae in a new tank is that it is invasive and damaging to plants that are already struggling to adjust. You will have a much easier time if you cut the photoperiod even more. You can even cut the photoperiod in half so that the lights are on when you are wanting to view it. Then, after two weeks, increase it by one hour, then two weeks later increase it by another hour (increasing nutrients as well). It is so much easier to endure looking at a dark tank than to deal with algae. :-?