GrahamC Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 BTW, when penicillin was in short supply shortly after its discovery it was recovered from the urine for reuse as it is removed from the body by the kidneys. Nitrofurantoin is a common antibiotic used to treat urine infections. It is also excreted by the kidneys. Furan is nitrofurantoin. You guess the rest! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted August 21, 2012 Report Share Posted August 21, 2012 correct, flawed test SEM ELISA test from what I have heard. or rather they are looking for a breakdown product of Nitrofuran and other furans, and it looks like this breakdown product (SEM) can occur naturally Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted August 22, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 22, 2012 Sophia, do you know if your water is hard or soft? Twisted val prefers hard water and brighter lights (pretty much the opposite of crypts so they don't often thrive in the same tank). Regarding the cobwebs, this is a bacteria and it can be solved by introducing beneficial bacteria for competition, or waiting for things to balance on their own. I find that smaller tanks often take a long time to settle. :dunno: There is a bacterial product on the market, I forget the name but it is made by TLC and it helps in balancing the tank and preventing that 'scum' bacteria. I would recommend that you add some dirty water from your other balanced tank and see if that helps first. A holistic (and free) option. :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
#!CrunchBang Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 Twisted val prefers hard water and brighter lights Thrives in my tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted August 23, 2012 Report Share Posted August 23, 2012 and it hates salt, as I found out the hard way Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted August 24, 2012 Report Share Posted August 24, 2012 Sophia, do you know if your water is hard or soft? Twisted val prefers hard water and brighter lights (pretty much the opposite of crypts so they don't often thrive in the same tank). Regarding the cobwebs, this is a bacteria and it can be solved by introducing beneficial bacteria for competition, or waiting for things to balance on their own. I find that smaller tanks often take a long time to settle. :dunno: There is a bacterial product on the market, I forget the name but it is made by TLC and it helps in balancing the tank and preventing that 'scum' bacteria. I would recommend that you add some dirty water from your other balanced tank and see if that helps first. A holistic (and free) option. :thup: CPD tank where the val is green and behaving relatively normally for that tank, it took 3 drops to turn the test from blue to orange/yellow. In comparison the crypts never did well in here and I moved them all out. In the loach tank where it's browning took 4 drops and the crypts are consistently alright. I wonder if I should give up on val in the loach tank, it's always struggled. Do you think the brown val will perk up if I move it to a better condition or is it likely finished? Funnily enough the leaf structure and the whole thing seems to be intact, not rotting etc, still trying to put out runners. I think I've had cobwebs before, and there also seems to be a sort of white blob on the back wall that looks like underwater mould. It has cleared up in the past, I may just wait it out and see what happens, and do some water swapping. Thanks for the tips. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted August 25, 2012 Author Report Share Posted August 25, 2012 The val will probably come back if you plant it somewhere that it is happy. Be worth a try anyway. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted August 25, 2012 Report Share Posted August 25, 2012 :thup: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 I would say that's a bit of brown algae and some 'scum'. Brown algae isn't too serious and is usually self limiting. A couple of small algae eaters would help to keep things tidy. Or you could just use your fingers to wipe it away. You could also go a bit more extreme and try a three day blackout, or reducing the photoperiod for a week or so. In the loach tank most plants are still thriving but the brown slimey algae is too. A week ago I cut the photoperiod back to 3 hours a day and today I cleaned a lot of the leaves myself. It's pretty thick and gross. How long shall I give it before covering the tank with a blanket? The cobwebby stuff seems to have gone now and I've moved the val out, all except some bits that trying to grow towards the windows that seem to be doing ok. Got more crypts coming to fill in the background too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted September 9, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Cover the tank with a blanket for three days, the fish will go to sleep and not need feeding during this time. Then, go in and clean things up and all the plants will start to sprout again. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 They are sprouting now, that's what is confusing. Each crypt and anubias has a nice fresh green leaf or 2 or 3, and then over a week or so it the parts of the leaves that are catching light on a flat surface turn brown with slime. I will initiate Blanketland tomorrow. So am I cutting the light to upset the algae and stunt its growth, or am I putting the plants to sleep proper so they wake up and take off? Is it the low light that is causing this situation? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeebee Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 I have BGA and have tried two black outs. First for three then the second for five days. It did not leave. Any other ideas? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 lotsa oto's, siamese algae eaters and shrimp I got one small SAE and 6 oto's cleaning a 400L tank, works well Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
GrahamC Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 I have BGA and have tried two black outs. First for three then the second for five days. It did not leave. Any other ideas? I had a tank covered with a black plastic bag for a few months. Just had some driftwood with some java fern on it and BGA. Some of it still survived. Put some Excel in last week, and no change. Going to use an oxyacetylene torch next. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeebee Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 Lol Graham C. I didn't think anything ate it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendanNSANZ Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 I have BGA and have tried two black outs. First for three then the second for five days. It did not leave. Any other ideas? 1. Physically remove as much BGA as possible. 2. 30% WC 3. Pump oxygen & blackout for 3 days. 4. Vacuum/30%WC Worked for me on two occasions, no more BGA. Occasion #1 - Excess light. Occasion #2 - New tank setup Make sure you're removing any mulm/debris. What is your photoperiod, light setup & tank size? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
zeebee Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 It only appeared after replacing the light bulb. I have it on for about 5 hours. It's 34l with only 1 dwarf puffer. Will a bubble filter give enough air? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BrendanNSANZ Posted September 9, 2012 Report Share Posted September 9, 2012 It only appeared after replacing the light bulb. I have it on for about 5 hours. It's 34l with only 1 dwarf puffer. Will a bubble filter give enough air? Presuming that the 'bubble filter' oxygenates the water then yes this should be sufficient No peeking on the blackout, be patient. To avoid a recurrence: 1. Check your Nitrate & Phosphate levels, maybe take a sample to your LFS and get them to test it for you. 2. Waterflow, should be a good level of circulation throughout the tank. 3. Try to avoid direct sunlight on the tank. 4. Remove organic waste as frequently as possible. 5. Should you have a recurrence and all the above are fine then try elevating your light from the aquarium to reduce intensity thought I suspect you're getting a bit of external sunlight rather than your lighthood being the issue? Goodluck Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted September 10, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 They are sprouting now, that's what is confusing. Each crypt and anubias has a nice fresh green leaf or 2 or 3, and then over a week or so it the parts of the leaves that are catching light on a flat surface turn brown with slime. I will initiate Blanketland tomorrow. So am I cutting the light to upset the algae and stunt its growth, or am I putting the plants to sleep proper so they wake up and take off? Is it the low light that is causing this situation? The sprouting will be due to the change in photoperiod that you instigated. Just that little change will set the plants off. You are covering the tank to kill the algae. The plants have energy reserves but the simple algae does not. Black beard alage and cyanobacteria are less affected by blackouts. The cause of the situation is just an imbalance in nutrients. The plants need carbon and all the macro nutrients and trace nutrients to flourish. While they can only use nutrients while the lights are on, the algae is the same and if the plants are using up the nutrients with good growth, the algae will not be able to get a foothold. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted September 10, 2012 Report Share Posted September 10, 2012 very interesting! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 I took the sheet off the tank this afternoon and the loaches came out immediately to look around and while I was poking about in the tank one inquisitive one was nibbling my arm and following me about! I rewarded him for his cuteness with some bloodworms as his first dinner all week. In other news, I thought the plants looked a little greener than when I put the cover on and some of the algae was a lot easier to wipe off. In addition to that, yesterday some new crypts arrived in the mail so I've planted those in as well. I've removed all the twisted val now so it's just crypts, anubias nana and some schraps of java fern that I'm trying to grow in there. One more question - what light period should the tank be on for? I've still got it on for 3 hours as it was before the blackout, before that it was on about 6 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Godly3vil Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Just a thought, maybe because the short photo period your plants are having a hard time using up the available nutrients through photosynthesis? And the algae is flourishing because there is still alot of nutrients available? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted September 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Sophia, the algae will be dead, so just wipe it away. Do a good water change and pop the photo period up to 6 hours a day. If you really want to have some spectacular growth that isn't hard at all, add 1ml of Flourish Comprehensive daily and 5 mls of Excel once a week after a 50% water change (I am assuming your tank is 35L? I can't recall... :oops: ). The growth will take off and you will be delighted with how easy it is to maintain. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sophia Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 thanks .... this tank is about 42L .... perhaps soon to become 60L if I buy a tank I'm looking at tonight. :bounce: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted September 13, 2012 Report Share Posted September 13, 2012 Just a thought, maybe because the short photo period your plants are having a hard time using up the available nutrients through photosynthesis? And the algae is flourishing because there is still alot of nutrients available? I\m not really a plant expert but this was what I thought when you mentioned a shorter lighting period, wouldn't it be better to lower intensity for longer??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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