New 75g planted tank beginning to show algae

[jssquared]

Hello all,

It has been a long road back to my favorite hobby, DISCUS!!! I had to give up my 10 tanks a couple of years ago due to college taking all my time and boy have I missed having them.

Anyways this is my new 75g tank, the first of probably many. The following list is what is currently running and inside this:

Emperor 400
rena xp3
300w stealth heater
Hagen glo 48" 2x54w (10,000K, 6,700K bulbs)
Substrate - 30lbs flourite, 50lbs regular gravel
Malaysian driftwood
assortment of low light plants

The Fish - 12 neon tetras, 4 blue rams, 1 gold nugget pleco and a shipment from Mike from Central Ohio Discus being delivered tomorrow.

The tank has now been going for roughly 3 weeks and the water tests have been very stable. PH is 6.4, ammonia/nitrite is 0, and nitrates have not gone over 5 ppm. I leave the lights on for 12 hours a day with a 3 hour break mid day to try and keep down the algae.

I have been having brown and green algae developing on pretty much everything. From the research I have done on here, this should correct itself within a couple more weeks. Is there a discus safe fish I can add that will help manage this until then?

Thanks in advance and I will be posting pics of the new arrivals from mike tomorrow or the next day.

[dbfzurowski]

Looking nice. Welcome to back to the hobby

[jssquared]

Looking nice. Welcome to back to the hobby

Thanks!!! It will feel a lot better when I get my new discus in the tank.

[CajunAg]

I know a lot of people use bristlenose plecos (aka Ancistrus) to keep their algae at bay. Bristlenose are generally known for being primarily vegetarians and safe for discus.

[jball1125]

Those big sword leaves are notorious for collecting algae. I would cut the lights to 8 hours per day and get yourself a bn pleco.

[Chad Hughes]

Before throwing fish at the problem I would look in to nutrient levels.

What are you feeding your plants?

What are your phosphate levels?

Are you providing a carbon source? (may not be necessary)

Nutrient imbalance is typically the cause of algae. Your photo period is slightly long I think. A maximum of 10 hours is more than sufficient, 8 hours is ideal. A break mid-day is personal preference and not required.

Hope that helps!

[2wheelsx2]

I'm with Chad. Another point to note is that many planted tanks have a minor brown (diatomaceous) algae outbreak during the beginning which goes away quickly as the tank matures a bit. You may want to dose some Excel if you're not going to inject CO2, but if we know what your dosing (or not dosing) regime is, we may be able to pinpoint the problem better.

[ExReefer]

I used to run two T5HO 54W bulbs on my 75G, but now I just run one bulb. High output T5 bulbs are very strong. I know two bulbs is only 108 watts, but you can't look at it like that with high output bulbs.

You could still run the light for 12 hours a day, but just use one bulb. Plants will still grow, just slower.

Also, brown algae is common with new set-ups.

It's going to become an uphill battle running a planted discus tank. I finally set up another tank for just plants and small fish and switched my 75G to bare bottom with discus. It's a hundred times easier now. I do have a few plants in my discus tank. I have anubias attached to wood. Anubias plants are hard to kill.

[fishorama]

I think the largest sword leaves may have been grown emersed (out of the water) They will gradually die back & be replaced by submersed leaves. Less than healthy leaves seem especially prone to algae but the new leaves will be better adapted as the tank matures.

[jcardona1]

I'd say you're problem is the lighting. You have way too much, and it's on for too long. On non-co2 tanks you shouldn't have T5HO, it will be a constant struggle with algae. Most folks that have co2-injected tanks are using 2x T5HO bulbs, and they usually run them a several inches off the tank to reduce the intensity of the lighting.

[White Worm]

More plants and a less lighting period.

[retiredsailor]

looking at your thumbnail pics i was wondering what you had sticking out of the tank in the last picture. i felt pretty silly when i brought it up and it was a cat. good lucking plants.

[jssquared]

looking at your thumbnail pics i was wondering what you had sticking out of the tank in the last picture. i felt pretty silly when i brought it up and it was a cat. good lucking plants.

lol!!!! That is my aquarium helper.

[jssquared]

So I guess the general consensus would be either get co2 or weaker lights... However now that I got my shipment of discus in yesterday from Central Ohio Discus I can not even see the algae. My eyes have been stuck on the fish!!!! I could not be happier with the fish I got. The quality is far beyond my expectations. I will post pics later. Back to the topic at hand, sorry I got side tracked.

One of the problems I am having is that the hood doesn't really give me many options as far as lifting the light off the aquarium to lessen the light intensity. Not only that but I am rather short and can not get my arm down the bottom of the tank when it is on, what a pain!! So if I dump the hood do you guys think lifting the light a few inches off the aquarium will help or should I just invest in weaker lights? Also, is there a way to bridge the current in the fixture I have to only run one bulb instead of two??

Again thanks for all the replys!!

[rosyrobyn]

You could try putting mosquito screen netting between the lights and the glass top. Multiple layers will shade your tank as much as you like.

[scottthomas]

I'd say you're problem is the lighting. You have way too much, and it's on for too long. On non-co2 tanks you shouldn't have T5HO, it will be a constant struggle with algae. Most folks that have co2-injected tanks are using 2x T5HO bulbs, and they usually run them a several inches off the tank to reduce the intensity of the lighting.

I am far from a planted tank expert. I only know what works for me. My current 29 gallon planted tank gets a very little hair like algae on a very few leaves that are mostly all in the current area of the tank. I dont know why or if this is common. I can usually just cut off any algae there and it takes a while to return. Usually couple of weeks to even see any at all. Otherwise, I have almost no algae. I do use T5 HO light on my tank. First Time I have used this type of lighting. My method for controling algae is 1. Use a ton of plants. I think this does not allow algae the nutrients to survive. 2. I cut back on light time if algae starts to show up. I use no ferts, no CO2 no Excell... Nothing except 10-20% WC weekly. Maybe I'm Lucky? Ive always used this aproach. Only time I have algae is when I try to use DIY CO2 or Ferts. So.. I guess my advice is more plants and less light. Anyone want tpo correct me if my success is due to some other reason .... that will be great:) I kept a 55 gallon tank for couple of years same way.. no algae prob.

[jssquared]

The tank has now settled and the algae problem is not such an issue any more. I have since been forced into making a hard decision and removing the plants. The fish were more important than the few plants I had.

My tank was stable with what I had in it before adding the discus but once I added my 7 new discus the bio load apparently had a hard time catching up with its new inhabitants. The ammonia went up a bit and it took a few days to catch back up. In this period I guess the bad water quality may have weakened their immunity. They started breathing very heavy and rubbing sides on the objects in the tank. Shortly after noticed a white spot here, a white spot there and then this morning noticed multiple white spots on the face of my penang eruption. This is no reflection on the quality of the fish I received. When i got the fish they were beautiful, healthy, and started checking out their new home and eating the first day, needless to say I was very impressed. This was a new experience for me considering I had only previously bought discus from lfs and had very few good experiences. All the problems I am having have started since the bio load could not handle the new load of 7, 4.5 - 6 inch discus.

I was previously doing 15 gallon water changes a day but this was not good enough. So i invested some more money into a new holding tank for my water. Got a 32 gallon brute rubbermaid trash can to allow for higher change rate (will be posting info on this in the diy section, I think others will like the approach to a affordable water change tank). The water quality is now under control but once I saw the spots on my pe this morning I had to empty the tank (excluding gravel) and focus on the problem at hand.

It's a shame because my ozelots and chain swords were doing very well. Hopefully one day soon I will be able to post in this section but for now I am more vested in the fish.