NetMax
June 19th 04, 05:50 PM
"Al Haunts" > wrote in message
...
> Here's my situation:
>
> I'm returning to the hobby after a long (40 year) hiatus.
Kewl, lots has changed, welcome back.
> Present setup is a 10 g tank running for the past 30 days, so I hope
> it has now 'cycled'. 2" gravel substrate with a few rocks for
> decoration.
You can easily determine whether it has cycled by measuring zero ammonia
and zero nitrites. A 2" depth is a bit deeper than I like to go except
at the back of the tank (sloped). The more gravel, the more capacity for
detritus to accumulate unseen and unattended to. I find that it make
gravel vacuuming a bit more labourious imo.
> 10% water change weekly. AquaClear Mini power filter & a small air
> stone (probably unnecessary, but I like the look)
I use & sell lots of AquaClear filters. The Mini is my least favorite,
due to it's small capacity and greater tendancy to spill water backwards
(which may occur if the tank rim is narrow, the filter begins clogging
and the motor tang has been broken off). After a power failure, it may
also require a manual restart (add water to impeller chamber) as the
motor housing is high. The larger AquaClear either don't suffer from
these characteristics, or significantly less. Being aware of them is
usually enough to forestall any problems, otherwise they are workhorses.
I run them with two sponges, alternating which sponge gets serviced and
rotating the cleaned sponge into the upper position.
Without good plant growth, I generally do larger weekly water changes.
> Temp is kept between 76 & 78 F.
>
> I retro fitted an old incandescent hood with two 9 watt mini
> florescent bulbs which are timer controlled for 14 hours of daily
> on-time.
Beware that the light spectrum from these screw-in flourescents is very
often plant inappropriate, being high into the yellow band instead of the
red & blues. Check out the specs. Also fluorescent tubes run much
cooler :o) but the ballast can get quite hot. If the ballast is in
contact with the sides of a plastic housing, you might have some damage.
For both spectrum suitability and heat damage, ymmv (your mileage may
vary) due to the different products and dimensions available on the
market.
> Tank population right now is 6 black neons, 3 red eye tetras & 3 small
> corys. Fish seem healthy & water is clear.
Your fish-load would be considered high for a new tank. Water clarity
does not equal water quality. Cloudy water (bacterial or algae) seems to
leave fish unaffected, while ammonia and nitrite spikes can kill fish in
crystal clear water. Fish behaviour is always instructive, as they will
usually have time to exhibit some symptoms of stress (though small tetras
can be quick to expire without serving notice ;~)
> I added a few live plants a couple of weeks ago which seemed to
> introduce brown algae to the system. It has begun covering the rocks
> (particularly some slate).
>
> Today I scrubbed the rocks & soaked them in a mild bleach solution &
> rinsed them well in old tank water before returning them.
>
> Is there a way to control or eliminate this brown algae other than
> mechanical cleaning without hurting the fish or plants?
Brown algae (by the way, algae, water cycling and a few other topics of
potential interest are on my site, ie
http://www.2cah.com/netmax/basics/algae/algae.shtml ) is either diatom
bacteria or a common variant of red algae which might be growing side by
side with green algaes. I would continue some type of mechanical removal
and investigate the spectrum coming off those bulbs. In the meantime,
the algae is of no health consequence (some fish pick at it), and it's
primarily a cosmetic issue. If you are satisfied that it cannot be
corrected by light type, then take a look at algae eaters (assuming it is
algae and not diatoms). If it is diatoms, they can be 'burnt' off with
the right lighting conditions. Cleaning the glass to your satisfaction
will probably remain your job, but there are fish which can keep the
growth down on plants and rocks, so that you can greatly reduce your
efforts (flip the rocks upside down periodically).
--
www.NetMax.tk
> Any advice appreciated.
>
> Regards, Al.
...
> Here's my situation:
>
> I'm returning to the hobby after a long (40 year) hiatus.
Kewl, lots has changed, welcome back.
> Present setup is a 10 g tank running for the past 30 days, so I hope
> it has now 'cycled'. 2" gravel substrate with a few rocks for
> decoration.
You can easily determine whether it has cycled by measuring zero ammonia
and zero nitrites. A 2" depth is a bit deeper than I like to go except
at the back of the tank (sloped). The more gravel, the more capacity for
detritus to accumulate unseen and unattended to. I find that it make
gravel vacuuming a bit more labourious imo.
> 10% water change weekly. AquaClear Mini power filter & a small air
> stone (probably unnecessary, but I like the look)
I use & sell lots of AquaClear filters. The Mini is my least favorite,
due to it's small capacity and greater tendancy to spill water backwards
(which may occur if the tank rim is narrow, the filter begins clogging
and the motor tang has been broken off). After a power failure, it may
also require a manual restart (add water to impeller chamber) as the
motor housing is high. The larger AquaClear either don't suffer from
these characteristics, or significantly less. Being aware of them is
usually enough to forestall any problems, otherwise they are workhorses.
I run them with two sponges, alternating which sponge gets serviced and
rotating the cleaned sponge into the upper position.
Without good plant growth, I generally do larger weekly water changes.
> Temp is kept between 76 & 78 F.
>
> I retro fitted an old incandescent hood with two 9 watt mini
> florescent bulbs which are timer controlled for 14 hours of daily
> on-time.
Beware that the light spectrum from these screw-in flourescents is very
often plant inappropriate, being high into the yellow band instead of the
red & blues. Check out the specs. Also fluorescent tubes run much
cooler :o) but the ballast can get quite hot. If the ballast is in
contact with the sides of a plastic housing, you might have some damage.
For both spectrum suitability and heat damage, ymmv (your mileage may
vary) due to the different products and dimensions available on the
market.
> Tank population right now is 6 black neons, 3 red eye tetras & 3 small
> corys. Fish seem healthy & water is clear.
Your fish-load would be considered high for a new tank. Water clarity
does not equal water quality. Cloudy water (bacterial or algae) seems to
leave fish unaffected, while ammonia and nitrite spikes can kill fish in
crystal clear water. Fish behaviour is always instructive, as they will
usually have time to exhibit some symptoms of stress (though small tetras
can be quick to expire without serving notice ;~)
> I added a few live plants a couple of weeks ago which seemed to
> introduce brown algae to the system. It has begun covering the rocks
> (particularly some slate).
>
> Today I scrubbed the rocks & soaked them in a mild bleach solution &
> rinsed them well in old tank water before returning them.
>
> Is there a way to control or eliminate this brown algae other than
> mechanical cleaning without hurting the fish or plants?
Brown algae (by the way, algae, water cycling and a few other topics of
potential interest are on my site, ie
http://www.2cah.com/netmax/basics/algae/algae.shtml ) is either diatom
bacteria or a common variant of red algae which might be growing side by
side with green algaes. I would continue some type of mechanical removal
and investigate the spectrum coming off those bulbs. In the meantime,
the algae is of no health consequence (some fish pick at it), and it's
primarily a cosmetic issue. If you are satisfied that it cannot be
corrected by light type, then take a look at algae eaters (assuming it is
algae and not diatoms). If it is diatoms, they can be 'burnt' off with
the right lighting conditions. Cleaning the glass to your satisfaction
will probably remain your job, but there are fish which can keep the
growth down on plants and rocks, so that you can greatly reduce your
efforts (flip the rocks upside down periodically).
--
www.NetMax.tk
> Any advice appreciated.
>
> Regards, Al.