Freshwater Help needed

[Kirschy17]

hey guys,

So id call myself a succesfull reefer even tough i hadnt touched aquariums for 10 years or so. I had a freshwater as a kid but as far as i remember it was of medium succes with algae and no great plant growth.

Now being super enthusiastic about my saltwatertank where i have no actual issues (no algae, no pests, nice coral growth) i got my brother hyped and he decided to get a tank aswell. Since reefing is pricey and needs a lot of enthusiasm to be succesfull i recommended a planted tank.

I actually regret that know cause i have very little clue about having a succesfull planted tank.

So heres a pic of his tank. Its covered in some cyano like algae and his plants died/ arnt gonna live much longer.

Hes using tap water which our lfs recommended him to do. I have an RoDi unit but u dont usually use that for fw is what they told us. I tested his water and he has no phosphate or nitrate issues. Since hes using tap water i suggestet a silicate absorber but the algae doesnt go away.

Could someone give us a hint? Hes running carbon aswell. I feel stupid cause i cant help him while knowing so much about saltwater.

Thanks folks!!!

 

[BedrockIOMC]

How long are you running your light for? about 6 hrs will be good 7 will be pushing it.

 

[PapaWhisky]

Having a successful planted tank requires research and attention to all the same things as a reef tank. You must have good lights. You must use substrate specific for planted tanks. You'll need a CUC and, like reefs, only certain fish are appropriate. You have to plant very densely from day one. Most of us use CO2 injectors, and have to dose supplements.

Check out this forum: https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/index.php
A good place for ideas and methods: https://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/

Here's a shot of my tank prior to it's monthly haircut.

 

[BedrockIOMC]

My biggest thing I have found with mine is the lights running to long and as they get older i can run them a little longer. If you have high power lights you can look into some that are a little weaker and then you can run them a little longer through out the day. I also have mine set up on a Bluetooth smart plug that I have set up to come on in the morning while I am getting up and ready for work and the again as I get off work and then runs till 10PM and 7 hrs on the weekend and I just have a few snails and a couple of shrimp. I do have 3 algae eaters and 4 of the suckers. Not only does mine not have issues with algae but I dont do a water change for months at a time.

 

[TheWalkman99]

I had a planted tank I had covered in hair alage because I got involved with another tank project. But I ended up pulling a lot out and a rescape.
I would say check the amount of light the tank is getting.

 

[Kirschy17]

My concern is he has no measurable phosphate and nitrate. The light runs more than 6 hours for sure, ill change that.

Besides how important is co2 overall? He only has very little plants.

 

[Kirschy17]

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My concern is he has no measurable phosphate and nitrate. The light runs more than 6 hours for sure, ill change that.

Besides how important is co2 overall? He only has very little plants.

he was running co2 for about 2 mounts but saw no visual improvment but all plants slowly dying off.

 

[Waters]

Having a successful planted tank requires research and attention to all the same things as a reef tank. You must have good lights. You must use substrate specific for planted tanks. You'll need a CUC and, like reefs, only certain fish are appropriate. You have to plant very densely from day one. Most of us use CO2 injectors, and have to dose supplements.

Check out this forum: https://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/index.php
A good place for ideas and methods: https://www.thegreenmachineonline.com/

Here's a shot of my tank prior to it's monthly haircut.

Tank looks good.......I agree with everything other than having to plant densely from day one. I think more important is to plant fast growing stem plants from the beginning, even if you remove them down the road. All of my planted tanks have started with sparsely planted forgrounds, and stem plants in the back. This was my last tank from end to beginning. Dosing, CO2, and lighting are all extremely important unless you are planting with low light, slow growing plants such as Anubias.

 

[Erica-Renee]

I Agree with the guys above. You have to balance Lighting and Nutrients. With only a few live plants i have found its easier to maintain water changes and Use a small piece of root tab under each plant . Other things that can cause issues is Using the So called Plant substrate and letting nutrients run wild. Using that stuff i always use ro water during water changes. ..
If it were my tank I would pull everything out and spray it with peroxide then do a scrub in water . Do a HUGE Water change and keep doing them until nutrients are in check. FEED Much less . You may also need to clean that substrate bed . Tropical Planted tanks Take as much attention as Many of our Marine Systems..

Good Luck