Wow, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the most comprehensive explanation of algae control I've gotten. No one talks about low light as a possible cause.
Of course! I feel as though it's one of the most commonly over looked issues. Hopefully if we understand how these organisms evolved and what fuels them, we can change the variables and get the results that are often difficult to attain. Thanks for watching and leaving a comment Best wishes, Alex.
I have hair algaes, but since I have modify some parameters, they tend to look like "balls of dust": less hairy, more fluffy. It is a sign that this algae get weaker ? I dont find hair algae easy to remove, even with a tooth brush, but when I brush them, it seem to slowing them... I dont mind to have some aglaes but I dont want them to harm my plants or bother my critters. Thank again, I learn a lot with your videos
The amount of biology involved in your videos is just incredible. Maybe I just miss college or maybe I prefer science facts/explanations over "this is what works for me" explanations. Thank you very much 🙏
@@Fishtory oh, and some will. They won't all be like minded as the channel grows, but you'll end up saying this stuff to people that actually NEED to have these thoughts form for the first time. Not everyone is aware that the hobby can be scientific and that learning the science will inform your ability to look at nature. For a lot of people it's a way to feed little fish to big fish. For some of us, it's as close as we will ever get to being a naturalist.
@@Fishtory I knew that dust from the Sahara was picked up and rained out further afield - I live somewhat close to the Sahara and we get red sandy dust dropped on us every few years (a couple of years ago it was so extreme the sky was red from the dust during the middle of the day and everything was bathed in red light, it was like the sun had a red filter on - really creepy). Its such a fine dust that it's almost like clay - it's hard to clean up once it dries onto a surface. I was also told by someone in one of my gardening groups that the dust is full of nutrients and I can put it on my plants when cleaning it up. However I had no idea that this phenomenon reached all the way across the Atlantic to the Amazon rainforest! That's amazing 😮 it's crazy how a desert on one side of the world affects plant growth in a rainforest on the other side of the world.
Loved this video. I am new to a planted tank and losing the battle to hair algae. I have watched videos and try the suggestions with no success. You explain so well the connection between light, fertilizer and water changes; how algae and plants use these things differently. You have given me hope to keep on trying. Thank you!
No problem, respect for watching lol. I have 750 existing videos on all these "basic" or how-to things and some didn't get hardly any views since the Channel was so much smaller then (4 or 5 years ago). Also the camera and mic quality were Hit or miss
Useful and fascinating! I think this is a topic that usually gets oversimplified to the point that many hobbyists don't understand the core mechanisms behind it.
Thank you for the feedback. The "sweet spot" of complex enough to truly be able to diagnose and respond to any situation in your tank vs. Being so wordy, long and boring - it's hard to know where that will be. So hearing that it didn't come off as a boring chunk of dry info, makes me happy. Have a great weekend
Great vid. Great info. I thought of lots of question I've never had just because of all the information in this video lol. Thanks. Now I'm off to do a bunch of research lol
So glad you enjoy it...I try and keep it factual, informational but casual still. Most folks don't care for it...but us real fish, shrimp and nature lovers... this is a great community for nerds like me :)
Thank you for the extremely useful and well explained topic! Also, thanks for sharing the fascinating fact about how the desert and the rainforest are connected. Always looking forward your videos, great stuff!
Thank you for the feedback and kind words. I'm just really happy that people are seemingly enjoying such a dry or complex topic. Hopefully the trivia and odd bits of fish, or plant info mixed , helps make the half hour "lecture" pass quickly hehe Cheers and thanks for tuning in
Well thank YOU for tuning in. I'm just happy that others are also interested in the research or info I gather. Welcome to the community here, and have a great day!
Hallo, Alex. Wie geht's? Very good lecture. Thank you. I enjoyed the better,clearer picture in this filming. Better for my old eyes. Greetings from Germany.
Yo Alexander your videos are really great and informative you do such a great job finding information, I always wondered what your main sources are, any insight would be greatly appreciated have a good day buddy!
Damn that was a thorough! Maybe I missed it but maybe want to touch on using excel(not actually giving plants carbon but kills algae so it doesn't compete), filamentous algae is strong indicator of excess iron(in my experience), and ummm BLUE light in your LEDs. OMG algae loves the blue light spectrum, if you have lights like Fluval where you can adjust blue drop it to 5% or less. This is just my own experience in no C02 in dirted heavy planted tanks Walstad inspired tanks. Awesome video TSHLINA!
I totally agree with all you said. I've seen the same things. It seems to me that every macro element and most metals have a bacteria and algae in the aquarium hobby, that will fill a niche if allowed to.
Great tip on the blue light, I'm going to try that! I had my first tank for about 6 months with o algae, then I got brown algae that I killed with H2O2, but now that the plants are overgrown I have a ton of green algae.
I hope it helps. There are always exceptions to general rules and concepts in the hobby...so if you ever hit a wall, please let me know...when people share their situations with me...it means I don't have to learn by recreating the same issue (hopefully lol).
Great video my man helps explain and differentiate alot. I have relatively high light but tank is deep with only slow growing plants. I do have alot of residual light illuminating the tank most of the day. I think this is all only aiding my diatom issue. Would you say cutting column ferts for now and fashioning a curtain to block out light would help. All until I can get some better plants for co2 system I have ready to install that is. Thanks again you wisdom is second to none.
Those are the steps I'd take if I were you. So glad you saw this video, and I really hope it helps at least let you understand some of the elements you can tinker with to control algae and plant growth. Best of luck to you Alan!
very good video really informative 👍👏👌 I'm getting to the point in the hobby were I'm understanding the balancing of aquariums. if you've a high light the plants will grow faster but only if its getting the nutrition. so I've a fluval light. so I'm best with aqua soil but also quick growing plants which are root feeders. plus cap the soil. so that leaves the water colom nutrition. floating plants should use most of that up along with water changes. and try keeping a lower stocked tank also helps lol. might not sound like it but I think I'm getting there lol
@@Fishtory I have a 55litre tank with a pair of apistograma and lots of plants I basically never have to do water changes or scarpe the glass. water is always good. no lid so I've to top it up about once a week which is like a tiny water change I suppose lol
I bought a mix of mystery snails and Nerite snails (10 in total) and they figured out to hide in their shells during the day so the pea puffers can't nip and eat them and their shells are thick enough and my peas are small enough they can't get through the shells (a really interesting behavior alteration I'm very fascinated by!) They've really kept the hardscape and glass clean, though!
It's a VERY necessary subject.. and thankyou for the content, even tho I'ma year late to viewing it 😁. One thing I still dont quite understand tho is you say that the plants only are able to access nutrients when you're using a nutrient rich substrate with no cap, but the algae can't? Doesn't the fact that the substrate hits the water directly mean it would be leaching into the water column and therefore able to feed the algae too?
Correct.. the cap is the prevention of leaching. Without a cap it leaches quick enough to cause algae... with one, its much easier for plants to use it up fully before the algae blooms
Can introducing daphnia help? I understand fish will eat them, but can they get established enough to make a difference? And be part of the "cleanup crew?"
Yes... if you have larger fish like cichlids or catfish, they often are overlooked and instead they clean the substrate and water column. However with nano fish, they'll hunt them, basically until you see none left out in the open.
I got all excited when I saw the alert at 6 and was gonna catch this when it was going up at 6:30... then promptly fell asleep HARD I just don't want the diatomes smothering my dwarf hydrocotyle. Cutting back my ferts has helped, but I'm getting ready to sacrifice Amanos to the Puffer gods for the sake of the plants 😂
Lol I fell asleep for 4 hours after it premiered too. HARD ...on the hardwood floor in the living room, since my back is so messed up, it feels best on a wood floor lol. But I'm glad you're empowered and understand your tank's systems and organic loops. It really changes the way you decide to keep things...and it's nearly endless on learning more about the subjects that make up the larger ideas. I appreciate your comments :) have a good weekend
Nerdy subject, yes. But absolutely not dry! This was juicy as heck! I'm interested to see what happens when I add a light to my tank, I sure it's going to add complications. Right now I'm working with just indirect sunlight.
@@Fishtory i think I lucked out, I had a bloom of algae this spring, but with one water change and an army of snails, it seems to be under control now! :) yeah, the tank does look kinda magical with the sunlight filtering through it. 😍
You are my go to channel for aquarist based research. Thankyou! I always learn something eye opening and useful from your in depth explanations. Does seiryu stone add to silicates in the water? I have black beard algae growing on mine 😢
Thank you kindly. So some Seiryu can add carbonates and alkalinity... the stuff from china is limestone and calcium sometimes...but the original stone is japanese and hard quartz in a siltstone or fine basalt on a boundary plate/ faultline. So id say check the tds perhaps...or gh. If you know it from before. But youd expect to see powder or dusty diatom algae from silicate stones. Best of luck
Thankyou, I'm not sure where the seiryu was sourced from but some of it is becoming powdery like limestone. I have a problem with diatom algae on the glass which builds up over a few weeks and then I have to scrape it off. I set up the aquarium with it. I'm thinking it could be a good idea to remove it. Thankyou also for the amazon facts 😁
Algae is the bane of most fish keepers. In my opinion, all algae is not bad, and shrimp and fish actually benefit from some algae’s. As you said, it’s truly a balancing act with various factors in a tank. So many tiny factors in play from the kind of water you’re starting with, to types of plants you have in the tank, any pothos or other plants you use, fish load, feeding of the fish, what types of foods, how often you feed, snails or not, shrimp, ambient room light, etc. Algae is the one thing that drives most folks crazy, particularly folks that want crystal clear pristine tanks. Algae is actually fascinating and I can and have gotten deep lost in researching various kinds and found that there is no fixed formula for algae that you can apply universally to every tank. The variables and slight nuances of each tank, and the ability of various algae’s to adapt and thrive makes it such an interesting subject to deal with. Thanks for the dive into fresh water algae. 👍❤️👍
100% I'm always thinking of how to explain the subtle issues of Algae that don't fit in some east checklist of to-dos. I think I'll spend my whole life learning new exceptions to "the rules" or unusual varieties of Algae.
Algae has the advantage of natural selection whereas my plants are my random selection , its diatoms and green spot algae I get , I notice the diatoms like dark corners . cut down my crypt as that attracted a black algae only fast growers for me now . Its really a home experiment with light , ferts plant types . Oddly I have cold water tanks yet 2 plants that do really well for are from brazil.
This is above 1080 .. its 1240 and 32 fps. I used a new camera for the last two videos, so I was curious I people would notice- or for that matter, I was curious if youtube would compress or throttle my upload the same way it often does on livestreams which I also always stream on 1080p also...but rarely see it working as such
I have both the green hair algae and the green diatom algae. I guess I did the wrong thing by reducing co2 and light. I will now try increasing both and see what happens. But is it game over for any of the plants that have the green hard diatom algae on them. It doesn’t scratch off the plant leaves. But could it eventually flake off on its own. Great channel. Thanks for your videos.
Yeah if low light doesn't do the trick, you are correct in trying the exact opposite and cranking up the light intensity (maybe 7 or 8 hours a day on a high setting) and I'd add that co2 again...perhaps also add some more stem or floating plants ...basically anything that grows quickly should help. The diatomaceous algae should eventually flake off the leaves of most plants...and you can always do a black out for 48 to 72 hours on those plants to try and kill the algae (if they are rhizome plants or bulbs, you can even remove them from the tank and toss them in a box of water in a dark closet :)
I dont mind algae in moderation, in fact diatoms and blackbeard algae can look nice on a hard scape. I used to have this really cool stag horn algae that looked like lichen on the wood of my 40 tall, it was bushy and grew kinda slow but when i increase the light it all died off and didnt come back.
Hi Alex, thanks for another awesome video! I have two questions for you: I've been thinking about changing my fertilizer from GLA PPS to something low nitrate (1-5 ppm) with the hopes of getting more reds out of my stem plants. Would this give me the added benefit of preventing algae if I switch from a Finnex light to the Fluval 3.0? Also, will this nitrate limitation kill epiphytic plants like anubias and java fern (since they aren't getting nitrate from the aquasoil), or will they be fine since they're slow growers anyway? Thanks!
Great Great questions! (Yay. It tells me that I explained the low light algae thing ,at least somewhat coherently.. well or you know it all on your own, but im gonna pretend it was partially the video 😄). But YES High light like a 3.0 in combo with a no nitrate fert should knock out any algae, as long as your bioload is low or medium ( of fish poop and plant matter that is decaying) , it should keep things low on nitrates causing reds in plants also... id recommend root tabs(2 inches deep) to maximize that, and also trim the tops of stem plants at 6 to 8 inches in length, then replant them... so your Reds and colors in the plant crowns will eventually be the entire length of the plant, and not just the top few inches. You then just need to dial in your water change amount and frequency...but the nitrates that exist in a group of tetras, is actually Enough to support a decent amount of anubias, buce, java ferns etc. Lastly. I'd recommend trying to keep the light on high (75% of full power even) if using a fluval 3.0 - and only keep them on 5-7 hours to start, really limiting ambient light still, during the "light off hours" ...also adding a bit more of cool light will encourage vegetative plant growth (under 6500 kelvin) where as red wave lengths and warm light will spark starch to sugar conversion in plants, which means flowering or fruiting behavior. Hope all that helps. Let me know how it turns out, my friend! I think you'll feel really empowered and amazed by what you can control and change, now that you seem to understand the system as a whole.
Realized lately that I had been under fertilizing and the plants look so much better with more fertz. Starting to see the start of staghorn algae. What should I dial back first? Light or fertz? Don't measure excess nitrate when testing.. 👍
Something also to mention is I run a 3.0 light with the blue quite a bit higher than what Bentley recommends because I am trying to get my plants to grow more compact and because I just like the look of a more white/blue light in my tank.
I run way more blue also. But you can also try bumping up reds to see if the algae is stressed by the change. I would set my lights to 6 or 7 hours and try to black out the surrounding area during the hours the tank is not being lit. Then I would test my nitrates... I can't give advice for sure,, without knowing if you have fertilized enough...or on the flipside, if you need to be adding more fertz to help the plants out grow the algae. . Also make sure you have enough plants that are drawing nutrients from the water column vs slow growing crypts, anubias, ferns or buce- which would mean you need very little fertilization and low power light / short yet intense hours of light. Sorry I can't be of more specific help, but hopefully you'll be able to react appropriately with all this info in combo Best wishes.
I do always get string Algae. My nitrates are 0. I cant even get them up. I assume the duckweed is using them. Can never get rid of string algae. I do use my hands to remove it every couple of weeks. Because i have no nitrates i try and add more all in one liquid fertiliser. I think this makes aglae worse. I might need to stop using it. Its hard to balance. I also have fluval 3.0. Its set to the default plant preset.
Id try dialing the light back an hour or 2 in duration a day... OR try getting more stem plants and try adding fertilizers and full light intensity light, for less time... those are opposites, but maybe theres a nutrient your plants are leaving behind and some fast growing plants beyond duckweed... can utilize it and starve the algae. OR buy some seachem flourish excel and use it as directed for 3 doses... it works well on that algae, but wont fix the underlying problem, so i suggest it last
I have a (meant to be) low light tank with slow growing plants (the moss isnt really slow growing but its supposed to be) that is getting green spot algae on the glass and on the anubias. Im not sure how to get rid of it from the plants since it doesnt just rub off. The tank has 0 - 2.5mg/l Nitrates always so its not high nitrogen. Sunlight hits one side of the tank for about 2 hours a day so Im guessing thats where the algae is coming from? Im trying to block out the sun light during this time, but the algae hasnt disappeared yet. Could high phosphates be an issue too? I havent tested those.
Hey Alex. This is an old video. You might not read this. That said, I have been searching various youtube channels etc, to find if someone has a magic fertilizer/care recipe of some kind for intentionally culturing green water. Something that targets green water (suspended algae) specifically, without the hair algae, cyanobacteria, etc. If you know of anything, it would make for a really cool video and/or short.
I don't know man I think that that 3.0 is highlight, depending upon the depth of your tank. I actually have to raise mine up about 6 inches to cover a 120. So at 2 ft deep I don't think you have a highlight with this. But in the back where I have one of these on a 15-in deep tank it's like looking at a gemstone. I actually have both of those lights turned down because they're so bright.
Oh I agree that in most cases they would be considered high light. But there are some plants (or any tank over 16 inches deep) where you can buy lights like Kessel or Odysea that run 3 to 4 times stronger ....but for must plants and aquariums it would be silly to use something like that...but getting buce to flower and an iwagumi carpet in a 180 gallon or something...then you would want at least 2 or 3 x the light that one 36 inch fluval 3.0 outputs.
@@Fishtory it's nuts how expensive those other lights are and all they do is bright. I mean it stinks to add a second 3.0, but that's probably what I would do I those cases where I want... To sunburn plants and grow things that probably don't "want" to be under water. It's just... Coffee with an orange sunrise and cocktails to a reddish sunset, followed by a pale blue "starry" look before lights out. That makes my tank feel grown up. And I think it's helping my brain. Idk, is that weird?
Sooo if i have a very low bio load, to the point that duckweed doesn’t multiply, should i still do water changes? I’m having to add nitrates to get any plant growth. Is there still a point to water changes?
@@Fishtory thank you! I wasn’t sure if phosphates build up faster than nitrates or something like that. I’m still doing 10% changes to remove some of the tannins from my wood.
Outrageously good video, my favorite algae is cyanobacteria, I feel it's sacred, whenever it pops up I baby it , but can't keep it going, I also used searocks in some setups and got crazy deep purple algae , also short lived .....
So that's likely diatomaceous algae using minerals from Marine seasoned rock *if I had to guess. But I've noticed red or purple diatomaceous algae on stones from the saltwater beach...I think harder water and alkaline ph/ adding crushed coral encourages that growth in my tanks. Thanks for sharing that observation though, always nice to hear someone else noticing what I am pondering also. Cheers!
@@Fishtory This was lush hair like algae deep purple with shades of red, it wasn't on the rocks when I collected them, but grew out later, I cured the rocks in salt water and slowly transitioned to hard water, my guess is similar to yours , there must have been a mineral from the rocks that , that strain needed that eventually was washed out in all freshwater, coincidentally we got a small beach crab by accident from those rocks , it lived for over a year and survived being transported in paint buckets by truck across country
If I wanted to start a algae written tank as a future home for some breeding plecos, would you just started with dirty fish water and then later clean it up before you put the plecos in that way you can have all the algae in the world?
Yeah that's one way, but I'd probably just buy some "active substrate" like Amazonia and then leave the light on 12 to 16 hours a day... with only a few plants. I'd add iron or silicate rich stone like granite or basalt with metal specs or redish rusty brown tones...that would probably grow algae like crazy
Of course! Great question! I like sword plants, any bulb plants like red lotus/ lily species or dwarf tiger lotus. Cryptocorynes tend to do well, as do aponogeton species and there are about 100 plants in the hobby between those 2 groups. Star grass, chain sword and corkscrew val. Also do well in mature sand with some mulm in it. Best of luck to you!
@@Fishtory And what about substrate of 2-3 mm sized gravel only? Will it be okay too? There's a tank with that sized gravel 3 inches deep substrate set up a few days ago. Haven't planted yet.
@@suman5492 it is okay, but I personally like adding sand or aquarium soil also. As a top 1 inch or 1.5 inch layer called a "cap" ....mostly because it prevents root tabs from melting roo quickly
@@Fishtory I haven't put any fish yet in that tank. So I can still remove the gravels and add an inch or more of vermicompost below that gravel layer. I have a bag of it which I bought recently for my indoor plants. Will it be okay to use it?
@@Fishtory Alex, l've now gone down a diatom wormhole 😂reading about global warming catch 22 regarding warmer seas, silica, glass vessels and the diatoms turning carbon into sugar. It's mind blowing what science has achieved, so fingers crossed the world's glorious leaders will actually move quick enough. Peat free that's me 🍀
@@kevinpowell7948 oh so many wormholes to go down on this topic... it's insane. Also there are exceptions to everything I said (like algae that store sugars and live on jet fuels lol) but at some point you gotta tell a story and just apply what is relevant...because I'm already so tempted to go off on a 30 minute tangent about how more water flows in the sky over the Amazon than in the river it's self lol
Hopefully in some of the next videos ... "How to have aquarium full of algae? Green water ;)" Everyone is in the mood "OMFG I have algae it's disaster!". Well, I would like to have green water and to have my fishes enjoy that free meal whenever they open their mouths :)
I know you have a lot of different Gobies but I haven't seen the Australian Desert Gobies. Will you want to get them when Aquatic Arts gets them in?? I mainly want someone else's opinion on my fish lol
Blue light over a certain wave length (like sky blue colors to our eye) will still fuel many types of Algae... however the blue light on newer aquariums for night mode, seems to be dim enough that it only supports the hardiest diatoms from what I've read and seen.
0 light? Like no windows? ...that's cyanobacteria If anything... even dim light of a room with a light bulb is enough for many algae species....plants need more light and Hence, people using strong lights at first rather than black out start ups... roots need to take hold and plants need light to survive any longer than a few weeks
Interesting! I have used it in many ways and combinations with various substrate materials and never had any issues. (that I have observed anyhow haha) Was that due to algae, or more of a micro-cut issue in the gills of fish?
It's because you have enough of some things for the algae, but not enough of maybe one thing that the plants need. In my case, I only dose magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium. And sulfate. I have too much carbonate. The rest comes from adding fish food and my source water. And I only feed after a water change.
If you dont know what you're doing...yes, i agree. But if you know what you're doing and you use a short photo-period, i find its less algae early on, when you grow many plants as fast as possible
Wow, thank you, thank you, thank you. This is the most comprehensive explanation of algae control I've gotten. No one talks about low light as a possible cause.
Of course! I feel as though it's one of the most commonly over looked issues. Hopefully if we understand how these organisms evolved and what fuels them, we can change the variables and get the results that are often difficult to attain.
Thanks for watching and leaving a comment
Best wishes, Alex.
So much to learn, thanks Alex!
I have hair algaes, but since I have modify some parameters, they tend to look like "balls of dust": less hairy, more fluffy. It is a sign that this algae get weaker ? I dont find hair algae easy to remove, even with a tooth brush, but when I brush them, it seem to slowing them... I dont mind to have some aglaes but I dont want them to harm my plants or bother my critters. Thank again, I learn a lot with your videos
The amount of biology involved in your videos is just incredible. Maybe I just miss college or maybe I prefer science facts/explanations over "this is what works for me" explanations. Thank you very much 🙏
Glad you like them! Its a lot of research but i enjoy it too
As always lots of information to unpack.Thank you for your unwavering dedication.
My pleasure!
By the way that tidbit about the Sahara is a prime example of why I subscribe.
Thank you for that feedback. I was afraid people would be like "what the hell is Alex bantering about, now? The freaking desert?!"
@@Fishtory oh, and some will. They won't all be like minded as the channel grows, but you'll end up saying this stuff to people that actually NEED to have these thoughts form for the first time. Not everyone is aware that the hobby can be scientific and that learning the science will inform your ability to look at nature. For a lot of people it's a way to feed little fish to big fish. For some of us, it's as close as we will ever get to being a naturalist.
For real
@@Fishtory I knew that dust from the Sahara was picked up and rained out further afield - I live somewhat close to the Sahara and we get red sandy dust dropped on us every few years (a couple of years ago it was so extreme the sky was red from the dust during the middle of the day and everything was bathed in red light, it was like the sun had a red filter on - really creepy). Its such a fine dust that it's almost like clay - it's hard to clean up once it dries onto a surface. I was also told by someone in one of my gardening groups that the dust is full of nutrients and I can put it on my plants when cleaning it up.
However I had no idea that this phenomenon reached all the way across the Atlantic to the Amazon rainforest! That's amazing 😮 it's crazy how a desert on one side of the world affects plant growth in a rainforest on the other side of the world.
Loved this video. I am new to a planted tank and losing the battle to hair algae. I have watched videos and try the suggestions with no success. You explain so well the connection between light, fertilizer and water changes; how algae and plants use these things differently. You have given me hope to keep on trying. Thank you!
Just keep learning and trying and one day, poof it'll be gone. Then might come back, might not. Never ending battle
Wow exciting
Haah that's the most enthusiastic response to algae I've ever seen! 🤣 you are amazing 👏❤
There is an "algae" that will opportunize every type of water! Thanks for the algae talk!
Right on, thanks for tunnnnnnnnin' in :)
Respect for tackling these topics
Pls do more like this
No problem, respect for watching lol. I have 750 existing videos on all these "basic" or how-to things and some didn't get hardly any views since the Channel was so much smaller then (4 or 5 years ago). Also the camera and mic quality were Hit or miss
Awesome Video! This was so good!
Glad you enjoyed it!
Great chat! Thanks for sharing! - Little Bobby
Thanks buddy! Hope you're staying cool in the heat, my friend
Useful and fascinating! I think this is a topic that usually gets oversimplified to the point that many hobbyists don't understand the core mechanisms behind it.
Thank you for the feedback. The "sweet spot" of complex enough to truly be able to diagnose and respond to any situation in your tank vs. Being so wordy, long and boring - it's hard to know where that will be.
So hearing that it didn't come off as a boring chunk of dry info, makes me happy.
Have a great weekend
This is so informative! Great job, fantastic reporting!🌻🌼🐝 Keep it up 🙌
Great vid. Great info. I thought of lots of question I've never had just because of all the information in this video lol. Thanks. Now I'm off to do a bunch of research lol
Please feel free to share your rabbit hole research with us, if you find something noteworthy.
I love your intellectual approach to the hobby. Always interesting to hear you.
So glad you enjoy it...I try and keep it factual, informational but casual still. Most folks don't care for it...but us real fish, shrimp and nature lovers... this is a great community for nerds like me :)
Thank you for the extremely useful and well explained topic! Also, thanks for sharing the fascinating fact about how the desert and the rainforest are connected. Always looking forward your videos, great stuff!
Thank you for the feedback and kind words. I'm just really happy that people are seemingly enjoying such a dry or complex topic. Hopefully the trivia and odd bits of fish, or plant info mixed , helps make the half hour "lecture" pass quickly hehe
Cheers and thanks for tuning in
thanks man this was gold! I ve learned a ton and its awesome listening to your passion for nature!
Well thank YOU for tuning in. I'm just happy that others are also interested in the research or info I gather. Welcome to the community here, and have a great day!
Very interesting, thank you for the Video.
Then THANK YOU for tuning in and leaving a comment!
Awesome info. Gonna re think the algae situation
Right on! Best of luck. Cheers!
Excellent information! Thank you!
Thank YOU for checking it out and tuning in. I hope it comes in handy, or was at least of interesting hehe
Have a great weekend
Hallo, Alex. Wie geht's?
Very good lecture. Thank you. I enjoyed the better,clearer picture in this filming.
Better for my old eyes.
Greetings from Germany.
Thank you for your feedback! I used a new camera that I bought last week...so I was a little curious how it would look. Have a great weekend!
Reviewing this helpful video:)
Glad to hear it. Thanks
Thanks Alex. I learned that just using the blue light on at night until I go to bed, stopped the Algae growth.
Thanx Alex this was great!
Thank YOU!
This is very helpful Alex, thank you
So glad you think so! Cheers!
Yo Alexander your videos are really great and informative you do such a great job finding information, I always wondered what your main sources are, any insight would be greatly appreciated have a good day buddy!
That is very nice of you to write. Thank YOU I really appreciate your comments and viewership. Thank YOU again and have a wondeful week
Damn that was a thorough! Maybe I missed it but maybe want to touch on using excel(not actually giving plants carbon but kills algae so it doesn't compete), filamentous algae is strong indicator of excess iron(in my experience), and ummm BLUE light in your LEDs. OMG algae loves the blue light spectrum, if you have lights like Fluval where you can adjust blue drop it to 5% or less. This is just my own experience in no C02 in dirted heavy planted tanks Walstad inspired tanks. Awesome video TSHLINA!
I totally agree with all you said. I've seen the same things. It seems to me that every macro element and most metals have a bacteria and algae in the aquarium hobby, that will fill a niche if allowed to.
Great tip on the blue light, I'm going to try that! I had my first tank for about 6 months with o algae, then I got brown algae that I killed with H2O2, but now that the plants are overgrown I have a ton of green algae.
Loved this, very informative
Thank you for the kind comment and feedback. Have a great weekend
What an exceptional video. 🙏
For the algorithm!! Thanks for this video! I'm struggling with hair algae in my contest tank and i'll apply what i've learned here to help!
I hope it helps. There are always exceptions to general rules and concepts in the hobby...so if you ever hit a wall, please let me know...when people share their situations with me...it means I don't have to learn by recreating the same issue (hopefully lol).
@@Fishtory will do! XD
News?
Great video my man helps explain and differentiate alot. I have relatively high light but tank is deep with only slow growing plants. I do have alot of residual light illuminating the tank most of the day. I think this is all only aiding my diatom issue.
Would you say cutting column ferts for now and fashioning a curtain to block out light would help. All until I can get some better plants for co2 system I have ready to install that is. Thanks again you wisdom is second to none.
Those are the steps I'd take if I were you. So glad you saw this video, and I really hope it helps at least let you understand some of the elements you can tinker with to control algae and plant growth.
Best of luck to you Alan!
very good video really informative 👍👏👌 I'm getting to the point in the hobby were I'm understanding the balancing of aquariums. if you've a high light the plants will grow faster but only if its getting the nutrition. so I've a fluval light. so I'm best with aqua soil but also quick growing plants which are root feeders. plus cap the soil. so that leaves the water colom nutrition. floating plants should use most of that up along with water changes. and try keeping a lower stocked tank also helps lol. might not sound like it but I think I'm getting there lol
Sounds like you have an excellent understanding of it! Right on. Now the real fun... (or just less work) begins haha
@@Fishtory I have a 55litre tank with a pair of apistograma and lots of plants I basically never have to do water changes or scarpe the glass. water is always good. no lid so I've to top it up about once a week which is like a tiny water change I suppose lol
Thank you for your help
Thanks for tuning in and having an open mind! We are all learning things all the time...im blessed to have yall to bounce my insanity off of lol
Bravo!
We got a mystery snail to help w/ our algae, it didn't fix the root cause of the issue, but it helped make the tank look nice.
I bought a mix of mystery snails and Nerite snails (10 in total) and they figured out to hide in their shells during the day so the pea puffers can't nip and eat them and their shells are thick enough and my peas are small enough they can't get through the shells (a really interesting behavior alteration I'm very fascinated by!)
They've really kept the hardscape and glass clean, though!
@@SisberaEntertainment Oh wow, that is really interesting!!
Yeah they poo a lot lol...but they're cute
@@Fishtory what fertilizers do you use? I think you mentioned macros?
It's a VERY necessary subject.. and thankyou for the content, even tho I'ma year late to viewing it 😁. One thing I still dont quite understand tho is you say that the plants only are able to access nutrients when you're using a nutrient rich substrate with no cap, but the algae can't? Doesn't the fact that the substrate hits the water directly mean it would be leaching into the water column and therefore able to feed the algae too?
Correct.. the cap is the prevention of leaching. Without a cap it leaches quick enough to cause algae... with one, its much easier for plants to use it up fully before the algae blooms
Some more great info 😃
Thanks Muppet!
Can introducing daphnia help? I understand fish will eat them, but can they get established enough to make a difference? And be part of the "cleanup crew?"
Yes... if you have larger fish like cichlids or catfish, they often are overlooked and instead they clean the substrate and water column. However with nano fish, they'll hunt them, basically until you see none left out in the open.
I got all excited when I saw the alert at 6 and was gonna catch this when it was going up at 6:30... then promptly fell asleep HARD
I just don't want the diatomes smothering my dwarf hydrocotyle.
Cutting back my ferts has helped, but I'm getting ready to sacrifice Amanos to the Puffer gods for the sake of the plants 😂
Lol I fell asleep for 4 hours after it premiered too. HARD ...on the hardwood floor in the living room, since my back is so messed up, it feels best on a wood floor lol.
But I'm glad you're empowered and understand your tank's systems and organic loops. It really changes the way you decide to keep things...and it's nearly endless on learning more about the subjects that make up the larger ideas.
I appreciate your comments :) have a good weekend
Nerdy subject, yes. But absolutely not dry! This was juicy as heck! I'm interested to see what happens when I add a light to my tank, I sure it's going to add complications. Right now I'm working with just indirect sunlight.
Oh yeah indirect sunlight is notorious for stewing up algae...but it does make a tank look natural and Purdy also
@@Fishtory i think I lucked out, I had a bloom of algae this spring, but with one water change and an army of snails, it seems to be under control now! :) yeah, the tank does look kinda magical with the sunlight filtering through it. 😍
You are my go to channel for aquarist based research. Thankyou! I always learn something eye opening and useful from your in depth explanations. Does seiryu stone add to silicates in the water? I have black beard algae growing on mine 😢
Thank you kindly. So some Seiryu can add carbonates and alkalinity... the stuff from china is limestone and calcium sometimes...but the original stone is japanese and hard quartz in a siltstone or fine basalt on a boundary plate/ faultline. So id say check the tds perhaps...or gh. If you know it from before. But youd expect to see powder or dusty diatom algae from silicate stones. Best of luck
@@Fishtory Thankyou, t
Thankyou, I'm not sure where the seiryu was sourced from but some of it is becoming powdery like limestone. I have a problem with diatom algae on the glass which builds up over a few weeks and then I have to scrape it off. I set up the aquarium with it. I'm thinking it could be a good idea to remove it.
Thankyou also for the amazon facts 😁
Algae is the bane of most fish keepers. In my opinion, all algae is not bad, and shrimp and fish actually benefit from some algae’s. As you said, it’s truly a balancing act with various factors in a tank. So many tiny factors in play from the kind of water you’re starting with, to types of plants you have in the tank, any pothos or other plants you use, fish load, feeding of the fish, what types of foods, how often you feed, snails or not, shrimp, ambient room light, etc. Algae is the one thing that drives most folks crazy, particularly folks that want crystal clear pristine tanks. Algae is actually fascinating and I can and have gotten deep lost in researching various kinds and found that there is no fixed formula for algae that you can apply universally to every tank. The variables and slight nuances of each tank, and the ability of various algae’s to adapt and thrive makes it such an interesting subject to deal with. Thanks for the dive into fresh water algae.
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100% I'm always thinking of how to explain the subtle issues of Algae that don't fit in some east checklist of to-dos. I think I'll spend my whole life learning new exceptions to "the rules" or unusual varieties of Algae.
Algae has the advantage of natural selection whereas my plants are my random selection , its diatoms and green spot algae I get , I notice the diatoms like dark corners . cut down my crypt as that attracted a black algae only fast growers for me now . Its really a home experiment with light , ferts plant types . Oddly I have cold water tanks yet 2 plants that do really well for are from brazil.
Well put!
Please record/steam in 1080p. It would bring your content to the next level
This is above 1080 .. its 1240 and 32 fps. I used a new camera for the last two videos, so I was curious I people would notice- or for that matter, I was curious if youtube would compress or throttle my upload the same way it often does on livestreams which I also always stream on 1080p also...but rarely see it working as such
More light I will try
I have both the green hair algae and the green diatom algae. I guess I did the wrong thing by reducing co2 and light. I will now try increasing both and see what happens. But is it game over for any of the plants that have the green hard diatom algae on them. It doesn’t scratch off the plant leaves. But could it eventually flake off on its own. Great channel. Thanks for your videos.
Yeah if low light doesn't do the trick, you are correct in trying the exact opposite and cranking up the light intensity (maybe 7 or 8 hours a day on a high setting) and I'd add that co2 again...perhaps also add some more stem or floating plants ...basically anything that grows quickly should help.
The diatomaceous algae should eventually flake off the leaves of most plants...and you can always do a black out for 48 to 72 hours on those plants to try and kill the algae (if they are rhizome plants or bulbs, you can even remove them from the tank and toss them in a box of water in a dark closet :)
Thanks so much for your reply. I did not even think of removing the Anubis. I going to try that
I dont mind algae in moderation, in fact diatoms and blackbeard algae can look nice on a hard scape. I used to have this really cool stag horn algae that looked like lichen on the wood of my 40 tall, it was bushy and grew kinda slow but when i increase the light it all died off and didnt come back.
Hi Alex, thanks for another awesome video! I have two questions for you: I've been thinking about changing my fertilizer from GLA PPS to something low nitrate (1-5 ppm) with the hopes of getting more reds out of my stem plants. Would this give me the added benefit of preventing algae if I switch from a Finnex light to the Fluval 3.0? Also, will this nitrate limitation kill epiphytic plants like anubias and java fern (since they aren't getting nitrate from the aquasoil), or will they be fine since they're slow growers anyway? Thanks!
Great Great questions! (Yay. It tells me that I explained the low light algae thing ,at least somewhat coherently.. well or you know it all on your own, but im gonna pretend it was partially the video 😄).
But YES High light like a 3.0 in combo with a no nitrate fert should knock out any algae, as long as your bioload is low or medium ( of fish poop and plant matter that is decaying) , it should keep things low on nitrates causing reds in plants also... id recommend root tabs(2 inches deep) to maximize that, and also trim the tops of stem plants at 6 to 8 inches in length, then replant them... so your Reds and colors in the plant crowns will eventually be the entire length of the plant, and not just the top few inches.
You then just need to dial in your water change amount and frequency...but the nitrates that exist in a group of tetras, is actually Enough to support a decent amount of anubias, buce, java ferns etc.
Lastly. I'd recommend trying to keep the light on high (75% of full power even) if using a fluval 3.0 - and only keep them on 5-7 hours to start, really limiting ambient light still, during the "light off hours" ...also adding a bit more of cool light will encourage vegetative plant growth (under 6500 kelvin) where as red wave lengths and warm light will spark starch to sugar conversion in plants, which means flowering or fruiting behavior.
Hope all that helps. Let me know how it turns out, my friend! I think you'll feel really empowered and amazed by what you can control and change, now that you seem to understand the system as a whole.
Realized lately that I had been under fertilizing and the plants look so much better with more fertz. Starting to see the start of staghorn algae. What should I dial back first? Light or fertz? Don't measure excess nitrate when testing.. 👍
Something also to mention is I run a 3.0 light with the blue quite a bit higher than what Bentley recommends because I am trying to get my plants to grow more compact and because I just like the look of a more white/blue light in my tank.
I run way more blue also. But you can also try bumping up reds to see if the algae is stressed by the change.
I would set my lights to 6 or 7 hours and try to black out the surrounding area during the hours the tank is not being lit. Then I would test my nitrates... I can't give advice for sure,, without knowing if you have fertilized enough...or on the flipside, if you need to be adding more fertz to help the plants out grow the algae.
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Also make sure you have enough plants that are drawing nutrients from the water column vs slow growing crypts, anubias, ferns or buce- which would mean you need very little fertilization and low power light / short yet intense hours of light.
Sorry I can't be of more specific help, but hopefully you'll be able to react appropriately with all this info in combo
Best wishes.
I do always get string Algae. My nitrates are 0. I cant even get them up. I assume the duckweed is using them. Can never get rid of string algae. I do use my hands to remove it every couple of weeks. Because i have no nitrates i try and add more all in one liquid fertiliser. I think this makes aglae worse. I might need to stop using it. Its hard to balance. I also have fluval 3.0. Its set to the default plant preset.
Id try dialing the light back an hour or 2 in duration a day... OR try getting more stem plants and try adding fertilizers and full light intensity light, for less time... those are opposites, but maybe theres a nutrient your plants are leaving behind and some fast growing plants beyond duckweed... can utilize it and starve the algae. OR buy some seachem flourish excel and use it as directed for 3 doses... it works well on that algae, but wont fix the underlying problem, so i suggest it last
I have a (meant to be) low light tank with slow growing plants (the moss isnt really slow growing but its supposed to be) that is getting green spot algae on the glass and on the anubias. Im not sure how to get rid of it from the plants since it doesnt just rub off. The tank has 0 - 2.5mg/l Nitrates always so its not high nitrogen.
Sunlight hits one side of the tank for about 2 hours a day so Im guessing thats where the algae is coming from? Im trying to block out the sun light during this time, but the algae hasnt disappeared yet. Could high phosphates be an issue too? I havent tested those.
Hey Alex. This is an old video. You might not read this. That said, I have been searching various youtube channels etc, to find if someone has a magic fertilizer/care recipe of some kind for intentionally culturing green water. Something that targets green water (suspended algae) specifically, without the hair algae, cyanobacteria, etc. If you know of anything, it would make for a really cool video and/or short.
I don't know man I think that that 3.0 is highlight, depending upon the depth of your tank. I actually have to raise mine up about 6 inches to cover a 120. So at 2 ft deep I don't think you have a highlight with this. But in the back where I have one of these on a 15-in deep tank it's like looking at a gemstone. I actually have both of those lights turned down because they're so bright.
Oh I agree that in most cases they would be considered high light. But there are some plants (or any tank over 16 inches deep) where you can buy lights like Kessel or Odysea that run 3 to 4 times stronger ....but for must plants and aquariums it would be silly to use something like that...but getting buce to flower and an iwagumi carpet in a 180 gallon or something...then you would want at least 2 or 3 x the light that one 36 inch fluval 3.0 outputs.
@@Fishtory it's nuts how expensive those other lights are and all they do is bright. I mean it stinks to add a second 3.0, but that's probably what I would do I those cases where I want... To sunburn plants and grow things that probably don't "want" to be under water. It's just... Coffee with an orange sunrise and cocktails to a reddish sunset, followed by a pale blue "starry" look before lights out. That makes my tank feel grown up. And I think it's helping my brain. Idk, is that weird?
Sooo if i have a very low bio load, to the point that duckweed doesn’t multiply, should i still do water changes? I’m having to add nitrates to get any plant growth. Is there still a point to water changes?
I would say you only need to do water top offs. That is a HUGE accomplishment, though! Very nice work balancing your water
@@Fishtory thank you! I wasn’t sure if phosphates build up faster than nitrates or something like that. I’m still doing 10% changes to remove some of the tannins from my wood.
Outrageously good video, my favorite algae is cyanobacteria, I feel it's sacred, whenever it pops up I baby it , but can't keep it going, I also used searocks in some setups and got crazy deep purple algae , also short lived .....
So that's likely diatomaceous algae using minerals from Marine seasoned rock *if I had to guess. But I've noticed red or purple diatomaceous algae on stones from the saltwater beach...I think harder water and alkaline ph/ adding crushed coral encourages that growth in my tanks.
Thanks for sharing that observation though, always nice to hear someone else noticing what I am pondering also. Cheers!
@@Fishtory This was lush hair like algae deep purple with shades of red, it wasn't on the rocks when I collected them, but grew out later, I cured the rocks in salt water and slowly transitioned to hard water, my guess is similar to yours , there must have been a mineral from the rocks that , that strain needed that eventually was washed out in all freshwater, coincidentally we got a small beach crab by accident from those rocks , it lived for over a year and survived being transported in paint buckets by truck across country
@@knyghtryder3599 whoa! That's rad. Cool
If I wanted to start a algae written tank as a future home for some breeding plecos, would you just started with dirty fish water and then later clean it up before you put the plecos in that way you can have all the algae in the world?
Yeah that's one way, but I'd probably just buy some "active substrate" like Amazonia and then leave the light on 12 to 16 hours a day... with only a few plants. I'd add iron or silicate rich stone like granite or basalt with metal specs or redish rusty brown tones...that would probably grow algae like crazy
@@Fishtory I appreciate that
Can you please tell me some plants(mostly fast growing) that can be grown in sandy substrate with root tabs?
Of course! Great question! I like sword plants, any bulb plants like red lotus/ lily species or dwarf tiger lotus. Cryptocorynes tend to do well, as do aponogeton species and there are about 100 plants in the hobby between those 2 groups. Star grass, chain sword and corkscrew val. Also do well in mature sand with some mulm in it.
Best of luck to you!
@@Fishtory And what about substrate of 2-3 mm sized gravel only? Will it be okay too? There's a tank with that sized gravel 3 inches deep substrate set up a few days ago. Haven't planted yet.
@@suman5492 it is okay, but I personally like adding sand or aquarium soil also. As a top 1 inch or 1.5 inch layer called a "cap" ....mostly because it prevents root tabs from melting roo quickly
@@Fishtory I haven't put any fish yet in that tank. So I can still remove the gravels and add an inch or more of vermicompost below that gravel layer. I have a bag of it which I bought recently for my indoor plants. Will it be okay to use it?
15:05
Will a dirted tank work?
Can low-light LED light grow algae too? If left on for hours?
100%
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Thanks for the education. My algae fun fact ;algae produces more oxygen than all the world's trees combined 🍀
Isn't that amazing?! Also diatomaceous algae creates 10 to 20% of the world's greenhouse gases according to a news article I just saw
And here we are destroying the oceans. Our entire planet is the literal garden of eden.
@@Fishtory Alex, l've now gone down a diatom wormhole 😂reading about global warming catch 22 regarding warmer seas, silica, glass vessels and the diatoms turning carbon into sugar. It's mind blowing what science has achieved, so fingers crossed the world's glorious leaders will actually move quick enough. Peat free that's me 🍀
@@kevinpowell7948 oh so many wormholes to go down on this topic... it's insane. Also there are exceptions to everything I said (like algae that store sugars and live on jet fuels lol) but at some point you gotta tell a story and just apply what is relevant...because I'm already so tempted to go off on a 30 minute tangent about how more water flows in the sky over the Amazon than in the river it's self lol
Alex, I've been meaning to ask you, just in case you don't...
Do you know about (whispers) 'sci hub'?
Hopefully in some of the next videos ... "How to have aquarium full of algae? Green water ;)" Everyone is in the mood "OMFG I have algae it's disaster!". Well, I would like to have green water and to have my fishes enjoy that free meal whenever they open their mouths :)
Finally
I know you have a lot of different Gobies but I haven't seen the Australian Desert Gobies. Will you want to get them when Aquatic Arts gets them in?? I mainly want someone else's opinion on my fish lol
Yes If I saw them around I'd definitely purchase one...or 3
@@Fishtory well hopefully it won't be much longer 😉 lol
What about blue light. It is said that blue light printed algae growth ?????
Blue light over a certain wave length (like sky blue colors to our eye) will still fuel many types of Algae... however the blue light on newer aquariums for night mode, seems to be dim enough that it only supports the hardiest diatoms from what I've read and seen.
You freak me out bro. But I love your channel and knowledge😊
I have my tank cycling in a completely dark room with 0 light and i am still getting algie can someone help
0 light? Like no windows? ...that's cyanobacteria If anything... even dim light of a room with a light bulb is enough for many algae species....plants need more light and Hence, people using strong lights at first rather than black out start ups... roots need to take hold and plants need light to survive any longer than a few weeks
I was taught back in the 60's that silica sand is a no no in a fish tank.
Interesting! I have used it in many ways and combinations with various substrate materials and never had any issues. (that I have observed anyhow haha)
Was that due to algae, or more of a micro-cut issue in the gills of fish?
So diatomaceous algae is what mostly makes up diatomaceous earth ?
Yup its skeletons of Algae , crushed and pressed for eons like chert is made of crustaceans from the ocean floor over time
Joey must be up early ...It's AMAZING that the second your streams start or about to start.....you always get ONE thumbs down.....I know it's him! 😑
Lol I think it's someone else...but someone IS super dedicated lol
Dude....ITS EVERY...SINGLE...TIME....Too much of a coincidence.... 😂
Lol poor kid
lmao yooo chill
@@donnywolf9250 yeah, but did it start after that one video?
I've noticed more algae in my personal tanks when I'm not fertilizing.
That's definitely possible! When you fertilize you give any plants I'm the tank a boost to help process and eliminate the nitrates present.
It's because you have enough of some things for the algae, but not enough of maybe one thing that the plants need.
In my case, I only dose magnesium, iron, calcium, potassium. And sulfate. I have too much carbonate. The rest comes from adding fish food and my source water. And I only feed after a water change.
in my opinion, only very very stablished tanks should use lights at full power. new tanks can't handle that and will have a bunch of algae
If you dont know what you're doing...yes, i agree. But if you know what you're doing and you use a short photo-period, i find its less algae early on, when you grow many plants as fast as possible
I wonder If Joey knows this stuff? I will send him A link.
Lol 😆
did you say you ALLOW planaria????? Why!?
If its not a shrimp tank without fish, i dont care the fish will eat em if i lay off the feeding for a few days
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