# One big plant mess



## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

My 26g has been up for about a month now and i recently ordered lots of plants from aquariumplants.com. Some of them look ok, 2 died with in 48 hrs and some of the other ones look pasty and not green and pink like they were suppose to. After getting them in my tank (maybe a week ago) I have 90% more algae all over the place. There are loose leaves all over the place which keep clogging the filter and i can't keep some of the plants that came in bunches is the gravel - any advice on that? The tank looks like one big icky mess with algae and floating plants that are suppose to be grounded and loose leaves stuck here and there and in the filter intake. I should have the money to get a master test kit within the week, so i will hopefully beable to give some results on that soon.
Other stuff:

- Fully planted 26g bf
- 3 zebras
- 40-50 lbs of natural lookin gravel
- DIY CO2
- Excel every few days - i tried injecting right onto the plants with algae (with a syringe) 
- had about 5 -6 flourish tabs in there to begin with and added leaf zone all of three times since the tank was up and running. 

I know it will be difficult to give me much advice without a test kits results but maybe someone can tell me how to keep the stinkin plants in the ground and maybe how to make them perk up some. Thanks!


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

What kind of lighting do you have? What kind of root tabs did you use. Were they buried under the gravel? Excel actually needs to be dosed daily to do much good. Your lighting may not be good enough for your plant choices either.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

susankat said:


> What kind of lighting do you have? What kind of root tabs did you use. Were they buried under the gravel? Excel actually needs to be dosed daily to do much good. Your lighting may not be good enough for your plant choices either.


I have a 64w 6700 bulb. Before i bought my plants i asked on here and got the go ahead for all the plants.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

What kind of shape were they in when you got them? The algae could have came in on the plants but not likely. Sounds more like an imbalance to me. Need to take out all the leaves that fall off the plants as they can raise levels also as they rot.


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

How about adding a pleco, otto, or snails to the mix? 

They can make short work of algae. You may have to supplement their diet once they've eaten it all though.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

How long is your light staying on?


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## mk4gti (Jun 15, 2010)

Ive gotten plants from aquarium plants.com and they all came in prestine condition and are all still alive and have tons of new growth.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

It would help if we knew what specific plants you have.

But in general I would do this.

Turn the filter off

Stop dosing excell

turn the co2 off

kill the lights

stop adding food

for a few days to a week or so until the algae dies off.

then resume with no more then a few flakes of food each day (literally 3 or less), no co2, no excel and no more then 10 hours lighting each day.

then adjust lighting so the plants grow but not the algae.

just a thought.

worth at most .02


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

- Ludwigia, Broad Leaf (Ludwigia repens) - looks great

- Rotala Indica - looks very pasty in color a bit of a green hue but not the pinkish color

- Tiger Lotus, Red (Nymphaea zenkeri) - hasn't started to grow from bulb

- Nana (Anubias barteri v. ‘Nana’)

- Limnophila - this is the one that refuses to stay in the gravel and the leaves are everywhere. 

- Cryptocoryne parva- got a tiny bit of nothing but still looks ok

(Also have 3 large swords and anubias - both have algae)

The lights are on a timer and are on around 11 hours a day.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Try some anacharis and vals


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

Any suggestions on how to keep the plants in the ground that don't have roots that came as bunches?

Edit* When the algae first came around, i killed the lights for 3-4 days and nothing changed, ive read that fiddler crabs and maybe pepermint shrimp - not sure if thats right - can help with algae but im thinking until i get a test kit this weekend that i should wait


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## FearsomeB (Sep 3, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Any suggestions on how to keep the plants in the ground that don't have roots that came as bunches?
> 
> Edit* When the algae first came around, i killed the lights for 3-4 days and nothing changed, ive read that fiddler crabs and maybe pepermint shrimp - not sure if thats right - can help with algae but im thinking until i get a test kit this weekend that i should wait


When I first started planting my aquarium I had the same problem with keeping all of my plants planted, especially those that came as bunched cuttings. Eventually, I pulled the gravel out and replaced it with a planting substrate, and haven't had any problem at all since then.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

FearsomeB said:


> When I first started planting my aquarium I had the same problem with keeping all of my plants planted, especially those that came as bunched cuttings. Eventually, I pulled the gravel out and replaced it with a planting substrate, and haven't had any problem at all since then.


Ahh don't tell me that lol, I just added 25lbs to the tank before my new plants came in...do you think i could lightly tie them to a weight - like a fishing weight?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Any suggestions on how to keep the plants in the ground that don't have roots that came as bunches?
> 
> ...


super glue some rocks on them?


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

Superglue? Is that safe Beaslbob?
I haven't had the opportunity yet (plants arrive mon-tue) but I was paranoid about using strong glues. I'd thought maybe hotglue or aquarium-safe silicon. Can I get your thoughts on what you've used in the past?
I tend to overthink some things, so this may be one of those cases.


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## majerah1 (Oct 29, 2010)

Get some plant weights for the bunches.If you have fairly large stones about you can tye the bunches with some fishing line,not too tight,just taut.Then place a stone on the bunch until it roots in there.Turn the lighting period down a little.have you thought of feeding pellets instead of flakes?They are easier to get the leftovers up.Flakes turn to mush too fast IME.The crypt,it may have been pruned down to keep it from suffering crypt melt.

You need to fine tune your lighting,fert and cleaning routine.I was told to start decreasing the light by 30 mins every two weeks and see if you see improvements


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

I got really creative today in terms of keeping the plants down! (I'm a bit proud!) I got a lid from a storage container washed it well in hot water and poked holes in it with a screw. The holes weren't big enough so i got a paintbrush that I haven't used yet that had a natural wood handle and widened the holes a bit. Gently stuck the plants in and bada bing bada boom everything is down in the ground where its suppose to be.  I figured every day clear plastic was used in aquariums so it would be safe...hope im right!  *w3*w3


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

mfgann said:


> Superglue? Is that safe Beaslbob?
> I haven't had the opportunity yet (plants arrive mon-tue) but I was paranoid about using strong glues. I'd thought maybe hotglue or aquarium-safe silicon. Can I get your thoughts on what you've used in the past?
> I tend to overthink some things, so this may be one of those cases.


When i was lookin around today about ways to keep them planted, i found a site that said you could take a cup of dry gravel and mix in the silicone and then take out enough to surround the plant and then let it dry and stick it in. Suppose to work with fake and live plants since it gives it a little base.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

mfgann said:


> Superglue? Is that safe Beaslbob?
> I haven't had the opportunity yet (plants arrive mon-tue) but I was paranoid about using strong glues. I'd thought maybe hotglue or aquarium-safe silicon. Can I get your thoughts on what you've used in the past?
> I tend to overthink some things, so this may be one of those cases.


Super glue worked fine for me and is used on reef tank for glueing frags.


Never thought of hot glue perhaps that would work.

One time I used 1/4" square plastic grid (egg crate) and glued anacharis to the squares. glueing wet plants is a real mess. Not all were secure but I got most. 

Then pushed the plant egg crate into the substrate. It worked almost. *r2 It is amazing how many plants you can get in when they are 1/4-1/2" apart. I think a couple of months later most had seperated but it looked good for awhile.

I guess of you want things organized you have to keep up.

my .02


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

Well, I'll be... Guess I was just being paranoid. I haven't given too much thought to weighting all this stuff down somehow. Mark it up as being a plant-newbie. The two I have in there right now weren't a problem, but petsmart thought that out for me. The red ludwigia had a metal band weighting it down, and the water wisteria is rooted... 

Thanks for the thoughts!


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

Any thoughts on how to fix algae while im waiting for my test kit (besides scrubbing it off)? I've killed the lights when it started for a 3-4 days like i was told, but it didn't do anything, as a matter of fact after i turned them back on it was worse. Its brown algae that is covering plants, glass, filter intake and the decorative log thing. I've heard snails and algae eaters don't do much, what about fiddler crabs or shrimp?


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## gregpxc (Jul 11, 2010)

when I first started planting my 20 long I got a bit of an algae bloom as well. I reduced my on time to just over 8 hours a day and I bought a blue mystery snail (I found out the mystery is that it's painted =P) from PetSmart and he got right on that stuff (you could buy a couple as well, I got a really big one so one was good =])... now my tank is clear of algae (except for my anubias) and I run my lights at least 10 hours a day =] Hope this helped.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

gregpxc said:


> when I first started planting my 20 long I got a bit of an algae bloom as well. I reduced my on time to just over 8 hours a day and I bought a blue mystery snail (I found out the mystery is that it's painted =P) from PetSmart and he got right on that stuff (you could buy a couple as well, I got a really big one so one was good =])... now my tank is clear of algae (except for my anubias) and I run my lights at least 10 hours a day =] Hope this helped.


Will be going on a snail hunt  My son should have a blast, he is obsessed with snails lol


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Will be going on a snail hunt  My son should have a blast, he is obsessed with snails lol


If you're thinking about more than one you might look into nerite snails. Lots of cool looking ones and they can't breed in freshwater (they need brackish), so you won't get lots of snails overrunning the place. Not sure about mystery snails.. never kept one, but the pond snails can breed FAST.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

mfgann said:


> If you're thinking about more than one you might look into nerite snails. Lots of cool looking ones and they can't breed in freshwater (they need brackish), so you won't get lots of snails overrunning the place. Not sure about mystery snails.. never kept one, but the pond snails can breed FAST.


I got one oto Mystery Snail for my snail loving son and me 4 otos for my algae problem. Oh and of course can't forget the Mr. Krabs (spongebob) decor for his tank.


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## gregpxc (Jul 11, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> I got one oto Mystery Snail for my snail loving son and me 4 otos for my algae problem. Oh and of course can't forget the Mr. Krabs (spongebob) decor for his tank.


Let me know how it works... I would give it about a week.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> Any suggestions on how to keep the plants in the ground that don't have roots that came as bunches?


You could try these, or maybe it'll give you some ideas.
Professional Plant Anchors (on sale)(reg. $2.29)


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> You could try these, or maybe it'll give you some ideas.
> Professional Plant Anchors (on sale)(reg. $2.29)


Hey, thats kinda what i did with the lid except it was a bunch of different holes in one big disk. It has worked really well, and all i had to do was use a plastic take out lid that i got queso in! Thanks!

Oh so tell me if you agree, I called the reputable plant/fish store here in Houston and told them about my tank and brown algae problem, and they said it was normal in new aquriums. They also said since it is fully planted and been up for a month it is way passed cycled. Now hearing that I have been debating on ordering my test kit, which i know i should get anyways, but hearing its cycled makes me not want to. Do you really think it is cycled just like that, poof?


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## gregpxc (Jul 11, 2010)

An algae bloom can be a good sign of cycling, yes but a test kit is always a good thing to have. Often times when a fish or plant dies unexpectedly you can run the tests and get your answers, thus saving the lives of the other inhabitants =]


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

gregpxc said:


> An algae bloom can be a good sign of cycling, yes but a test kit is always a good thing to have. Often times when a fish or plant dies unexpectedly you can run the tests and get your answers, thus saving the lives of the other inhabitants =]


How many fish should i add at a time in the 26 gallon and how long should i wait in between adding?


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## mfgann (Oct 21, 2010)

GeminiPrincess said:


> How many fish should i add at a time in the 26 gallon and how long should i wait in between adding?


I've always stuck to a 2-3 fish at a time (less being better). Wait at least a week before adding more. It does depend on the fish and size though. With fish that school, sometimes you really need to add more than 2, so 3-5 might be necessary depending on their size and temperament. I would try and figure out which fish you think you want, make sure they will live happily together, then figure out which of those species are hardiest and start adding them in order of hardiest to most delicate.

As for whether your tank is cycled.. it usually takes from 4-8 weeks to cycle, but if you seeded it with something from an established tank it can give it a big jump stat. Also if you have lots of plants they can absorb the ammonia directly if there is much and help keep the toxicity way down, meaning you might be able to start adding fishies as long as you watch your numbers and make sure nothing is getting too high. If your ammonia or nitrites start spiking any, wait till it settles down again.

Good luck!


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## gregpxc (Jul 11, 2010)

I definitely agree. Just a couple at a time unless you have something like tetras or a small schooling fish.


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