×
Retirement and forum shutdown (17 Jan 2022)

Hi,

John Howell who has managed the forum for years is getting on and wishes to retire from the role of managing it.
Over the years, he has managed the forum through good days and bad days and he has always been fair.
He has managed to bring his passion for fish keeping to the forum and keep it going for so long.

I wish to thank John for his hard work in keeping the forum going.

With John wishing to "retire" from the role of managing the forum and the forum receiving very little traffic, I think we must agree that forum has come to a natural conclusion and it's time to put it to rest.

I am proposing that the forum be made read-only from March 2022 onwards and that no new users or content be created. The website is still registered for several more years, so the content will still be accessible but no new topics or replies will be allowed.

If there is interest from the ITFS or other fish keeping clubs, we may redirect traffic to them or to a Facebook group but will not actively manage it.

I'd like to thank everyone over the years who helped with forum, posted a reply, started a new topic, ask a question and helped a newbie in fish keeping. And thank you to the sponsors who helped us along the away. Hopefully it made the hobby stronger.

I'd especially like to thank John Howell and Valerie Rousseau for all of their contributions, without them the forum would have never been has successful.

Thank you
Darragh Sherwin

white growths on glass

More
20 Jul 2017 17:58 - 20 Jul 2017 18:01 #1 by nomad (pat murphy)
Can anyone identify these 1mm-2mm roughly white growths that are appearing on the aquarium glass,having a problem with green spot algae and black brush algae too,cheers.



p.s click on photo for larger image.
Attachments:
Last edit: 20 Jul 2017 18:01 by nomad (pat murphy). Reason: p.s

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
20 Jul 2017 19:19 #2 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
As regards Green Spot and Black Brush...Test your NitrAte and Phosphate levels....Shoul be never more than 20ppm and 2ppm repectively...If they are higher you probably need to start changing more water..Green spot tends to come about as a result of too much light on the glass...Is the tank in the path of direct sunlight or maybe your lighting period is too long (max 7 or 8 hours)

SAEs scoff all filamentatous algae but tend to ignore older growth....Nerite Snails are the only animal that can eat Green Spot Algae...Otherwise its a razor blade job...

The white growths are possibly some kind of algae in an early stage....

Or maybe fish eggs that are gone fungussy?????

Just wipe it off Im sure its harmless...

This stuff is amazing....But you still need to get to the heart of the problem to stop the algae coming back... www.easylife.eu/products/freshwater/algae-cyano/algexit

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 12:19 #3 by Jonlate (Jon Late)
I would go with fish eggs to.
What fish are in the tank?

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 19:05 - 21 Jul 2017 19:11 #4 by nomad (pat murphy)
Thanks for replies,i tested for nitrates the other day and they were at 30,when my fast growing stem plants were growing they would bring it down to 5ppm on a weekly 40% part change but they all fizzled out and totally gone.I was thinking that a short while after this started to happen the two t5,s blew and when i touched the ballast it was pretty hot,have since replaced with 2 new t5,s but but lights done work.
Its an Arcadia 24-39 W Twin Ballast and wondering how could i check that it definatly was the ballast blown and not faulty new bulbs.
Regarding snails i was told i couldnt have them in the tank because my waters on the soft size with a PH of 6,regarding the white spots being eggs i would definatly say no.Have had angels,discus and corries lay eggs in a tank before years back and each species has its own pretty regular size and know what fungused eggs look like also. The photo was just a tiny section of them where the fish couldnt get in front so i could take the photo,it covers about a couple of feet or more of the front glass,a couple of hundred at least and some are minute.If you could zoom in you will be able to see the strange leggy growth,i,m thinking too that it has to be some kind of algae,cheers.
Last edit: 21 Jul 2017 19:11 by nomad (pat murphy).

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 20:15 #5 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Bring the tubes to somebody with a working light unit and try them in it...Local fish store will even try them for ya...Its highly unlikely that the new tubes are faulty though...Definitely sounds like the ballast is fecked...Especially as it was getting very hot....If you sniff it you will probably smell a burning smell...If you do its banjaxed...

The plants more than likely fizzled out because your tubes were past there sell by date (Flourescents need replacing every 9 months even if they still look ok)...What you are probably experiencing is a knock on effect with the plant deaths and algae growth etc...

Your NitrAtes are too high either way...Ya need to start changing more water weekly...Your fish have probably grown over time and are creating more waste now...Hence the higher NitrAtes...

If there are dead or dying plants in there take them out and bin them...They are just adding to the problem....

You should consider LED lighting maybe...You can get tubes that are LED direct replacements from companies like Arcadia etc...Its the way forward...More expensive initial cost but long term theres no comparison in both energy saving and plant growth...LEDs are terrific in my opinion...The shimmer effect you get through your water is beautiful as well...

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 20:26 #6 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Its kinda true that snails need harder water to keep their shells in tact...Truth is though they will survive and do pretty ok in your water as it is...If you want to bump up your PH to accomdate Nerite Snails put some crushed coral into your filter....Depending on how much you put in it will up the PH and harden the water a bit to make it more suitable for Nerites....This is the best way to raise PH in any aquarium...DO NOT use buffering chemicals....Its a disaster waiting to happen...

I think you will also find that if you start changing more water your PH will gradually rise a bit as well....High NitrAtes has the effect of lowering PH over time...

Test your tap water PH as well to see what your starting point is...

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 20:43 #7 by nomad (pat murphy)
Thanks for the info Eddy the t5s im using are these www.zooplus.ie/shop/fish/technic_and_acc...erle_lighting/126375 that have uv stop and last for 10,000 hours so they say,well i found them great for plant growth.When they blew i did the math and checking on zooplus when i had bought them was surprised to see it was 2.5 years ago,when i divided 10,000 hours that they state worked out roughly that i would have the lights on for 10 odd hours a day for 2.5 years so wasnt far off.

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 21:34 #8 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)
Because ive been using LEDs for the last few years I didnt even know they had come up with longer lasting T5 flourescent tubes...Those look excellent...Im tempted to buy a couple and see how they go...T5s always gave excellent plant growth anyway...It was just back in the day they were useless after about 9 months approx...Ya learn something new every day...

The thing is you are still using up much more wattage (electricity units) with floursecents compared to LEDs... Each flourescent tube is 39 watts compared to an equivalent length LED tube which uses 12 watts....Long term thats a big saving...

10,000 hours for a flourescent is pretty good though.....

LED manufacturers claim 50,000 hours of use for each tube...

I doubt if any of these manufacturers tell the truth to be honest...But the proof is in the testing...And it looks like from your experience Nomad that Dennerle werent b***s******g!!!

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 21:36 #9 by gunnered72 (Eddy Gunnered)

Please Log in to join the conversation.

More
21 Jul 2017 21:59 #10 by nomad (pat murphy)
Crap if only i had that link before i bought the other t5,s LOL but not to worry they actually done what they said on the tin so to speak.
I was amazed that they would be that effective with word and experience from years back with flourescents fading out after roughly 9 months to actually having one that could last that long..

Please Log in to join the conversation.

Time to create page: 0.059 seconds
Powered by Kunena Forum