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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

Re: tank overrun with moss or algae..Help!

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21 Oct 2013 15:14 #1 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Hi All. I've been trying my hand at a planted set up for a good few months but it just isn't working out. I added some moss to the wood at the centre of the tank but it appears to have overtaken the whole tank, growing all over my plants and spores are readily visible on the substrate etc...I'm close on ripping out all the plants altogether as it just looks awful. Jbl aqua basis under the gravel, co2 infused, easycarbo and fertiliser added daily with plenty of light. I like the moss look on the wood but just don't want it covering the whole tank including my actual plants!

Is this moss or is it algae? Can I get rid of it without taking all the plants out? How do I get rid of the spores or little moss balls that are growing everywhere? Thanks!
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21 Oct 2013 17:34 #2 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
That's black hair algae. Reducing light and ferts helps I think, but I think what you have needs to be removed by hand first

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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21 Oct 2013 18:09 #3 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Hiya Lemon. Thanks for your reply, I much appreciate it! What course of action do you now recommend? Should I remove all the plants? How dominant stop this stuff spreading?

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21 Oct 2013 18:24 #4 by LemonJelly (Johnny Cowley)
I haven't had much of an issue with it myself but I think in your case you will need to remove as much as you can by hand. You may need to knock the ferts on the head for a while and reduce the lighting for a week or two. A Siamese Algae Eater is about the only fish that will eat it

"The only thing that burns in Hell is the part of you that won't let go of your life; your memories, your attachments. They burn them all away. But they're not punishing you.They're freeing your soul."

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21 Oct 2013 19:11 #5 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)
Yeah, it's pretty ugly I have to say. I'm pissed off trying to get the balance right. I'll pull the covered plants and try my best to remove the rest of the spores by hand / siphon.... I'll cut the lights almost fully and stop the easy carbo and fertiliser too....thanks Lemon. Brian

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21 Oct 2013 22:07 #6 by paulv (paul vickers)
Brian, ur doin something ryt, super looking discus. Maybe u can borrow a feather fin syno, they will sort out ur algae prblem. I understand a synodontis cat fish may not suit ur set up but if u can just borrow 1 for a few weeks.

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21 Oct 2013 23:44 #7 by Homer (Kevin)

Hi All. I've been trying my hand at a planted set up for a good few months but it just isn't working out. I added some moss to the wood at the centre of the tank but it appears to have overtaken the whole tank, growing all over my plants and spores are readily visible on the substrate etc...I'm close on ripping out all the plants altogether as it just looks awful. Jbl aqua basis under the gravel, co2 infused, easycarbo and fertiliser added daily with plenty of light. I like the moss look on the wood but just don't want it covering the whole tank including my actual plants!

Is this moss or is it algae? Can I get rid of it without taking all the plants out? How do I get rid of the spores or little moss balls that are growing everywhere? Thanks!


I use Easylife Algexit, works a treat on most Algae, that is not to say that normal maintenance like Water Changes can be ignored or the underlying cause is to be put aside but it will, after a few weeks, remove the ugly appearance of Algal outbreaks, google it and if you have Crypts, be aware that they may suffer slightly, other than that, a great product.

H.

The Glass is always greener on the other side.


It's NOT "Chee lick", NOT "Chee Chee Licks"!!! Cichlids is pronounced as "Sick Lids"!!!!!

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22 Oct 2013 14:27 #8 by Inza (philippe launois)
hi Gonefishy:

I had a similar issue couple weeks ago and i used the same product that Homer recommended you. It works like a charm and my plants did not suffer from it.

I would also suggest to reduce your lightning time during the photosynthesis process, this could help. I cut 2 bulb out of 4 for about 3 hours in the afternoon and no more algae ! Also to get rid of algae, you can add some siamese algae eater, and more plants ! the more plants there is, the less food for algae !

hope that helps.

inza.

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22 Oct 2013 22:43 #9 by Gonefishy (Brian oneill)

Brian, ur doin something ryt, super looking discus. Maybe u can borrow a feather fin syno, they will sort out ur algae prblem. I understand a synodontis cat fish may not suit ur set up but if u can just borrow 1 for a few weeks.



Hi Paul. Ur a gentleman and very much appreciate ur compliments. I've grown the discus from babies and they are all now jumbo sized . Gorgeous fish I have to say and I'm so happy with them. I'd just like a tank to match their beauty...shitty algae getting on my nerves....I'm close to getting rid of the plants and just keeping the discus...Brian

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22 Oct 2013 23:29 #10 by platty252 (Darren Dalton)
Wow, that's some growth. Id almost be proud of it.
But since you are not trying to grow algae you will have to put a little work in to get rid of it and stay rid of it.

Firstly any chance you could give more info on the set up?
Tank size (dimensions not volume), filter used, lights (including how old the bulbs are), how long the lights are on. water change regime, feedings, plant food used + how much ,how often, how much easy carbo and what level you are using Co2 at, how long before lights come on dose the Co2 come on.

I know it seem there is a lot of questions and no answers but the answer to your problem is hidden some where in these questions.

Getting rid of this is not such a problem, but you need to figure out why you have so much of it.

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23 Oct 2013 07:12 #11 by paulv (paul vickers)
It would be a pity to get rid of the plants and just have a bare tank, makes it look like a LFS desplay tank. Sorry I cant offer much solutions to the algae but im surd platty can sort it for you.

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