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An old nemesis found
In my last post I mentioned that I’ve been fighting algae for the last six months. That is true. And before my long dry-spell of no posting, I mentioned that I though I had conquered the persistent GDA on the tank walls, that I had been fighting pretty much since the tank went up.
But after declaring victory, I realized that I had been cheating.
Normally I don’t do regular, manual water changes on my tank. The automation on the tank does multiple small drain/fill cycles each night that equates to a 50% water change every three days. But while I was fighting this algae on my glass, I had been doing a 90% water change every weekend. This allowed me to clean my glass of the algae. And over time, the amount I was cleaning every week became less and less. Until finally I thought I had it licked. But all that changed when I decided to go back to my normal routine of no huge weekend water changes with rigorous glass cleaning. And WOW, the algae came back in a hurry.
And rather than aggressively scrape it off, I decided to let it go a few weeks to see if this really was GDA (green dust algae) as I thought. It virtually brushed off, easy to clean. So I thought I knew what I was dealing with. But I was wrong. After a few weeks of letting it grow, the acrylic tank walls were covered in beautiful green threads, waving in the current. Thread Algae! My own personal algae nemesis returned! Or rather, had never really gone away.
In the Scolley’s Follies category here you’ll see a tank that got badly infested with this stuff. And I mean bad. There were extenuating circumstances in that tank that you can read about in that post, but bottom line was - thread algae was completely out of control in that tank. And now I found out that it is what I had actually been fighting in this tank for a year and a half. Why? Or rather, why my tanks?
I had a very long thread where I battled this stuff in detail, aggressively for months, documented over at plantedtank.net. So I went back and re-read that. And then I started researching other places where I found this algae. And I found it to be a bad nuisance algae in another type of tank - marine tanks. Granted, I’m sure it’s somewhat different on some technical biological level. But fundamentally it looks the same. And everywhere you find this stuff, there are a few things in common, beside the obvious light and water. They are:
- Strong water current
- Phosphate
- Silicates
Strong water current
This seems obvious. Just look at the algae’s morphology. It is long threads, that grow by adding length to the thread - threads that wave in the current, picking up nutrients as they pass by, and growing the thread. You don’t find this stuff in slow or still waters.
Phosphates
I battled this documented in dialogues with well intentioned “experts” over at plantedtank.net. There is a popular belief that by making sure that you have enough of every nutrient your plants need in your tank, then your plants will flourish, and they will somehow magically “out compete” algae, even though there is enough nutrients to go around for both plants and algae. Well that’s bunk. Unfortunately a large vocal group in the planted tank community drinks this particular kool-ade. Not me. I’ve proved it to be incorrect to my own satisfaction, in my own tanks.
It is clear, that if you run out of any given nutrient, opportunistic algaes will take over. So you can’t bottom out of any nutrient. Zero ppm is bad, even for phosphate (in a freshwater planted tank that is). And it is true that your plants flourish in an excess of nutrients. But where the wheel falls off the wagon with this thinking is the belief that flourishing plants will make your algae problems go away. In some tank it will. But in others not. If you, like me, have one of those nasty algaes that will not die while your plants are flourishing, you’ve got to deprive the algae. Or find something that eats it. And for me, in this tank, that has meant managing my phosphate level so that it remains between 0.05 and 0.2 ppm. It’s seems to be enough for the plants, and it appears to seriously limit the growth of the thread algae.
Silicates
This is the real key. I’m not going to say that you won’t find this algae in tanks without silicates present, but you sure as heck will find it in abundance in plenty of tanks with excess silicates. Want to see an example? Just go to your nearest pet shop and look for it in the marine tanks. Chances are very high that you will find in in tanks with silica sand bottoms, but not in tanks with bare bottoms or calcium substrates. And I’ve never had it in a tank that did not have sand on the bottom either. But I’ve got more evidence, and I find this somewhat compelling…
When I was battling this the first time - in my original Big Clear Kahuna tank - it was my first tank with a sand substrate. And because I was doing everything “right” in conventional planted tank wisdom, I eventually questioned my test values of my water, and sent three samples off to be professionally ($$$) tested. One sample was my tap water. One sample was from my Big Clear Kahuna tank that had the awful thread algae problem. And one was from my little “Mickey’s 20″ tank that had no thread algae at all. In fact I was barely ever even doing water changes in that tank, because it was so stable. That should have been a clue. The test results can be found in the chart at the top of this post.
At the time I was focused on my NPK values, and to some extent micros like iron and magnesium. But I was foolish to ignore the silicate readings. They are unusually high for, and they tell a good story. The silicates in my tap water is a very high 7 ppm. They were half that in the Big Clear Kahuna, and were less than 1 in Mickey’s 20g. I can’t explain why it’s so high in my tap water. I gather that some water companies actually add silicates for some “benign” reason. But that number plummets to less than 1 in Mickey’s 20. Why? Because plants (and algae) do use silicates. And with very infrequent water changes, even the very high starting point of 7 ppm got cut down to residual levels over time by being consumed by plants. But the Big Clear Kahuna on the other hand was receiving weekly 50% water changes, which should have boosted the silicates, keeping it up at a near 7 ppm level. And keep in mind, plenty of silicates were also available due to the sand substrate. So why were the silicate being knocked down to 3.5 ppm, when my plants were barely growing they were so covered with algae. What was reducing the ppm from 7 to 3.5? Easy! The algae itself was a major silicate consumer. And the abundance of it - combined with plenty of phosphates and nice brisk water flow - was enough to kick that particular algae into overdrive.
So high water is important. And the presence of phosphates is too. But in my opinion the lynch pin is that excess of silicates. That explains why so many people have “proved” that this is not caused by excess phosphates. It’s not. It’s caused by the combination of all three things; flow, phosphate, and silicates. Remove one and it goes away.
My current problem explained
So, if silicates are so important, why was my current tank getting better - as evidenced by less algae on the tank walls - when the tank remains bathed in excess silicates? Between the sand substrate provide substantial silicates, and the tank is automatically providing itself a 50% water change every three days (of 7 ppm tap water), silicates should ALWAYS be there in excess. But I’m managing the phosphate level now. As stated before, I’m keeping it between 0.05 and 0.2 ppm, and the algae is staying in check. And the plants are growing.
Unfortunately this means I’m having to do water testing - which I hate - and periodically adding Potassium Phosphate - which I also hate. And all this may get messed up in the spring, when my tap water begins to get influenced by agricultural runoff, and the Phosphate ppm starts to climb. I may have to resort to installing an DI filter. I hope not.
Concluding
All this is my own conjecture, based on my observations. The test here is going to be time. Will my tank thrive, and remain relatively free of thread algae now that I’m keeping my phosphates low?
Here’s a pic of the tank now, so you can get a before and after view. Here’s “before”. You can see the evidence of where the algae was on every leaf, and can even be found in some clumps of moss if you zoom in. And finally, the Hygrophilia corymbosa got whacked back pretty bad. Lets’ see if it can bounce back without me doing the weekly algae cleaning, and tightly managing that phosphate level. Time will tell.
When I set this up, I never really intended it to be an active blog… you know, the kind where I’m contributing every day. Though the fact that this web site is technically run on a Wordpress blog engine allow this site to show the chronological progression of my tank. That’s a good thing I suppose.
Anyway, I haven’t posted in months and months. Have been busy professionally, cutting into hobby time. And have also been sidelined with a little aquarium DIY project. Plus my PC went belly up, and then my little home file server (that I keep my pics on) went belly up. Getting all that rebuilt took time. And now here it is, a good 6+ months since my last post. So, here’s what’s been going on in my tanks:
- New red discus
- New white discus
- Aggressive thread algae
- Algae eaters
I previously posted pics of my 3R2’s, a type of red discus. These were the first juvenile discus I’ve ever had. In the past I’ve always gotten adults or sub adults. The conventional wisdom is that juveniles are hard pressed to get sufficient nutrition in a planted tank. Well I’m here to tell you that is true. Long story short, I eventually gave away a few of them, and one of them was badly stunted from months in my tank - at a crucial time in it’s development - not getting enough food.
So I got a second batch of red fish. This time they were 3R’s, a precursor to the 3R2 strain. Very red. And I got these as juveniles too, certain proof that I’m a slow learner. They worked out better than the 3R2’s, and went into my tank after a few months in quarantine.
All of this was to provide a little contrast in the tank. The blues of my other fish kind of blended in with the green plants, not enough color contrast. And so in a final attempt at more contrast I got some white discus too.
These are called Show Whites. They aren’t albino, just white. The problem though, is that they eventually begin to get tinted with pigments from their food. I feed my fish frozen blood worms and Tetra Colorbits. Only one of the Snow Whites has developed a taste for the tetra color bits, and that’s good because it’s slowly turning into a Snow Yellow. More amber really. And these were juveniles too, which probably proves that maybe I’m not really a slow learner, just very stubborn.
The Snow White have only been in my display tank - the Son of Kahuna - for a few weeks. But they’ve been mercilessly harassed by the juvenile 3R’s, and they haven’t been getting much food at all. Hiding in the weeds most of the time. They do come out at night, and when the overhead lights are off. But they are coward in the full light, and the harrassment by the red juveniles does not help.
So last night I scooped ouy my most aggressive 3R’s and put them in my quarantine tank. I figure I’ll let them chill out in there with no other discus for a month or so to let the Snow Whites get comfortable, and establish their own place in the pecking order. The 3R’s are feisty enough that I’m sure they’ll integrate back into the pack, but maybe not as the bullies they are now.
And for all the problems with the various red and white juvies beating each other up, my adults are doing great. I’ve got just shy of non-stop breeding going on. Here’s a pair of my hi-bodied leopards, doing what they seem to always be doing… guarding eggs or wigglers.
Next I need to catch you up on my algae woes.
Well the tank is springing back nicely. And my persistent algae problems are massively diminished. So while some of the leaves of plants have algae on them that they acquired several weeks ago, no new leaves have algae. And that is a nice change.
The Hygrophilia corymbosa is slowly filling in and getting bushier. I initially let it grow too tall before I trimmed it. Now I’m topping it off every week so that it will fill in better. The Hygrophila difformis snapping back. And my Cryptocoryne wendtii and Echinodorus ‘Rubin’ are both totally algae free! Only the Echinodorus bleheri - the sword plant - has any algae. But that plant is off the the side and not getting enough light, and it appears to be underfertilized too. I’ll have to look into that…
I’ve put in an Eheim autofeeder to make sure the new red 3R2’s are getting enough food, often enough. The upshot is that ALL the fish are getting more food. I can see them all fattening up, and getting larger. Good for them I suppose.
The overall tank is still unbalanced visually, and improving the aquascape will be the focus of my efforts this year, now that I’ve got this algae licked. Well, I say “licked”… the GDA on the glass is still there. But it is quite manageable - requiring one 15 minute session of glass cleaning every week. And that persistent algae on the sand has stayed away for a few weeks, thank goodness. So it’s all controllable.
The new red 3R2s are still hiding. Three of the five barely ever come out. If anyone is in the room at all, the skittish three hide. So I have no idea of they are coming out to eat. I hope so. I’m just hoping that they will get over this with time.
I made a number of important changes to the tank to get ahead of this aglae. I know you can only change one variable at a time if you want any idea of what does/does not work. But I was desparate to control my algae problem and changed multiple variables. Problem is, I just don’t know which one was responsible for the change, or what combination:
- Started using a “siesta”, or 90 minutes in the middle of the day with no lights.
- Reduced the photoperiod to seven (7) hours total time of lights on.
- Eliminated macro dosing, except potassium.
- Reduced potassium dosing way back to one tenth of its normal volume.
- Reduced micro dosing back to one tenth of its normal volume.
- Reduced CO2 back to around 15 ppm.
A lot of people will tell me some of those things are real “no-no”s. But it’s working, and it’s hard to argue with success. Over time I’ll pick up the CO2 dosing. And I’m sure I’ll be forece to tweak the macro/micro dosing. But for now, I’m happy to have the tank healthy.
Well, the Green Dust Algae got pretty nasty. I hadn’t touched the tank in weeks, and it looked like it, so I broke down Friday nite and cleaned it. There was so much GDA that after scraping it off gave the water a strong green tint. So I did an 80% water change too, just to get most of it out. And I’m still having trouble with some kind of green algae growing on the sand. So I gravel vacuumed up the top 1/2″ or so, Chloroxed it, and put it back.
I’ll have to go back and check my records I think it had been three weeks since I touched the tank. And doing so created a maintenance effort that was probably 3 hours in total. A good bit of work I’m afraid. Or, I suppose you could say 1 hour a week for 180 gallon aquarium isn’t too bad. Especially with plants and discus.
I obviously trimmed the plants while I was at it. It felt like a pound or two of trimmings were pulled out. Tank looks better now though.
These photos really look aweful. The depth of field - or rather lack thereof - makes the tank look flat. I need to get a better camera, because I can tell you these boring, unidimensional pictures, just don’t show what the tank looks like in real life… where you can see the layers of depth. It also makes the fish look like they’ve got no room, when in actual fact they’ve to all kinds of room. So one day, a new camera. But for now, here’s a few pics of my fish.
I’ve got two types of discus, Cobalts and High-bodied Leopards. Both sets purchased from Dan at Gulf Coast Discus. If you look hard, or click on on of the pics to pull up a larger shot, you can see that one of the Leopard’s tails is a bit raggedy. I’ve got two fish that get beat up by the other fish. The ragged tailed Leopard, and my runt Cobalt. I’m not sure the runt can be seen in these pics - he’s hanging to the background where it is safe.
Anyway, here’s some pics.
In a prior post I provided an explanation of the plumbing in the stand under my Son of Kahuna aquarium. But a lot of it did not really make sense (like the various solenoids) without a corresponding electrical diagram. So here it is. Here’s a link to the plumbing post. As you go through this diagram, sometimes it may be helpful to refer back to that.
The diagram above documents my electrical wiring. Clicking on it should bring up a larger, more usable picture. While there may be a lot of wires, it’s actually fairly simple. In fact, getting stuff to work was easy. But managing all those wires in the stand (where do you put all the excess wire?) wound up as a challenge in setting up the stand. But I think I took care of it. I’ll do a “physical stand” post later where I show how I dealt with that and other physical challenges.
Objectives
- I wanted it to be secure and reliable (no loose connections)
- I wanted it to be manageable (I’ll show that in the physical stand post)
- I wanted it all controlled by a single unit
Electrical Overview
Looking in the diagram you can see at on the left a Neptune Systems AquaController III (AC III). This simple device controls most of what is running in my stand. It can be controlled, or “programmed”, with the little buttons on front. But it also has a web server in it that displays web pages that you can control it from. That’s my preferred method of managing the AC III’s settings. But that requires that it be hooked up to an Ethernet network. I’ll get to that…
The power itself in the stand is simple. I’ve got a single multi-outlet powerstrip plugged into the wall. Everything that is not turned on and off by the AC III plugs into that. That list is the WiFi access point, three little halogen lights inside the stand (for illumination of electrical and plumbing equipment), and a ground probe. That ground probe is mounted in my plumbing (always wet) to capture any stray electrical current - if any. And finally, the AquaController’s Direct Connect 8’s (DC8) are not turned on/off. They are “on” all the time.
The DC8’s are really simple. They have a proprietary control cable that plugs into the AC III. Or rather one plugs into the AC III, and the 2nd DC8 is daisy-chained to the first one. The AC III individually controls each power outlet on the DC8’s sending control signals over that proprietary wire to turn the power to each individual plug on, or off, as needed.
The things that are turned on and off by the AC III all plug into a DC8. And the sockets are really solid - they grip a plug really tightly. Nothing is going to fall out accidentally.
Controlled Devices:
Lights
Turn on and off a little after sunset, and a little after sundown. The AC III would allow a normal “turn on at this time, off at that time” sort of programming, but it also understands seasonal variations in day lengths, and allows small incremental changes based on season.
Primary Pump
In my plumbing diagram you can see that this pump is on a filtration loop that has a lot of other devices on it, like all three heaters, CO2, UV and more. So I’ve got the AC III set up so that if this pump is turned off, then the AC III knows to turn all that other stuff off too without being specifically told to do so.
Secondary Pump
My pumps add some heat to the water, so during the warmest parts of the day, I have the AC III turn this on and off in 15 minute and 1 hour 45 minute cycles - on for a little while, then off for almost two hours.
Air Pump
Kind of a waste of a control slot really, as I usually leave it on all the time. But the option to control it is there if I need it.
Drain Solenoid
Each night the AC III turns this on three times for about an hour. In my plumbing diagram you can see where this will slowly drain water from the tank. This solenoid is normally-closed (NC) so if I lose power, no water is lost.
Fill Solenoid
After each drain cycle, the AC III turns this solenoid on to fill the tank. Again, check the plumbing diagram. The water is filtered for chlorine and particulates. And like the drain solenoid, if I lose power this shuts off. No power, no AC III controlling it, no tank filling.
CO2 Solenoid
The AC III is also a pH controller. So it has a pH probe plugged into it (see top of diagram). Based on the detected pH of the water, it turns the CO2 on and off, keeping the tank pretty close to my defined sweet spot for CO2 ppm all the time. And it also prevents end-of-tank-dumps, if you are familiar with those.
UV Filter
I fluctuate between loving this and thinking it masks problems. So sometimes it’s on all the time. Sometimes it’s on only a little, and sometimes none. Either way, it’s controlled.
Heaters 1,2 &3
The AC III is also a temperature controller, and I let it control the heaters. There is a temperature probe connected to the AC III (see top of diagram). When the temp gets a shade too cold, the 1st heater kicks in. If it gets ½ degree colder than that the second heater kicks in. And in the winter time when my fill cycle kicks in at night - I live in New England - the water is cold, and it drops a full degree less than optimal temp, and the 3rd heater kicks in. Just as the AC III knows length of day depending on season, it understands seasonal temperature fluctuations. It’s probably unnecessary, but rather than just setting it at a particular optimal temperature, I let it float up and down a degree or two over the months, depending on time of year. The heaters themselves have thermostats on them (most do), and I have them set for a little warmer than the the warmest the AC III will ever heat that water. That way, if something happens to the AC III, they still will shut off before it gets too warm. And no one heater can over heat the tank, so a single one getting stuck in the on position is a problem - should it ever happen - but not a crisis.
Fertilizer Pumps 1, 2, & 3
The AC III turns on peristaltic fert pumps as needed, for the programmed duration. See my plumbing diagram for more info on these.
Other Devices:
Some things in my stand are not controlled by the AC III, but work with it.
IO Breakout Box
This Neptune Systems expansion device allows non-AC III switches to be detected by the AC III.
Contact “Feed” Switch
This is a simple switch (little Radio Shack SPST contact variety) that I’ve got mounted to my stand door. It is connected by two thin wires to the IO Breakout Box, which is connected to the AC III. So if I hit the switche’s button - temporarily closing the circuit - the AC III detects it. I’ve got the AC III programmed to shut the two water pumps down for 10 minutes if that circuit is closed. So when I want to feed my fish without also scattering food all over the plants, I just tap that switch. The pumps shut down for ten minutes and then resume normal operation. A simple device that greatly reduces uneaten food in the tank.
Liquid Level Pressure Sensing Switch
This is just like the Contact “Feed” Switch, in that it is connected to the AC III the same way, and the AC III knows when the circuit is closed. But in the case of this switch - a World Magnetics PSF102 - it is plumbed to the bottom of the tank (see plumbing diagram) and can detect the height of the water column. It does not close the circuit - turn on - until the water reaches what I’ve set as maximum height. That is set with a little trim knob on the switch itself. When the AC III is filling the tank at night, and the water reaches that maximum height, the switch closes the circuit; the AC III detects it and is programmed to shut the Fill Solenoid off - to stop filling immediately. Even though the AC III might think it’s got a few more minutes left in the time it’s supposed to keep the Fill Solenoid on, if the Liquid Level Pressure Sensing Switch turns on, the fill process stops. And my floors stay dry! Never fails.
WiFi Access Point
As I indicated before, the AC III can be controlled by a little web site that is hosted right on the AC III. But you’ve got to have a network connection to it. I’ve got a small home network, and I could have just run an Ethernet cable to the AC III, and that would work just fine. But I didn’t want another cable running into the stand, so I connected it to a Linksys Access Point. That connects to my home wireless network, and thus connects to any device on my home network - wired or wireless. So I usually sit down at my PC to make changes to the AC III’s controls through the web interface. But I can do it on my iPhone’s web browser too. It would be possible to make the AC III’s web site available on the Internet, so I could control the stand anywhere in the world (that has Internet connectivity). But that requires getting Dynamic DNS (DDNS) up an working for my router, and I don’t want to be bothered. Many of you will know what I’m talking about. And if you don’t - bottom line, it can be done, but it’s a little bit of a PITA, and kludgy IMO.
Exceptions
The drawing is reasonably accurate. But not perfect. There are three aspects in my actual wiring that are not shown… to keep the diagram simple.
Plug-Switches
Sometimes you want something just turned on or off, independent of the AC III’s programming. The AC III calls this manual mode, but you have to go to a web browser, or mess around with the little buttons on the AC III (which I hate) to do that. Kind of a PITA if you just want to turn a pump off for a second. So I got some little devices - I’ll call plug-switches for lack of a better name - from Home Depot. It’s just an A/C socket with a rocker switch on top, and a plug in back. It’s one solid little plastic piece that you plug a controlled device (like a pump) into instead of directly into a DC8. Then you plug the little plug-switch into the DC8. So when you want to turn something off momentarily, just hit the rocker switch. Easier than buttons and more immediately gratifying than going to a web browser.
Stand Light Switch
The left side stand light A/C cord has a little Radio Shack SPDT contact switch that I wired into it. The switch is mounted just under the left side stand door. So when the door is opened, the light turns on. Simple. All of the electronics are mounted on the left side of the stand. So I get light when I need it - automatically.
Socket Expansion kit
The older DC8’s - like mine - have a design flaw. It’s been corrected in current models, but these cannot turn a device off if its current is too low. One of my fert pumps draws very little current, so the DC8 can turn it on, but not off. A recipe for disaster! Fortunately there is an easy solution - the Neptune Systems Socket Expansion kit. This is like a little miniature 2-socket power strip. It plugs into the DC8 and into the normal power strip. It senses when the DC8 has turned it on or off, and draws power from the power strip as needed. And my fert pump is plugged into that. And just in case you noticed… yes, that takes more sockets on the power strip than I’m showing. My diagram drawing tool only has an 8-plug strip. My power strip has ten.
Fertilizer Pump 3
This is not actually installed. It’s sitting on a shelf, waiting to be bolted in if I ever need it. But it is planned in - the plumbing and electrical is ready - so it will be easy.
Conclusion
With all this planning, there is one MAJOR mistake in this wiring. Have you seen it? My powerstrip is not plugged into a GFI outlet! I forgot about GFI as I was setting up the stand, and with 180g of water over it, I’m not exactly able to slide the stand out to install a GFI plug now. So I bought a big, cranking 15 amp GFI cord. I plugged the powerstrip into the GFI cord, and the GFI cord into the wall socket. But every time the HQI lights turn on the d*mn thing trips. That’s no good. I’m not sure if I’m running into an amperage problem, or something else. HQI ballasts can put out some funky line noise. So this is an area that I’m going to have to research because I really need to get GFI on that circuit.
With the exception that one major oversight, this all works very well. If I lose power, the AC III recovers very gracefully. I never exceed the capacity of our home wiring, and it all works like a charm. I hope this example is helpful to you in your own planning exercises. Setting it up was certainly fun for me!
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