So I'm up to week 2 in my newly planted 30g tank (the one in my signature), most of the plants are doing well so far, other than the glosso that keeps getting pulled out of the gravel every time the frogs kick their way through it Lighting is 2 T5 24w HO bulbs for 10-12 hours a day. I've been using the Seachem Flourish line of stuffs, with the following dosages:
1. Comprehensive Supplement - weekly, dosed per bottle instructions
2. Excel (organic carbon) - every other day, dosed per bottle instructions
3. Iron - not really sure how much to add this... I know the ludwiga and red tiger lotus need it, but the bottle just says to add it whenever the new growth seems yellowish and when the iron tests show that the tank is low. I've added it once so far at the dosage listed on the bottle, but my API master test kit doesn't test for iron, so I have no idea what my levels are.

Now to the main problems I'm seeing so far... I'm starting to see some brownish algae growth all through the tank now, and my two otos and calico BN pleco aren't keeping up. What's the best way to control this while still getting the plants the nutrients/lighting they need? Should I add another oto?

Also, I spotted two snails mating today that apparently snuck in on one of the plants. I have nothing but horror story memories of the last time I kept snails (blue mystery variety then, not sure what variety these are but they're tiny) where they kept multiplying to the point that they were EVERYWHERE... I REALLY don't want that happening here, although I know in moderation they can help control my algae. Whats the best way to make sure they don't get out of control? I hear people mention clown loaches, but I don't think my tank is big enough, not to mention I think I read somewhere that they don't do well with guppies or bettas...

Finally, any suggestions on if I'm dosing correctly with my Flourish stuffs or how to keep the darn Glosso from getting pulled up constantly would be appreciated Thanks!

The brown algae is more than likely diatoms; to be expected in a new tank and will typically disappear after a week or two. No need to change your lighting habits or anything to get rid of it; it doesn't live off of light like green or hair algae, so you just have to stick it out and it will eventually go away on it's own

I think I've heard before or ADF's eating snails, but I'm not sure just how effective they would be to control them. It may be one of those things were they wont even take notice to the snails until there's a BUNCH in the tank... You could looking into getting some Assassin Snails. They eat other snails



Any photos of the tank? I tried to put a Tiger Lotus in my tank about 5 months ago, and the stupid thing never sprouted from it's bulb, lol

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My 30 gallon planted freshwater - CONSTANTLY CHANGING

Well, I'm not sure if my tank really counts as a "new" tank since the tank was established for 1-2 years before I pulled out the UGF, put in peat moss and sand underneath the gravel I had been using (kept all the fish mum, bacteria, and gravel in a bucket of tank water during the swap), then added the plants... Would that still get the diatoms?

Here's an updated pic of the tank, plus I have more in my photo album from the first few days I got the Tiger Lotus as an already sprouted and established plant, and it seems to be doing fine so far. It blends in with the driftwood in the middle a bit. Still need to block that hole in the terra cotta pot to discourage curious fish from getting stuck.


While taking the pic I noticed that my hygro has all these roots coming out of its stems, which I thought meant it isn't getting enough nutrients from the water column, so I took a close-up just in case... Any idea if this is normal or if it means I need to change something?

Get assasin snail,they eat other snails

when hes done,sell him,or take him to your local fish shop and get nerite snails for your algea problem,nerite snails dont breed in freshwater,so no worries about getting too many of them

Assassin snails will eat other things to. Mine eat bloodworms that go to the bottom of the tank.
The roots coming off the hygro is water roots, and you can just trim them off. With a good fert regime you won't get many of those coming off the plants. Most stem plants take in their nutrients out of the water column.

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Alright, that's what I thought... Does that mean I need to up the ferts I'm giving? I listed my current routine in my first post. Still not sure if I'm doing the iron supplement correctly...

I'll buy some of the pesky snails off you if you'll trap them for me. Easiest way is to skin and blanch a slice of zucchini, wait till there's some snails on it, fish it out and put it in a ziplock with tank water and ship it away. My Assassin snails are getting big and hungry, haha.

Easiest way to figure out your dosing on iron is to buy an iron test kit. My preferred iron kit is from Salifert, but SeaChem makes a nice easy one to test with as well. You'll want iron up around 0.5-0.8 ppm for tiger lotus and other red plants, but any more than that (above 1 ppm) and you risk an algae outbreak. I mixed up a ferrous iron gluconate solution from some dietary iron supplement pills and have to dose two capfuls (of an Ocean Spray bottle) a week to keep my iron at about 0.5 ppm.

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Officially fishless until after the move....tune in later for details!

Well, I've only seen the two snails so far, but once they start overpopulating I'll be happy to send them your way! Snail salad, yummm

I haven't seen any iron test kits around at either Petsmart or my LFS, but I'll see if I can find one of those kits online. Thanks!