Journal Frank's Dutch Attempt

  • Thread starter Thread starter FrankZ
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FrankZ said:
My goal was to have something marginally acceptable to submit to the AGA this year but I’m not embarrassing myself with this sh*thouse mess
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Well, they haven't announced yet so seems like there is more time still.
 
FrankZ said:
View attachment 5772

Slime is making a rapid return in the helferii. If you zoom you can see the strands floating up. Had to include the Samolus parviflorus red to get something pretty in the photo.

Makes sense that it’s growing fast on the helferi since it’s in bad shape. Still scratching my head on what to do about this slime mess.
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If a plant species is not doing well in your tank, don't linger on it. Remove and replace with something simpler that would grow faster. In the meantime control the algae. When algae is all gone, then you can bring helferi back in. It takes time but better than having the same issue over and over.
 
OmidNiav said:
If a plant species is not doing well in your tank, don't linger on it. Remove and replace with something simpler that would grow faster. In the meantime control the algae. When algae is all gone, then you can bring helferi back in. It takes time but better than having the same issue over and over.
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I will agree here and quote @GreggZ, if they don’t like the soup, throw them out. He says it differently, but makes the same point 😆
 
OmidNiav said:
If a plant species is not doing well in your tank, don't linger on it. Remove and replace with something simpler that would grow faster. In the meantime control the algae. When algae is all gone, then you can bring helferi back in. It takes time but better than having the same issue over and over.
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Good suggestion and I might take it. I just don’t get why the tank was growing just fine for months and months with no slime. I feel like something else is going on because I’ve never had slime like this before and it just won’t stay dead. I wonder if it’s one of those so called unkillable algae that thrive on the same conditions that plants do. I now noticed the slime is covering the anubias wall again. It reminds me of pond algae that grows in the stagnant bluegill ponds I take the kids fishing at from time to time.

The pogostemon helferi is all beat up from my manual vacuuming it hard because the slime stuck in it worst of all the plants.
 
Doing as close to a 100% water change today to reset everything and start from scratch water chemistry wise.

Here is a sample of the offending slime I’ve been dealing with, it’s very silky to the touch and breaks up without effort. It grows in sheets covering the plants if I don’t clean it out in time it has no smell or any of the other positive indications of cyano and doesn’t respond to cyano treatments IMG_3414.jpeg

Also adding a spray bar in for the filter discharge just to see what happens.
 
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Yikes that is some nasty looking stuff. I can't say I've ever seen anything quite like it.

I am not one to recommend an algae killer.....but in this case might be worth a shot.

Keep us posted. Curious to see where this goes.
 
Here is the list of what has not worked so for

Extra water changes and vacuuming
Filter cleaning
Metricide 14 (excel)
API Algefix
Blue green slime remover cyano treatment
Ignoring it - surprisingly effective with some algae
Praying
Cursing at it

Most effective has been manual removable but no matter how “clean” I think I’ve gotten it, the slime is always coming back 3 days later. A 1-2 punch full tank treatment might be next.
 
FrankZ said:
Here is the list of what has not worked so for

Extra water changes and vacuuming
Filter cleaning
Metricide 14 (excel)
API Algefix
Blue green slime remover cyano treatment
Ignoring it - surprisingly effective with some algae
Praying
Cursing at it

Most effective has been manual removable but no matter how “clean” I think I’ve gotten it, the slime is always coming back 3 days later. A 1-2 punch full tank treatment might be next.
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Really bad algae struggle @FrankZ , I read the thread trying to figure out what you could have missed.

If I could make a rather random guess I would have another look at organics and maintenance. You said that your FX4 is nearly dying (just replace the impeller), also you may have done less maintenance after your surgery, so besides all the other things that you are doing I would suggest to add a pre filter to your FX4 that you clean at least weekly. When I wash out my pre filter, seeing how much dirt comes off every week, I estimate that it accounts for at least 50-75% of all organics removal that I do (WC, vacuuming, FX4 maintenance). It may or may not help to cure the algae, but in any case it won't hurt.

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I had a similar green slime algae growing in my frogbit index container. I think it is just really thick GDA. It would start off as normal GDA coating the surfaces but then it would start growing into the water column into this thick green slime like you're describing. This isn't the best picture, but it would get a lot worse.20240712_133843.jpg
I siphoned most of it out and added some snails to the container and it never returned. I bet SAE would also love the stuff. I like having a diverse algae clean up crew. I know some people don't have algae eaters and have nice algae free tanks, but having a lot of algae eaters has eliminated dealing with algae for me.

Here is a video of the difference the snails made within hours.
 
Quick update before to replying to all the great stuff above.

IMG_3420.jpeg
This Java fern was slime free yesterday. Now the blob has it.

IMG_3422.jpeg
Above is one hour into a super scientific hydrogen peroxide efficacy evaluation. Aquarium water, slime, and 3 sprays of peroxide. Only effect thus far is bubbles.
 
Now that IS some nasty stuff. Are you potentially able to remove the plants and black out the tank for a week?
 
Yugang said:
Really bad algae struggle @FrankZ , I read the thread trying to figure out what you could have missed.

If I could make a rather random guess I would have another look at organics and maintenance. You said that your FX4 is nearly dying (just replace the impeller), also you may have done less maintenance after your surgery, so besides all the other things that you are doing I would suggest to add a pre filter to your FX4 that you clean at least weekly. When I wash out my pre filter, seeing how much dirt comes off every week, I estimate that it accounts for at least 50-75% of all organics removal that I do (WC, vacuuming, FX4 maintenance). It may or may not help to cure the algae, but in any case it won't hurt.

View attachment 5780
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I addressed the failing motor by adding a Jebao (spelling is probably wrong) variable speed pump to the FX4 outlet. Cost was $30-40 and now I have 10 different speeds plus double the flow rate at max if I want.

I really need to put a prefilter on just as you suggested. It won’t help now that things are out of hand but might have prevented me from getting here.
 
RickyV said:
I had a similar green slime algae growing in my frogbit index container. I think it is just really thick GDA. It would start off as normal GDA coating the surfaces but then it would start growing into the water column into this thick green slime like you're describing
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I thought this as well at first. Only difference is the usual stuff doesn’t kill it and it is growing WAY faster and it’s shaping up sort of out of the blue. Like the photo I posted of the Java fern earlier. Nothing on it yesterday that I could see and today it’s slime city.
 
That is some stubborn shit, trust me I know. Nothing seems to kill it outright. What I do sometimes is like a 1 punch treatment

First manually remove all that you can. Then turn all the flow off and spray glut directly on the plants underwater. Lard it on. Little spray bottle I use holds 150 ml, Ive used one and a half of those on 75 gals. Let it sit 30-45 minutes then do a water change

Peroxide works too, and its a little safer on plants

As for cause its probably a combination of plants doing poorly along with the right amount and type of dissolved organics (for lack of a better word) which created a perfect environment for this type of algae

You'll just have to religiously keep removing it, hitting it with some treatment and get the plants as healthy as you can. It'll finally go away
 
Burr740 said:
That is some stubborn shit, trust me I know. Nothing seems to kill it outright. What I do sometimes is like a 1 punch treatment

First manually remove all that you can. Then turn all the flow off and spray glut directly on the plants underwater. Lard it on. Little spray bottle I use holds 150 ml, Ive used one and a half of those on 75 gals. Let it sit 30-45 minutes then do a water change

Peroxide works too, and its a little safer on plants

As for cause its probably a combination of plants doing poorly along with the right amount and type of dissolved organics (for lack of a better word) which created a perfect environment for this type of algae

You'll just have to religiously keep removing it, hitting it with some treatment and get the plants as healthy as you can. It'll finally go away
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Im preparing to do this tonight. Glute bomb. I feel like Yokozuna (old and obscure giant butt cheeks joke)
 
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