29 replies to this topic

[strat guy]

What's your light level? Have you tested your water parameters?

 

Define silt? When I hear silt, I think of the muck on the river bottom... that shouldn't be possible in an aquarium. Do you mean mulm? Like fish poop and the like?

[Sean Phillips]

6 hours a day of tank lights and I leave the window in the room open (well, the blind is up so the light comes in) 24/7/365 so the natives in the room can get a natural daylight cycle and see the seasons change. Ammonia 0, nitrite 0, nitrates 30. I change water 2-3 times a week anywhere from 33-90% each change. Stock is 6 female swordtails and 6 Corydoras (5 paleatus and 1 aeneus). It looks like silt that's disturbed and it's constantly floating in the water column along with dead plant leaves.

[Sean Phillips]

Back to the original purpose and tank of this thread, went out collecting with 2 traps for 2 hours today but once again, not a fish to be caught. Only fish I even saw were about 8-10 small Rhinichthys in some plants. Next time I head out it should be warm enough for me to dawn my waders and start seining again.

[strat guy]

Whatever that is, its probably the cause of the algae outbreak. High organic content, whether on the substrate or in the filter, will bring on BGA. Just gotta focus on keeping the tank real clean. A blackout will kill it all, but if the tank doesn't stay clean, you'll be fighting it forever.

[Sean Phillips]

Whatever that is, its probably the cause of the algae outbreak. High organic content, whether on the substrate or in the filter, will bring on BGA. Just gotta focus on keeping the tank real clean. A blackout will kill it all, but if the tank doesn't stay clean, you'll be fighting it forever.

Different tank. Algae outbreak is in my 20 tall with my minnows and dace. Silt is in my 15 with my Corys and swordtails.

[Matt DeLaVega]

Test your water. I bet you have off the chart Ph. Always caused me much diotomaceous algae. I am certain it could cause other things.

Just making an observation Strat Guy. Nothing to really lay your hands into, just something I noticed.

[Matt DeLaVega]

You can settle silt with alum, then immediately buffered with hydrated lime. Alum can be sourced at the grocery store it is for pickling. Not sure how you would source hydrated lime in small quantities. I used both in my pond, and it made a big difference. Not enough, I should have added twice as much. It is a flocculant. Read about it if for no other reason than it is interesting.

[Sean Phillips]

Test your water. I bet you have off the chart Ph. Always caused me much diotomaceous algae. I am certain it could cause other things.Just making an observation Strat Guy. Nothing to really lay your hands into, just something I noticed.

Just tested it. 7.5-7.6.

[Matt DeLaVega]

That is not bad at all. I imagined yours would be very similar to mine.

[Betta132]

Could you be dealing with some sort of bacterial bloom rather than actual silt? Cloudy water bacteria blooms don't seem to harm fish, but they do look like somebody stirred flour or such into the tank.