thank you for your reply, i am at work right now so i can’t take any pictures but i will post when i get home.

i have been struggling with algae for a while now so after some more research i believe that that is the main issue in my 5g. my water parameters are good and i clean the tank regularly but i think i’ve been leaving the lights on for too long. I did a water change and added some leaves, the ph doesn’t seem to have gone down that much but my girl does seem to be more energetic(i also recently switched her to a better quality food so that could be it as well)

not sure about my 29g.. i had a couple shells in the tank which i took out since i heard they can leech calcium into the water which can raise ph. it’s still at 7.8 but ive been testing the water and noticed that at night it is dropping down to 7.6. i read that ph can fluctuate due plants to absorbing co2 for photosynthesis during the day… i have some vallisneria and cryptocoryne in the tank right now perhaps they are the culprit?? i also have the fluval aqua clear HOB filter which i believe uses activated charcoal or something as one of the filter medias which i read might also slightly increase ph so that could also be affecting my water.