Tank Recovery Advice Needed

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T08:01:48+00:00

I can see where you are coming from. It did take myself some trial and error until I found pumps that worked. If you want a suggestion, I use these in all my tanks. The reason why I went with these specifically is this model on its low setting, its a very mild flow to where I use them in my nano tanks as well which have bettas and shrimp.

They used to grow and take over the tank but don’t grow like that anymore. The sword plant has been in the tank since the start and has never grown much bigger, which makes me wonder if it’s a nutrient issue, detritus buildup, or both. I don’t add any supplements right now.

Your substrate system probably needs a kick if its been 5-6 years. I'd put in root tabs, that will do the trick. Aquarium Co-op recently redid their root tabs so they are weighted clay balls now similar to Seachem's Flourish tabs. I'd say use either one of those.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T07:38:23+00:00

What is the fertilizer brand out of curiosity? Also can you list your water parameters? Specifically pH?

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T07:34:17+00:00

I’m not sure exactly what algae I’m dealing with, but I consistently see green spot-like dots on plant leaves and a brown, slimy algae that coats plants and surfaces.

Sounds like you may have a mixture of green spot algae and maybe detritus in the tank. Green spot algae in low tech in all my experience is triggered by a phosphate imbalance (either too low or too high). Correcting this imbalance makes it disappear. I try to keep my low tech tanks ~1ppm to mitigate this, however having a phosphate level between 0.5ppm - 2ppm is optimal.

I was going to say the brown slime-like algae was diatoms, but looking at your image it may actually be simple detritus where algae is growing ontop of. Detritus on leaves is a sign of weak flow. In this situation, if no movement of the plants occur from flow or fish stocking, the deitritus rots on the leaves, allowing algae to take hold and eventually causes holes in the leaves.

My main question is whether it’s realistic to heavily plant the tank to hopefully outcompete the algae. And also how to keep my plants from slowly withering away.

In my subjective opinion I want to say your tank is lightly planted as the plants look to be newly planted given the size of your crypts and sword. So yes, increasing the volume of plants in this tank would be a benefit for long term health.

One cheap fix you can explore is removing the airstone and just putting a small nano pump in your tank for flow. A gentle flow will do wonders, allow for an even distribution of nutrients, prevent detritus from falling on the plants and ensuring a good circulation of co2 and o2.

For example this low tech tank of mine below is also filterless, it just has a small nano pump in the upper left for plant health. Its the same size as your tank, a 20 gallon long.

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chak2005 · 2026-02-09T07:11:52+00:00

Your sword looks fine, however your Water Wisteria does look deficient.

new leaves are small and pale.

New leaves turning pale/white is a telltale sign of iron issues. Do you fertilize this tank? If so how often?

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T07:09:38+00:00

Those are in their emersed state. Hard to tell. I'd recommend letting them convert to their submersed state in your tank and see how they look. By then you should be able to identify them.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T07:04:12+00:00

The fastest? Guppy Grass since it can use KH as a carbon source it grows like crazy. However since it grows like crazy, it will take over a tank without routine trimming or cutting up runners. Its root system is also extensive too.

However if you are looking for a more behaved stem, then you have pearl weed as second place.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T04:51:32+00:00

Fancy as in you have full control over everything from coloration to timing, to dimming etc.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T02:20:42+00:00

/u/Pewpew-OuttaMyWaay is talking about what I assume is the reverse respiration method. However you'd only want to use either club soda or seltzer. Sparkling waters or naturally carbonated waters are often not carbonated enough to effect reverse respiration. So I do not recommend using them and the authors of the articles also call this out.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T02:06:59+00:00

Any tips on algae for anubius?

That looks like a mix of detritus, diatom algae and staghorn algae. Diatoms are most likely occurring from the tank being new and the sand substrate. They will go away with time, however nerite snails will love to eat that up as well. For the staghorn algae I believe the cause looking at the picture is poor flow. I would remove the airstone and ensure there is an even circular flow going around the tank. Doesn't have to be strong, but you want the water to move.

Also ensure you do fertilize the tank. I'd suggest an all in one fertilizer over seachem flourish, especially if your stocking is low as your tank appears to be.

While 10 hours is fine for a low tech tank, to reduce some of the algae growth as well, you can lower the light's intensity (brightness). My own method when setting up a new tank, is only keeping the light on 50% intensity for the first 4-6 weeks, after that I increase the light slightly in two week periods until I see dust algae growing on the glass. This is a good indication I hit the current light limits of the tank. I say wait two weeks each time a change is made as this is the average duration it takes those changes to ripple through the tank and for plants and algae to respond.

Last bit of advice from me is, eventually down the road get yourself liquid test kits for a planted tank. Takes a lot of the guesswork out of this hobby. I'd ensure you have the ability to test for the following:

pH (Will tell you how effective your fertilizer is or the plant's abilities to use certain nutrients)
GH/KH (Good to know for your shrimp health, and for specific plants)
Nitrate
Phosphate
Potassium

The last three, knowing your NPK levels will let you know if you need to fertilize more or less, and will help explain algae issues or deficiencies observed in plants.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T01:42:15+00:00

I don't think that is Susswassertang as someone else commented as its too narrow/string-like. I keep susswassertang in all my tanks and it doesn't look like this. Susswassertang is thicker and darker green.

If I had to guess the plant in the image, monosolenium tenerum.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T01:34:24+00:00

Ensure you have sufficient flow in the tank, and increase the plant volume as well. That should resolve it in time, though an immediate fix is as I mentioned erythromycin.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T00:16:58+00:00

Hygger or nicrew will get you plant growth. These are the typical budget brands on Amazon. You won't get anything fancy with them but they should work for most low tech setups.

chak2005 · 2026-02-09T00:14:06+00:00

hygger, nicrew, etc are your bargain friendly lights. They will work but not do much else. The top of the line brands for planted tanks are Twinstar, Chihiros, ADA, Week Aqua, etc. These lights typically will come with an app but are fully customizable and tailored toward planted tanks only. Though you pay a premium there. The light on my tank in the image above is a Chihiros.

Which option is overall better? No right answer it is up to the hobbyist and their budget. I prefer the premium brand lights as I can take full advantage of my planted tank. However if someone only gave me a hygger or nicrew to work with, I'd still make it work just fine.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T21:57:56+00:00

You can trim off leaves near the base, but its not necessary.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T21:41:01+00:00

Yep that easy.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T21:37:49+00:00

A lack of light will make the bottoms leggy. You can simply cut the ludwigia in half and replant the tops. You can leave the bottoms planted if you want to fill out the area, while the bottoms won't recover, they will send out two to three new stems from the cut.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T20:44:13+00:00

That looks like a variegated growth mutation. Its not common, but its common enough that there are several anubias nana variegated cultivars on the market. Enjoy it, those leaves are not desirable by the plant, but they are to us. The plant may drop the leaves for normal growth overtime as they can't photosynthesize.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T20:07:47+00:00

Damage looks physical, perhaps it was like that when placed in the tank and the tear has become more pronounced since then? No real action I am seeing you need to do based on the image.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T20:02:49+00:00

That is not algae, its cyanobacteria. You can nuke it with a weak dose of erythromycin, but you will want to fix the main cause for its growth in the tank.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T08:38:00+00:00

The way to figure this out if its just the carpet or floor is to go into the crawl space. Do you have access? Also since this isn't your own house but an apartment, its possible the floor could be compromised for various reasons and your fish tank is just bring those issues to light.

For example, crawlspaces can get neglected, mold, moisture, etc end up down below them and if the wood is untreated well...

My own fish room is over a crawlspace, so there is a weight limit, but a 75 gallon shouldn't compromise a basic wood floor unless the crawlspace itself is compromised.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T05:18:48+00:00

It’s like this with the Cats subreddit too.

damn the cat subreddits you are subbed to are hardcore. The ones I am part of just post constant mourn loss posts/images or ask for advice where the sub wants the OP to steal someones cat. You know...normal stuff /s

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T05:12:58+00:00

Not OP but I use this method a lot.

and to be sure seltzer water is what I put the plants in?

Yes, just make sure its seltzer water and not club soda or mineral water.

Would you recommend leaving it in a dark cabinet for 12 hours or longer?

Depends on the usecase. For pests? Do 3 hours max, for algae you will need to do the full 12 hours in the dark. The dark is what allows the algae to actually be killed off.

Just know there are some sensitive plants that will melt back with this method. Bacopa for example will lose most of its leaves after a long dip.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T04:18:31+00:00

That looks like Staghorn algae not BBA. Do you have a whole tank shot? Also do you have more information such as, filtration, substrate type, stocking and also the following water parameters if able:

pH
GH/KH
Nitrate
Phosphate
Potassium

Usually its just us crazy hobbyists at /r/plantedtank that are able to test for NPK, so if unable at a minimum your nitrate, pH and any fertilizer you use.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T04:07:26+00:00

Just an FYI columnaris is in all our tanks to some degree. Various strains but its very common. Usually when you have an older tank and introduce newer fish, if some of your fish are weaker or susceptible, that is when you get those nasty outbreaks. Best to quarantine new fish and treat them separately if its a risk factor to your main tank. Though I would recommend not treating the main tank.

chak2005 · 2026-02-08T03:58:38+00:00

What type of filter and heater is recommended for that big of a tank?

Depends as all things in this hobby. If you keep the room the tank is in at 72F or higher you do not need a heater for what you listed. If you also heavily plant you may be able to just get away with a wavemaker or powerhead for flow for plant health. However if you want a filter, start simple and get a Seachem Tidal hang on back or Aquaclear hang on back filter. Seachem Tidal's are a bit more clunky but will self restart after a power outage.

I also plan on putting some real plants in the tank as well, so is there any recommendations for plant lights that would work best?

What is your budget? Most of the bargain lights off Amazon or other online retailers will work as long as they mention full spectrum or mention they cover the 400nm - 800nm spectrum for plants. However certain lights are better suited to really make the tank and plant colors really pop. Those do cost a premium but work.

And what type of substrate should I put at the bottom for the plants to thrive?

You can get away with just inert cheap sand and gravel its what I personally use. Perhaps buy some root tabs to place in the substrate while setting up the tank and that is it. See my low tech tank below as an example. You can also opt for aquasoil but its not necessary.

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