I was about to comment that none of those bba issues are on level with mine until I saw the bba garden. That’s gotta be on level with mine and I bow down to it
Great video and very helpful tips. Here is my advice for BBA. 1) BBA seems to thrive with fluctuating CO2. Even with tanks not injecting CO2, CO2 naturally builds up when the lights are off for 3-4 hours. Long photo periods in low-tech tanks might fluctuate CO2 levels more because the CO2 is used up by the plants in the first couple hours that the lights are on, then the rest of the photo period there is no CO2 for aquarium plants. Solution: add injected CO2 and keep it consistent or think about a siesta period in between photo period of at least 3-4 hours. I only keep low tech. BBA is only in the one tank I do not use siesta. 2) BBA seems to thrive in high phosphate. Solution: invest in phosphate remover, but beware that plants need phosphate to grow so there is a fine line. Experiment. 3) BBA grows in areas/tanks with high waste organics: dead/decaying leaves, unhealthy plant growth, stagnant areas where fish waste accumulates, dirty/uncleaned sponges and filter material/media. Solution to this is to increase cleaning, removing any dead and decaying leaves, fertilize any plant deficiencies (this means learning the signs of different deficiencies), vacuum up any accumulated waste, removing 'dead spots' in the aquarium by improving flow and filling in any gaps where waste accumulates. 4) BBA likes to grow on hardscape that receives a lot of flow or no flow at all relative to the rest of the tank, sometimes both. Solution: adjust the flow and place it in an area that is not diffused by hardscape, ensure proper water movement around hardscape. Sometimes dense plant growth can effect the flow and this can be a problem in the future. Add more circulation pumps if necessary. 5) light period and light intensity relative to plant growth. If plants aren't growing fast, blasting them with light and long periods will just grow more algae. Experiment with decreasing intensity and decreasing photo period. I have limited my BBA growth by decreasing to 8 hour photo period and dimming my light. And one general rule on algae: algae seems to grow best in warm water. Anything over 75 Fahrenheit, 23/24 Celsius will grow algae faster. keep it between 72-75 F for best plant to algae growth. This means choose fish that can thrive at this temperature if the aquascape is what you want to show off rather than the fish. I keep fish first, plants second, so I get algae and I'm ok with that. Everyone's priorities are different. Hope this was helpful to someone. Thank you MJ. Take care.
Hey MJ, I’m Sam the second aquascaper, thanks for including my aquascape and giving some advice. You was right about MD Fish Tanks, it’s heavily based on one of his and I totally agree with all ur advice so I might look at getting a cleanup crew, Thanks 🙏 Sam
Hey Sam, I was curious to know how things progressed with your tank? Keep us updated, It might be helpful for anyone with the same problem. Really liked your aquascape by the way. Cheers
@@Paultschoppmota Hi Mate, thanks for the compliment, tank seems to be progressing well. The algae on the hygophila on the back has gone and I replaced some of the foreground plants which had algae with new ones about a month ago, and their is no new algae. This is likely because I lowered the light to only 8 hours as recommended. I am getting back from a 3 week holiday tomorrow, so all my hard work could be ruined 😂 but I put the light on for 3 hours and did a water change before I left, so it should be fine. Once again, thanks very much for the compliment, very much appreciated 👍
@@sambruce3559 Haha, I had a nice carpet of blue green algae when I came back from my 3 weeks vacation. Nothing that a 4 day blackout couldn't fix. Keep up the good work!
Awesome video! Thanks for doing this MJ! I’m Emil, the owner of the aquarium at 17:00. Really apreciate your feedback on how to tackle the green thread algae issue. I was pondering buying some floating plants, but kept avoiding it because I was worried about blocking any light from the ADA aquasky rgb. You’re absolutely right though, it’s a really powerful / non dimmable light, so tomorrow i’m adding some floating plants in there. Hope most of us following this series will get through our algae issues and maybe even get to inspire a new series on aquariums that recovered/won the algae battles :).
To the person at 15:00 - try putting your diffuser in the tank away from the inlet. I used to do the same and it lead to algae issues. After moving the diffuser, CO2 spread more evenly. I think putting it through the filter causes uneven CO2 levels and thus algae.
@@fatirsiddiqui5414 I did this in the beginning when the tank was just set up. But because of the small size of the tank and a relatively big filter, I was struggling to find the right balance between flow and CO2 distribution. Maybe now the tank is matured more I will give it another try. Thank you!
This is amazing mate. People you reviewed the tanks feel heared and helped and others can see more examples of diferent issues and learn from other experiances... Kudos to you, mate!
Good advice in general, but I wish you wouldn't just advise people to start over. It might be the easiest option but it's the most expensive option and deffo not the only option. I'm a pretty experienced aquascaper and I've rescued many a tank covered in algae. Bringing plants back from the brink is one of the most satisfying feelings. It's proof of your skill and patience, which is what the hobby is all about. Telling people to start over kinda removes the sport of it all.
Great video once again, the last tank was mine and im relieved to hear it is probably just a startup issue. I will get some clithon snails for sure! Keep it up :)
Hello MJ, this is Akshay the guy with the Corner Tank, cheers for featuring it on the video. As for the Co2, I had it setup before BBA took over the hard scape(I’m assuming this could be because of high phosphate?), I had also been treating with liquid carbon before I had setup the pressurised CO2. Thank you for your honest comments and advice I really appreciate it! Akshay
This is super cool! It would also be awesome to review some beautiful subscriber aquascapes, kinda like an aquascaping version of Chris on fish for thought's fish tank review
@Timothy @freshwaterscapes I had algae issues while i have inline CO2. My filter outlet is a glass lilly pipe. My drop checker showed sufficient CO2 but i noticed the bubbles out of the lilly pipe were going straight to the surface. I used a small blow torch to heat de bend and aim the outlet more to the center of my tank. That solved my problem and saved CO2. The same shape is sold ready made as violet pipe.
This was a very helpful video. I do not use CO2 but I am battling with BBA. I have adjusted my lighting and that seems to be helping. Thank you for all of your help and for those who comment with helpful tips.
Hey MJ…..seeing everyone’s tank situations was really informative. I like this type of vid format with your valuable commentary. I think this helps everyone in one way or another so…keep them coming. Knowledge is power. I wish my beginning tanks looked this good as the beginners when I first started. Cheers, 🏄🏼♂️
Yes please do more videos as I’m also going to start doing my first time planting in my aquarium. I will most definitely like to learn how to treat my algae in my aquarium when I get started. Please keep posting these videos.
This is a great section for people. Obviously you are going to get to the point where it's repetitive all the time, but great none the less. I just learned yesterday that diatoms aren't always just dust like, as you mention in the first tank of this video.
This is a great segment I don't feel so alone now knowing so many new aquascapers are struggling as well, thanks you all for sharing with mark and with us, all, can't wait for the next instalment :)
Roy's tank, fantastic, but I would test for Nitrate and Phosphate and as you suggest cut down on water column fertilisation, but I would recommend some Rowa in the filter to mop up excess Phosphate in the water column. Suggest you Mark are right that the tank might be getting a bit too much direct sunlight.
Thank you. This definitely helped give me some knowledge into my own algae issues in my tank. I appreciate the diagnosing with explanations and solutions.
at 13.53 with the bubbles, what he might want to do is only turn that filter on after the c02 cycle is over. Can be very good for the plants to get rid of that oxygen fast over night, AWESOME vid as always!
In the mystery bba tank.. since bba is usually a co2 fluctuation issue.. it might be the flow is causing a fluctuation only in that area. Perhaps he can observe the flow in that spot,it might be an uneven distribution of co2 situation effecting one spot or one side of the tank.
Late to the party, but I really loved that video. Super helpful and educating. It's much easier to understand what to do when seeing the algae and recommendations together!
Good advice. Suggest, tank two, yes dosing is too heavy, but has an Oase internal, small amount of filter medium, output too close to surface. Lower the filter and add hornwort and stop dosing, test the water for Nitrate. However, I would buy a filter with much more room for filter material.
Good of you to provide this one-on-one advice, I’m sure it has been useful for lots of people. My struggle has always been whether a good quality light for short periods is better than a budget light for longer periods. Which is better?
I think good quality lights usually have a better spectrum compared to budget lights. So yeah I think shorter periods with a good quality light is definitely better.
Oh wow, I'm so glad I watched this one. I have been using an internal filter blowing air bubbles, I thought the air bubbles were good for gas exchange, but I have lots of plants and they are covered with algae. I never knew the air bubbles could be part of the problem. I suppose the air bubbles are great in unplanted tanks. I still have so much to learn.
Thanks for the video! Question: when I buy live plants, and they come in the weight, can I just put the plant with the weight inside the tank and leave it there for a while without taking it out then putting it in the substrate? I imagine the roots would grow still into the substrate itself.
I notice that non of the people say what their water change routine is... Maybe some of these issues could be helped by increasing the water changes especially if the tanks are new set ups with lots of nutrients leaching from the aqua soil.
@@AT-nj9kr Thanks... I didn't read through all the comments ( just watched the video before work) I just feel that the need for regular water changes ...i.e, Daily in the first week, every other day for the second week then twice a week for the 3rd week dropping to once a week after a month is a big factor in keeping algae at bay in the beginning especially when lots of nutrients from new soil is present in the water column while more often than not the biological side of filtration is not able to cope, couple this up to "new" aquascapers feeding even more nutrients with liquid ferts (with the best intentions) will lead to problems.... Which may then put people off this great hobby.
@@marcwalker2300 hi I'm the scaper of the tank at 15.00. I mentioned my maintenance routine when I send this in. I followed about the same procedure you mentioned, when I started this tank. I now do regular maintenance sessions with 50% waterchanges every week. I hope that answers your question.
Balance" is the most important thing we needed to learn , and how to scaper figure out to balance the water parameters and let the plant's and live stock growth healthy ..So all this algae will never have a chances to enter the water environment, prevent which is so much better then curing....
Love this series! On the first timer's tank.. I notice what looks like plecos on the filter intake valve in the picture. Could be the algae is living and spreading from there as well. Maybe have him start a small tank remotely and put in new cycled media in the filter?
Hey Mark-Jan, thanks for reviewing the aquarium I send in. It was mine starting at 9.18. I will definitely buy a c02 drop checker after this. The BBA is luckily gone. I also put 3 big blankets above the plastic bags while doing the blackout. So it was completly dark and gone after 1 week. Maybe some better cleaning of dead leaves/the green hair algae. My only concern is how I remove the green hair algae from the hardscape. The hardscape is completly grown in and I can't remove it. Really good video again!
Tip for people who use vallisneria. I only found out when I had a lot of algea when using this plant and asked the shopkeeper for tips. He said, when you trim vallisneria, the plant actually releases a sugar substance which algea loves! And when you add fertilizer (ground or liquid) you basically keep the algea alive untill the next trim. So the cycle continues. It's OK to use vallisneria in a very big tank, but would not recommend it for under 100 liters. Never had a problem with algea anymore once I removed the vallisneria.
that's questionable. I assume that your vallisneria is contaminated in the first place. hence it brings algae to your aquarium. if it's a tc plant, then it's not the val's fault. liquid fertilizer cause algae 100%
@@Nutamago agreed to that, but it was a tissue culture and my algea started when I trimmed it. I tried everything from black out and using peroxide. In the end the algea died off when I removed the plant. In the end I'm not sure if what the shopkeeper said was true or not but it worked for me at least. So maybe if your tank is not balanced the vallisneria will not help much, but it was a response to that one tank that had vallisneria and not much of other plants to use the excess nutrients.
agree with MJ Aquascaping about this 19:21 issue...my experience lot of nutrient waste in water column because of slow growing plant can't take the nutrient the solution fast growing plant or stem plant help a lot about this issue...
I've been waiting for this actually. I have a blue green algae problem. Even after the rescape. I use a fine sponge in my external filter. I clean it as much as I can. Aquascape Definitely cycled. What should I do?
Hey MJ! I took out the stones and gave them an acid wash. BBA is gone, but now the rocks look too clean and unnatural. Hopefully they get a matured look in a month or two. Thanks for reviewing my scape!
I was having problems with staghorn and bba, my aquarium store owner sugested that I tested for fosphates. I had an absurd amount, even with 2 30% water changes weekly . I started using some Seachem Purigen, and cutting on the food. It made miracles
I know a lot of people don't like to treat their tank with chemical, but once, I too have an infestation of black beard algae and I'm at my end wits on how to treat this algae. Tried everything on the internet but nothing works. Almost gives up when some one told me to use liquid co2 specifically seachem flourish excel. To surprise those thing works like a charm! Heck it works better as algaecide than as co2 supplement lol. At the right doses it destroy bba no problem. But it also kills jungle vals as well so use it with precautions.
Hi MJ. Siva from malaysia .Good job bro. Keep it up. Always follow your videos for my guidelines. Managed to get rid 3 of 4 types of algae issue. Almost quit this hobby.Now only try to Green spot algae.
Timothy a great tank not sure how much I can help, tank looks better than mine, but putting CO2 into a filter will reduce effectiveness, suspect you have a Nitrate problem from a filter not working to maximum capacity. But unless you test the water for Nitrate and Phosphate a bit of a guess, but in well filtered tank with almost no Nitrate and Phosphate in the water column there will be no BBA, even with intense light. Really nice tank there. Don't add any nutrients for a week or two and don't feed the fish for a week and trim and do a water change as a first step is my idea.
Hi William! Thank you so much for the compliments and your advice. I have tested the water parameters for the tank. Everything, including nitrate, was at the correct level. So I guess I'm dealing with a flow issue, since the bba is only located at a small area on the opposite (on the bottom area) of the outflow. I suggest the co2 is blowing past it.
@@freshwaterscapes That surprises me ref. Nitrate and Phosphate, I aim for really low water column ppm, but George Farmer has an update ref. BBA and flow and CO2 on his site. I think BBA is complicated...CO2, slow growing plants, nutrients, light...good luck and best wishes. Have never been brave enough to feed CO2 into the filter but you seem to be making it work.
@@williammcdowell6257 yes its complicated sometimes, even for more experienced scapers. That's why I think it was a good example for this video. Luckily the rest of the tank is flourishing, good hopes I will sort this out also. Cheerio! 🙏
The nano tank at 14:53 - 16:50 could be a flow issue I think. Either flow is too low and those plants isnt getting enough co2 or the flow is too high around that area and all the co2 is basicly blowing straight into them
Hi thats my scape! I think you might be right, since I've been struggling with flow / Co2 in this tank since the beginning. Since I placed the diffuser under the inlet, I have no algae at all anymore. Except some BBA concentrated in that area. Not a huge problem, but I think it is a good example for the impact of small changes and issues in a planted aquarium. Thank you for your advice!
Hi, i have a juwel lido 120 with standard light, but i don't get my plants to grow, i inject diy co2, dropchecker is nice and green, 2.5 ml liquit fertelicer a every 2 day's and i have a dirt botom with gravel over it, and the light is on from 14.00 till 21.00
Timoty clean filter and put light lower for one week like for 1 hour lower. Cut all plants what infected. And try to feed your fish less. Its take 2-3 befor go good again. Good luck.
Hi Rav. Thanks for your adivce! I will definitely keep this in mind. The filter is cleaned recently, and I have also cut most of it out now. Will now look into the lighting!
@@freshwaterscapes sole times its just blow sole algey i have this same. But all looks nice and good hard to finde some problem by you tank look great. When i have this its some times i all time red light less fiding and cut all plants and then 2-3 weeks go better
@@ravscape That's true. It ran without problems for a few months. Then it started only in this specific area! Still not sure what caused it. But lets treat it and be patient for the new healthy shoots 🤞.
Awesome video! Hope to see more of these. What are your thoughts on EI dosing? I currently dose dry salts according to EI recommendations, but I am curious about reducing the macros to see if it helps with algae. Thanks for all of your great content!
EI dosing can be great, especially if you want your plants to grow very fast. But if I would use it in my tanks I wouldn't be able to keep up with trimming.
MJ, do you have any concerns about "gassing" your fish/shrimp by having CO2 and no O2 source (like an internal filter that doesnt disturb the surface for air exchange)? I have a 5 gallon shrimp tank with c02 injection and currently have a small internal filter with an airline for oxygen. Is it better to remove the airline? I know shrimp come from well oxygenated streams so I don't want to suffocate them. Thanks
I'm a little stumped by the no oxygen bubbles. I'm using the aquario neo lilypipes with the built in skimmer so it's impossible to run and have no bubbles. Can this be offset by pumping more co2? Side note is I need a drop checker as I'm flying blind.
Hello MJ My aquascape lot of space is taken by the hardscape so i would end up with lesser plants quantity comparatively but the best suggestion by you has been to start heavily with plants. Please suggest what i should do to avoid algaw isssues. This is a new aquascape, hardscape is nearly done righ now in dark start stage. I will add plants in couple of weeks Thanks Viky
I really like this sort of video where you are showing real life problems and suggesting ways to remedy it. I'm sure I'm not the only one who watched and identified with one of these scenarios. In my case I have very slow plant growth and hair and BBA infestation despite decent substrate, CO2 injection, regular fertilisation and Fluval Plant lighting. I have my diffuser positioned directly underneath a powerhead to circulate the CO2 rich water round the tank. I also have an airline attached to the powerhead to increase oxygen in the water. It was not until seeing this video that I learned that all these air bubbles are simply gassing the CO2 off just as quick as I'm injecting it. Oh well, live and learn. I've now removed the air line, hopefully things will improve.
Great video, very informative hope you continue with them. Btw was nice to see you recently in a video from aquaddicted, would be great to see a collaboration with them. 😊
I had BGA in my tank. It wouldn't go even after blackouts, so i tried using antibiotics. Erythromycin worked for me, it hasn't come back since. Using antibiotics does cause harm to beneficial bacteria, my tank was cloudy for a few days after treatment. I changed the water (70%) and kept adding beneficial bacterial suspension, and the system soon stablilized. I do not instist using this method, because this can go wrong, just saying that it worked for me and could help others if they are battling BGM.
You can always email me, but I can't guarantee a reply, these days I'm flooded with questions, i could make it a full time job just replying to people😅
Iv been in the planted tank seen for 15 years...top tip spot dose the black beard algea with boiling hot water out of the kettle in a syringe under the water it turns it red straight away exactly the same as excel liquid carbon dose but you are not using chemicals so you can spot dose as much as you like in one go without worrying about killing shrimp and fish . It doesn't work on green hair algea I wish it did. Lol 😃....lee
Great video 👍 keep them coming that style was good but it's the same advice for most setups. I don't use Co2 on my tanks. I have a 5 gallon cherry shrimp and a 15 gallon nano tank with amano and ottos Cory's neon and a couple of temporary mollies. I'm constantly struggling with one type of algae or another, I don't like using liquid carbon in my shrimp tank I'll usually lose a couple when treating. Iv had bad experience with hydrogen peroxide where my plants melted way back and though I was going to lose them. I tried a siamese algae eater it did a good job on the algae but would eat my hygrophila compact and bullied all it's tank makes and maybe the tank was not big enough so I returned it. Any suggestions iv added floaters tried reducing light and liquid fertilizer. I have tropica aquasoil in both .thanks
Nice video I hear you frequently speek of inconstant co2 regulators, can you tell witch regulator is good and witch is not I want to buy a co2 system but don’t know for witch price
man @16:55, I think we have all been there, I'm not sure what worse, when i first started I got a questionable regulator and it died and dumped all the co2 into my tank while I was at work, came back to a tank of dead fish only a couple of Cories and my Betta survived, had to put them in another tank and did a couple of Large water changes for a few days, it only gets better now that you have the experience.
Anyone know what that shelving unit behind MJ is and if it’s something one could purchase? Looking for something like it as I’m running out of room for tanks and there are so many ideas I must try😂 thanks in advance
That was great. I've been keeping low tech aquaecapes for almost ten. years now and I still really appreciated watching you give advice on these different aquariums.
Why does too high an oxygen level affect co2 levels. Are we talking surface agitation? Please elaborate. Or I have a good amount of oxygen going into the tank and surface agitation. How can I tell that my plants are starting to produce enough oxygen where I can cut back on my air pump (which would be great cause it’s too noisy)
I've tried everything for a hair algae problem. Light reduction, fert dosing reduction, plant replacement, amano shrimp, snails, otos, plecos, etc. Nothing worked. Then someone suggested American Flagfish. Within two weeks my tank looked great. They're like little cows.
I have an idea, Maybe opposite to this lets make "most Beautiful " tank series? ( ; some people for sure would be proud and want to share their tanks. Just some filtering will be needed to Separate the wheat from the chaff. :p
Could you do another one of these sometime?! I've had the same problem in my tank for a long time an I'm banging my head against the wall to fix. 😅 I would absolutely love your imput!!
keep getting a black patch on my driftwood.. it must be algae but ive never seen anything like it.. Ive managed to eradicate it from one spot but now is showing in another spot few inches away.. its not bushy, hairy ect ect like most algae, its completely flat and dark black.. it seems not to be even 1mm tall yet spreads few inches wide.. i remove it with gravel vacuum when doing service.. the patch i got to stop growing in i scraped the driftwood surface thinking it might be some type of mycelium, that worked for now... ill have to repeat on the new spot curious if using Daphnia would be a reasonable solution for some people being Daphnia eats algae.. it is one of the natural checks nd balances in nature.. if you plan on adding fish later it will also be beneficial to them
I’m not a professional but the one thing all these scapes had in common is not enough plants and fast growing plants to compete with the algae. You should only fertilize and illuminate based on your stocking choices. Not just tank size. My advice for ALL these tanks is to plant more plants, like fast growing stems as an example.
(I’m the guy with the corner tank) Noted! I have been planning to get more plants, especially some background plants and some Anubias to go on the driftwood. Just been lacking time, now that my exam season is over I’m planning to scape it a lot nicer without having to remove anything off of my tank. Any plant suggestions would be great 😌
@@AT-nj9kr awesome! I’m excited to see an update. I have 5 tanks running side by side and I always notice that when I go with more plants, more fast growing plants from the beginning of the scape, I always have way less Algae than my tanks with less plants with all other parameters being the same. Rotala is my choice of Stem plants. It so easy and grows fast.
@@isubzerol rotala hra was on top of my list especially so i might head down to my LFS this weekend and get some (currently bad train strikes where im from 😐) Next year I do want to get a nice tank for Aquascaping, this sounds like a good idea to get more plants in the beginning itself especially fast growing one to tackle algae issues. Cheers for the advice I much appreciate it
@@AT-nj9kr great choice, not the easiest Rotala but certainly one of the more aesthetically pleasing! I use Rotala Rotandafola. It turns red when it reaches the top of the tank as it gets closer to the light, but otherwise green. Very easy to grow very fast. I have plans to get the Hra too!
![[MV] A leap of faith...ความเชื่อใจครั้งสุดท้าย (From "Petrichor the series")](http://i.ytimg.com/vi/U1piZH2CNXA/mqdefault.jpg)
I was about to comment that none of those bba issues are on level with mine until I saw the bba garden. That’s gotta be on level with mine and I bow down to it
😆
Great video and very helpful tips.
Here is my advice for BBA. 1) BBA seems to thrive with fluctuating CO2. Even with tanks not injecting CO2, CO2 naturally builds up when the lights are off for 3-4 hours. Long photo periods in low-tech tanks might fluctuate CO2 levels more because the CO2 is used up by the plants in the first couple hours that the lights are on, then the rest of the photo period there is no CO2 for aquarium plants. Solution: add injected CO2 and keep it consistent or think about a siesta period in between photo period of at least 3-4 hours. I only keep low tech. BBA is only in the one tank I do not use siesta. 2) BBA seems to thrive in high phosphate. Solution: invest in phosphate remover, but beware that plants need phosphate to grow so there is a fine line. Experiment. 3) BBA grows in areas/tanks with high waste organics: dead/decaying leaves, unhealthy plant growth, stagnant areas where fish waste accumulates, dirty/uncleaned sponges and filter material/media. Solution to this is to increase cleaning, removing any dead and decaying leaves, fertilize any plant deficiencies (this means learning the signs of different deficiencies), vacuum up any accumulated waste, removing 'dead spots' in the aquarium by improving flow and filling in any gaps where waste accumulates. 4) BBA likes to grow on hardscape that receives a lot of flow or no flow at all relative to the rest of the tank, sometimes both. Solution: adjust the flow and place it in an area that is not diffused by hardscape, ensure proper water movement around hardscape. Sometimes dense plant growth can effect the flow and this can be a problem in the future. Add more circulation pumps if necessary. 5) light period and light intensity relative to plant growth. If plants aren't growing fast, blasting them with light and long periods will just grow more algae. Experiment with decreasing intensity and decreasing photo period. I have limited my BBA growth by decreasing to 8 hour photo period and dimming my light.
And one general rule on algae: algae seems to grow best in warm water. Anything over 75 Fahrenheit, 23/24 Celsius will grow algae faster. keep it between 72-75 F for best plant to algae growth. This means choose fish that can thrive at this temperature if the aquascape is what you want to show off rather than the fish. I keep fish first, plants second, so I get algae and I'm ok with that. Everyone's priorities are different. Hope this was helpful to someone.
Thank you MJ. Take care.
This series is gonna be so nice! Love your content keep it up please
Yes it’s very helpful and fun seeing all the different tanks
Hey MJ, I’m Sam the second aquascaper, thanks for including my aquascape and giving some advice. You was right about MD Fish Tanks, it’s heavily based on one of his and I totally agree with all ur advice so I might look at getting a cleanup crew,
Thanks 🙏 Sam
Awesome! Thanks Sam for letting me review your scape!
Hey Sam, I was curious to know how things progressed with your tank? Keep us updated, It might be helpful for anyone with the same problem. Really liked your aquascape by the way. Cheers
@@Paultschoppmota Hi Mate, thanks for the compliment, tank seems to be progressing well. The algae on the hygophila on the back has gone and I replaced some of the foreground plants which had algae with new ones about a month ago, and their is no new algae. This is likely because I lowered the light to only 8 hours as recommended. I am getting back from a 3 week holiday tomorrow, so all my hard work could be ruined 😂 but I put the light on for 3 hours and did a water change before I left, so it should be fine. Once again, thanks very much for the compliment, very much appreciated 👍
@@sambruce3559 Haha, I had a nice carpet of blue green algae when I came back from my 3 weeks vacation. Nothing that a 4 day blackout couldn't fix. Keep up the good work!
Awesome video! Thanks for doing this MJ!
I’m Emil, the owner of the aquarium at 17:00. Really apreciate your feedback on how to tackle the green thread algae issue.
I was pondering buying some floating plants, but kept avoiding it because I was worried about blocking any light from the ADA aquasky rgb.
You’re absolutely right though, it’s a really powerful / non dimmable light, so tomorrow i’m adding some floating plants in there.
Hope most of us following this series will get through our algae issues and maybe even get to inspire a new series on aquariums that recovered/won the algae battles :).
To the person at 15:00 - try putting your diffuser in the tank away from the inlet. I used to do the same and it lead to algae issues. After moving the diffuser, CO2 spread more evenly. I think putting it through the filter causes uneven CO2 levels and thus algae.
That's me! Thank you for your advice, will try this 👍🏻
@@freshwaterscapes No problem! You could try putting the diffuser opposite the lily pipe so the downpour spreads the CO2 evenly.
@@fatirsiddiqui5414 I did this in the beginning when the tank was just set up. But because of the small size of the tank and a relatively big filter, I was struggling to find the right balance between flow and CO2 distribution. Maybe now the tank is matured more I will give it another try. Thank you!
This is amazing mate. People you reviewed the tanks feel heared and helped and others can see more examples of diferent issues and learn from other experiances... Kudos to you, mate!
Good advice in general, but I wish you wouldn't just advise people to start over. It might be the easiest option but it's the most expensive option and deffo not the only option.
I'm a pretty experienced aquascaper and I've rescued many a tank covered in algae. Bringing plants back from the brink is one of the most satisfying feelings. It's proof of your skill and patience, which is what the hobby is all about. Telling people to start over kinda removes the sport of it all.
Great video once again, the last tank was mine and im relieved to hear it is probably just a startup issue. I will get some clithon snails for sure! Keep it up :)
Keep us posted! 😊
Hello MJ, this is Akshay the guy with the Corner Tank, cheers for featuring it on the video. As for the Co2, I had it setup before BBA took over the hard scape(I’m assuming this could be because of high phosphate?), I had also been treating with liquid carbon before I had setup the pressurised CO2. Thank you for your honest comments and advice I really appreciate it!
Akshay
This is super cool! It would also be awesome to review some beautiful subscriber aquascapes, kinda like an aquascaping version of Chris on fish for thought's fish tank review
@Timothy @freshwaterscapes I had algae issues while i have inline CO2. My filter outlet is a glass lilly pipe. My drop checker showed sufficient CO2 but i noticed the bubbles out of the lilly pipe were going straight to the surface. I used a small blow torch to heat de bend and aim the outlet more to the center of my tank. That solved my problem and saved CO2. The same shape is sold ready made as violet pipe.
Hi Andrade! Thats a great advice. I will look into a different outlet pipe. This one is actually made for a bigger aquarium.
Yes. More review from you would definitely allow more room space for us to learn. Thanks MJ.
You got it!
This is really helpful. Thanks for taking the time to do this.
i love this video, thx for sharing your expertise, pls do more like those 🐟😀
love this video, great tips, can't wait till the next video! this will be an epic series!
Great start to your series. I would definitely like to see more of these. Very informative.
Great vid brother 👌🏼 definitely do more
This was a very helpful video. I do not use CO2 but I am battling with BBA. I have adjusted my lighting and that seems to be helping. Thank you for all of your help and for those who comment with helpful tips.
Yes am doing the filter next to the co2 diffuser too. And yes it works . You avoid the annoying bubbles everywhere 😅
Hey MJ…..seeing everyone’s tank situations was really informative. I like this type of vid format with your valuable commentary. I think this helps everyone in one way or another so…keep them coming. Knowledge is power. I wish my beginning tanks looked this good as the beginners when I first started. Cheers, 🏄🏼♂️
Glad you enjoyed it as well Thomas! It was a bit of an experiment, but it seems like many people enjoy it a lot!
Good series, this helps hit a bunch of issues others might have with their tanks.
Thanks for all the good info MJ
Yes please do more videos as I’m also going to start doing my first time planting in my aquarium. I will most definitely like to learn how to treat my algae in my aquarium when I get started. Please keep posting these videos.
This is a great section for people. Obviously you are going to get to the point where it's repetitive all the time, but great none the less. I just learned yesterday that diatoms aren't always just dust like, as you mention in the first tank of this video.
Love this style of video so helpful
Excellent clip, useful and interesting. Just keep going !
This is a great segment I don't feel so alone now knowing so many new aquascapers are struggling as well, thanks you all for sharing with mark and with us, all, can't wait for the next instalment :)
Roy's tank, fantastic, but I would test for Nitrate and Phosphate and as you suggest cut down on water column fertilisation, but I would recommend some Rowa in the filter to mop up excess Phosphate in the water column. Suggest you Mark are right that the tank might be getting a bit too much direct sunlight.
Thank you. This definitely helped give me some knowledge into my own algae issues in my tank. I appreciate the diagnosing with explanations and solutions.
Mark this is excellent, interesting that the more impressive tanks often have CO2 fluctuation BBA issues.
at 13.53 with the bubbles, what he might want to do is only turn that filter on after the c02 cycle is over. Can be very good for the plants to get rid of that oxygen fast over night, AWESOME vid as always!
In the mystery bba tank.. since bba is usually a co2 fluctuation issue.. it might be the flow is causing a fluctuation only in that area. Perhaps he can observe the flow in that spot,it might be an uneven distribution of co2 situation effecting one spot or one side of the tank.
Late to the party, but I really loved that video. Super helpful and educating. It's much easier to understand what to do when seeing the algae and recommendations together!
Nice video! I had problems with algaes too. Problem was the fertilizer, I cut the use month ago, and it’s better now.
Good advice.
Suggest, tank two, yes dosing is too heavy, but has an Oase internal, small amount of filter medium, output too close to surface. Lower the filter and add hornwort and stop dosing, test the water for Nitrate. However, I would buy a filter with much more room for filter material.
Good of you to provide this one-on-one advice, I’m sure it has been useful for lots of people. My struggle has always been whether a good quality light for short periods is better than a budget light for longer periods. Which is better?
I think good quality lights usually have a better spectrum compared to budget lights. So yeah I think shorter periods with a good quality light is definitely better.
This is an absolutely fantastic idea for a video I love this and look forward to next episode well done 👍
Oh wow, I'm so glad I watched this one. I have been using an internal filter blowing air bubbles, I thought the air bubbles were good for gas exchange, but I have lots of plants and they are covered with algae. I never knew the air bubbles could be part of the problem. I suppose the air bubbles are great in unplanted tanks. I still have so much to learn.
So upset I couldnt submit the tank photos ! you are such an inspiration to me
Next time!
You are gifted, indeed. Please do more reactions, whatever the topic might be. Greetings from Germany
Dope series! This helps out sooooo many people. Would love to see more:)
Thanks for the video! Question: when I buy live plants, and they come in the weight, can I just put the plant with the weight inside the tank and leave it there for a while without taking it out then putting it in the substrate? I imagine the roots would grow still into the substrate itself.
I notice that non of the people say what their water change routine is... Maybe some of these issues could be helped by increasing the water changes especially if the tanks are new set ups with lots of nutrients leaching from the aqua soil.
People have mentioned it and MJ mentioned in a comment below that he didn’t talk about it that’s all
@@AT-nj9kr Thanks... I didn't read through all the comments ( just watched the video before work) I just feel that the need for regular water changes ...i.e, Daily in the first week, every other day for the second week then twice a week for the 3rd week dropping to once a week after a month is a big factor in keeping algae at bay in the beginning especially when lots of nutrients from new soil is present in the water column while more often than not the biological side of filtration is not able to cope, couple this up to "new" aquascapers feeding even more nutrients with liquid ferts (with the best intentions) will lead to problems.... Which may then put people off this great hobby.
@@marcwalker2300 hi I'm the scaper of the tank at 15.00. I mentioned my maintenance routine when I send this in. I followed about the same procedure you mentioned, when I started this tank. I now do regular maintenance sessions with 50% waterchanges every week. I hope that answers your question.
Me encantan estos videos! Se aprende un montón! Sigue haciéndolos! Gracias! 👏👏
Balance" is the most important thing we needed to learn , and how to scaper figure out to balance the water parameters and let the plant's and live stock growth healthy ..So all this algae will never have a chances to enter the water environment, prevent which is so much better then curing....
This was great! Thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Love this series! On the first timer's tank.. I notice what looks like plecos on the filter intake valve in the picture. Could be the algae is living and spreading from there as well. Maybe have him start a small tank remotely and put in new cycled media in the filter?
As I previously said in the beginning. Weekly or monthly series of this please !
Hey Mark-Jan, thanks for reviewing the aquarium I send in. It was mine starting at 9.18. I will definitely buy a c02 drop checker after this. The BBA is luckily gone. I also put 3 big blankets above the plastic bags while doing the blackout. So it was completly dark and gone after 1 week. Maybe some better cleaning of dead leaves/the green hair algae. My only concern is how I remove the green hair algae from the hardscape. The hardscape is completly grown in and I can't remove it. Really good video again!
Tip for people who use vallisneria. I only found out when I had a lot of algea when using this plant and asked the shopkeeper for tips. He said, when you trim vallisneria, the plant actually releases a sugar substance which algea loves! And when you add fertilizer (ground or liquid) you basically keep the algea alive untill the next trim. So the cycle continues. It's OK to use vallisneria in a very big tank, but would not recommend it for under 100 liters. Never had a problem with algea anymore once I removed the vallisneria.
that's questionable. I assume that your vallisneria is contaminated in the first place. hence it brings algae to your aquarium.
if it's a tc plant, then it's not the val's fault.
liquid fertilizer cause algae 100%
@@Nutamago agreed to that, but it was a tissue culture and my algea started when I trimmed it. I tried everything from black out and using peroxide. In the end the algea died off when I removed the plant. In the end I'm not sure if what the shopkeeper said was true or not but it worked for me at least. So maybe if your tank is not balanced the vallisneria will not help much, but it was a response to that one tank that had vallisneria and not much of other plants to use the excess nutrients.
Already loving this series! If I ever see hair algae, I'll probably just restart cause I can never seem to get rid of them on hair grass.
agree with MJ Aquascaping about this 19:21 issue...my experience lot of nutrient waste in water column because of slow growing plant can't take the nutrient the solution fast growing plant or stem plant help a lot about this issue...
I've been waiting for this actually. I have a blue green algae problem. Even after the rescape. I use a fine sponge in my external filter. I clean it as much as I can. Aquascape Definitely cycled. What should I do?
Very helpfull video ,keep them coming
Awesome video, I love this style of video and all your content.
Great video and a great channel. I was going to post a pic of my aquarium thats 5mths old. There wasn't a link but there's zero algea.
Hey MJ!
I took out the stones and gave them an acid wash. BBA is gone, but now the rocks look too clean and unnatural. Hopefully they get a matured look in a month or two.
Thanks for reviewing my scape!
Great man, I'm sure in a few weeks they will look more natural!
I was having problems with staghorn and bba, my aquarium store owner sugested that I tested for fosphates. I had an absurd amount, even with 2 30% water changes weekly . I started using some Seachem Purigen, and cutting on the food. It made miracles
Would love to see something like this extended outside of algae problems. Maybe including plant deficiencies?
Yes do more please! My issues haven't been seen yet
I know a lot of people don't like to treat their tank with chemical, but once, I too have an infestation of black beard algae and I'm at my end wits on how to treat this algae. Tried everything on the internet but nothing works. Almost gives up when some one told me to use liquid co2 specifically seachem flourish excel. To surprise those thing works like a charm! Heck it works better as algaecide than as co2 supplement lol. At the right doses it destroy bba no problem. But it also kills jungle vals as well so use it with precautions.
Much appreciated video, there are so many different types of algae, it's quite difficult to identify them, especially as a beginner... :)
Hi MJ. Siva from malaysia .Good job bro. Keep it up. Always follow your videos for my guidelines.
Managed to get rid 3 of 4 types of algae issue. Almost quit this hobby.Now only try to Green spot algae.
Timothy a great tank not sure how much I can help, tank looks better than mine, but putting CO2 into a filter will reduce effectiveness, suspect you have a Nitrate problem from a filter not working to maximum capacity. But unless you test the water for Nitrate and Phosphate a bit of a guess, but in well filtered tank with almost no Nitrate and Phosphate in the water column there will be no BBA, even with intense light. Really nice tank there. Don't add any nutrients for a week or two and don't feed the fish for a week and trim and do a water change as a first step is my idea.
Hi William! Thank you so much for the compliments and your advice. I have tested the water parameters for the tank. Everything, including nitrate, was at the correct level. So I guess I'm dealing with a flow issue, since the bba is only located at a small area on the opposite (on the bottom area) of the outflow. I suggest the co2 is blowing past it.
@@freshwaterscapes That surprises me ref. Nitrate and Phosphate, I aim for really low water column ppm, but George Farmer has an update ref. BBA and flow and CO2 on his site. I think BBA is complicated...CO2, slow growing plants, nutrients, light...good luck and best wishes. Have never been brave enough to feed CO2 into the filter but you seem to be making it work.
@@williammcdowell6257 yes its complicated sometimes, even for more experienced scapers. That's why I think it was a good example for this video. Luckily the rest of the tank is flourishing, good hopes I will sort this out also. Cheerio! 🙏
The nano tank at 14:53 - 16:50 could be a flow issue I think. Either flow is too low and those plants isnt getting enough co2 or the flow is too high around that area and all the co2 is basicly blowing straight into them
Hi thats my scape! I think you might be right, since I've been struggling with flow / Co2 in this tank since the beginning. Since I placed the diffuser under the inlet, I have no algae at all anymore. Except some BBA concentrated in that area. Not a huge problem, but
I think it is a good example for the impact of small changes and issues in a planted aquarium. Thank you for your advice!
@@freshwaterscapes cool! really nice tank btw :D
@@Zingo89 Thank you!!
Hi, i have a juwel lido 120 with standard light, but i don't get my plants to grow, i inject diy co2, dropchecker is nice and green, 2.5 ml liquit fertelicer a every 2 day's and i have a dirt botom with gravel over it, and the light is on from 14.00 till 21.00
Great video. Why don't more people cap their aquasoil substrate? That should cut back on excess nutrients in the water column.
Great video! Best regards from Brazil!
Timoty clean filter and put light lower for one week like for 1 hour lower. Cut all plants what infected. And try to feed your fish less. Its take 2-3 befor go good again. Good luck.
Hi Rav. Thanks for your adivce! I will definitely keep this in mind. The filter is cleaned recently, and I have also cut most of it out now. Will now look into the lighting!
@@freshwaterscapes sole times its just blow sole algey i have this same. But all looks nice and good hard to finde some problem by you tank look great. When i have this its some times i all time red light less fiding and cut all plants and then 2-3 weeks go better
@@ravscape That's true. It ran without problems for a few months. Then it started only in this specific area! Still not sure what caused it. But lets treat it and be patient for the new healthy shoots 🤞.
Awesome video! Hope to see more of these. What are your thoughts on EI dosing? I currently dose dry salts according to EI recommendations, but I am curious about reducing the macros to see if it helps with algae. Thanks for all of your great content!
EI dosing can be great, especially if you want your plants to grow very fast. But if I would use it in my tanks I wouldn't be able to keep up with trimming.
MJ, do you have any concerns about "gassing" your fish/shrimp by having CO2 and no O2 source (like an internal filter that doesnt disturb the surface for air exchange)? I have a 5 gallon shrimp tank with c02 injection and currently have a small internal filter with an airline for oxygen. Is it better to remove the airline? I know shrimp come from well oxygenated streams so I don't want to suffocate them. Thanks
I'm a little stumped by the no oxygen bubbles.
I'm using the aquario neo lilypipes with the built in skimmer so it's impossible to run and have no bubbles.
Can this be offset by pumping more co2? Side note is I need a drop checker as I'm flying blind.
Hello MJ
My aquascape lot of space is taken by the hardscape so i would end up with lesser plants quantity comparatively but the best suggestion by you has been to start heavily with plants. Please suggest what i should do to avoid algaw isssues. This is a new aquascape, hardscape is nearly done righ now in dark start stage. I will add plants in couple of weeks
Thanks
Viky
Great video, would like to see a quick update to any of those tanks that took your recommendation. Did their issues get solved or still on going.
Well it's only been two days, so I think they need a little bit more time 😅
@@MJAquascaping lol totally!! Just thinking in the future after a few weeks or a month.
@@juiceboxsteez I agree. It would be very helpful to see the tanks you reviewed after taking in your advice in a few months.
I really like this sort of video where you are showing real life problems and suggesting ways to remedy it.
I'm sure I'm not the only one who watched and identified with one of these scenarios. In my case I have very slow plant growth and hair and BBA infestation despite decent substrate, CO2 injection, regular fertilisation and Fluval Plant lighting. I have my diffuser positioned directly underneath a powerhead to circulate the CO2 rich water round the tank. I also have an airline attached to the powerhead to increase oxygen in the water. It was not until seeing this video that I learned that all these air bubbles are simply gassing the CO2 off just as quick as I'm injecting it. Oh well, live and learn. I've now removed the air line, hopefully things will improve.
Great video, very informative hope you continue with them.
Btw was nice to see you recently in a video from aquaddicted, would be great to see a collaboration with them. 😊
Oh I have to check it out! Yeah I met him a few weeks ago, great guy!
I had BGA in my tank. It wouldn't go even after blackouts, so i tried using antibiotics. Erythromycin worked for me, it hasn't come back since. Using antibiotics does cause harm to beneficial bacteria, my tank was cloudy for a few days after treatment. I changed the water (70%) and kept adding beneficial bacterial suspension, and the system soon stablilized. I do not instist using this method, because this can go wrong, just saying that it worked for me and could help others if they are battling BGM.
FIRST !
I WAS TOO LATE SUBMITTING MY TANK ARE YOU GONNA DO ANOTHER ONE OF THESE ?!?!
If people like these kind of videos I will do another one!
Could we email you about issues other than algae, such as holes in plants?
Really like the concept tho! Nice video
You can always email me, but I can't guarantee a reply, these days I'm flooded with questions, i could make it a full time job just replying to people😅
Iv been in the planted tank seen for 15 years...top tip spot dose the black beard algea with boiling hot water out of the kettle in a syringe under the water it turns it red straight away exactly the same as excel liquid carbon dose but you are not using chemicals so you can spot dose as much as you like in one go without worrying about killing shrimp and fish . It doesn't work on green hair algea I wish it did. Lol 😃....lee
Great video 👍 keep them coming that style was good but it's the same advice for most setups.
I don't use Co2 on my tanks. I have a 5 gallon cherry shrimp and a 15 gallon nano tank with amano and ottos Cory's neon and a couple of temporary mollies. I'm constantly struggling with one type of algae or another, I don't like using liquid carbon in my shrimp tank I'll usually lose a couple when treating. Iv had bad experience with hydrogen peroxide where my plants melted way back and though I was going to lose them.
I tried a siamese algae eater it did a good job on the algae but would eat my hygrophila compact and bullied all it's tank makes and maybe the tank was not big enough so I returned it.
Any suggestions iv added floaters tried reducing light and liquid fertilizer. I have tropica aquasoil in both .thanks
Great video. Greetings from Brazil!
Nice video
I hear you frequently speek of inconstant co2 regulators, can you tell witch regulator is good and witch is not
I want to buy a co2 system but don’t know for witch price
man @16:55, I think we have all been there, I'm not sure what worse, when i first started I got a questionable regulator and it died and dumped all the co2 into my tank while I was at work, came back to a tank of dead fish only a couple of Cories and my Betta survived, had to put them in another tank and did a couple of Large water changes for a few days, it only gets better now that you have the experience.
16:55 The dipstick of the pH controller must not be completely submerged.
Anyone know what that shelving unit behind MJ is and if it’s something one could purchase? Looking for something like it as I’m running out of room for tanks and there are so many ideas I must try😂 thanks in advance
That was great. I've been keeping low tech aquaecapes for almost ten. years now and I still really appreciated watching you give advice on these different aquariums.
Why does too high an oxygen level affect co2 levels. Are we talking surface agitation? Please elaborate. Or I have a good amount of oxygen going into the tank and surface agitation. How can I tell that my plants are starting to produce enough oxygen where I can cut back on my air pump (which would be great cause it’s too noisy)
Thanks, really enjoyed the video.
Glad you enjoyed it
Bigger aquariums are generally easier as they have a bigger water volume creating a bigger buffer.
I've tried everything for a hair algae problem. Light reduction, fert dosing reduction, plant replacement, amano shrimp, snails, otos, plecos, etc. Nothing worked.
Then someone suggested American Flagfish. Within two weeks my tank looked great. They're like little cows.
I have to try those! 😅
this series is awesome
I have an idea, Maybe opposite to this lets make "most Beautiful " tank series? ( ; some people for sure would be proud and want to share their tanks. Just some filtering will be needed to Separate the wheat from the chaff. :p
Cool idea
Could you do another one of these sometime?! I've had the same problem in my tank for a long time an I'm banging my head against the wall to fix. 😅 I would absolutely love your imput!!
Yeah maybe I can do another one of these next month or so :)
@@MJAquascaping I'll keep an eye out!
great video MJ
R u gonna do another video like this? :D Please :D
Im asking cuz I wanted to send mine aquarium and hear your honest answer
Send it over! I think one more for sure, but it depends a little on the audience and if they enjoy these kind of videos!
I think all of us enjoyed :D Thank you, I will send :)
keep getting a black patch on my driftwood.. it must be algae but ive never seen anything like it.. Ive managed to eradicate it from one spot but now is showing in another spot few inches away.. its not bushy, hairy ect ect like most algae, its completely flat and dark black.. it seems not to be even 1mm tall yet spreads few inches wide.. i remove it with gravel vacuum when doing service.. the patch i got to stop growing in i scraped the driftwood surface thinking it might be some type of mycelium, that worked for now... ill have to repeat on the new spot
curious if using Daphnia would be a reasonable solution for some people being Daphnia eats algae.. it is one of the natural checks nd balances in nature.. if you plan on adding fish later it will also be beneficial to them
Thank you for review my aquascape, i just add 20 red chery shrimp, and 3 platy fish for eat diatom, and i hope i don't rescape this aquascape
Good luck!
All this tank problem how come they did not mention how often they been changing water???
Most of them did, I just didn't mention it myself.
I’m not a professional but the one thing all these scapes had in common is not enough plants and fast growing plants to compete with the algae. You should only fertilize and illuminate based on your stocking choices. Not just tank size. My advice for ALL these tanks is to plant more plants, like fast growing stems as an example.
(I’m the guy with the corner tank)
Noted! I have been planning to get more plants, especially some background plants and some Anubias to go on the driftwood. Just been lacking time, now that my exam season is over I’m planning to scape it a lot nicer without having to remove anything off of my tank. Any plant suggestions would be great 😌
@@AT-nj9kr awesome! I’m excited to see an update. I have 5 tanks running side by side and I always notice that when I go with more plants, more fast growing plants from the beginning of the scape, I always have way less Algae than my tanks with less plants with all other parameters being the same. Rotala is my choice of Stem plants. It so easy and grows fast.
@@isubzerol rotala hra was on top of my list especially so i might head down to my LFS this weekend and get some (currently bad train strikes where im from 😐)
Next year I do want to get a nice tank for Aquascaping, this sounds like a good idea to get more plants in the beginning itself especially fast growing one to tackle algae issues.
Cheers for the advice I much appreciate it
@@AT-nj9kr great choice, not the easiest Rotala but certainly one of the more aesthetically pleasing! I use Rotala Rotandafola. It turns red when it reaches the top of the tank as it gets closer to the light, but otherwise green. Very easy to grow very fast. I have plans to get the Hra too!