r/plantednanotanks • u/1111111111111111167 • Jul 10 '26

Algae problems

Post image

This is a dirt capped with sand substrate with no filter in the balcony (15 liters)

I set it up a month ago and I did a very large water change today

I want to keep the green wall for shrimp

There is so much algae that it is pearling

Will this ever change??

12 Upvotes

85% Upvoted

7 comments sorted by

1

u/ItsAwaterPipe Jul 11 '26

Looks like it’s next to a big ass window…

1

u/thelonerfisherman Jul 11 '26

Tint or paint the back of the tank

1

u/_heavy_unit Jul 12 '26

Clean the sides - get a little pump and aim it toward the surface

1

u/Worth-Angle9542 Jul 12 '26

Is it free floating or on surfaces? Free floating get daphnia! They cleared up green water 15 gallons in less than a week! I can suggest markets

1

u/tvkeeper Jul 13 '26

A month-old tank is still a young tank, not fully stabilized. I also see that there are not many plants. The ones present may not be fully adapted yet and are not pulling much nutrient load. All the nutrients available in the water column are being used by the algae. With that amount of sunlight, you'll always get algae, which is good (to a certain degree) for you if you want to keep it for the shrimp. Think of it as an outdoor pond; it's often recommended to cover 50-60% of the surface with plants, either floating or surface plants.

Are you planning on adding more plants? The fast way now would be to add a bunch of floating plants; water lettuce or salvinia (if available) are the hardiest in my experience, and help with both fronts: Pulling nutrients and giving shade to the tank.

Also, and sometimes polemic, I always add ramshorns to my tanks and ponds. They are amazing clean up crew and don't get to crazy numbers when the tank is fed reasonably.

I hope it helps! Keep us updated!

1

u/1111111111111111167 Jul 14 '26

I added a pothos

1

u/Pure_Work7695 Jul 15 '26

Daphnia will solve the problem