Sounds like me... Only my problem is probably worse because my tank is only the standard 2' X 1' X 1'. I can confirm that any neglect, mulm build-up or any imbalance will quickly result in an algae outbreak of the worst kind. However, for my riccia tank, it is quite a good setup which results in compact bushy growth and lots of pearling.

2 36 W PLL is quite a lot of light for a typical (if such a thing exists) 2 foot planted tank. To avoid problems, other requirements such as CO2 and nutrients must also be available in similarly abundant quantities. For such a small tank, the nutrients are easily consumed and this shortage will limit plant growth and be just what the algae needs to take over. I normally have this problem when I am not around for a few days. Maybe I should shorten the photoperiod when I am away...

However, as Ari said, for reds it is awesome. Even bacopa caroliana can be pink! If only the algae would stay away!

before the above statment is taken word for word...and if you are thinking about switching to red plants to salvage your algae problem ...DONT!
and just like Ruslan said...."if only the algae would stay away"

First of all ,Red Plants is truly not for beginners....its not as easy like riccia,or java fern, or glosso or amazon swords.....only YOU and YOU yourself know your true calibre. while during TT session u could brag all u want about how good your plants are ...but deep in your heart...only u yourself would know how true are all those brags.
ask yourself this....if u couldnt achieve the desire results with easy plants...what chances do u have with the Reds??...
no harm in giving it a try ...i must agree...but i could asure u what the end result would be....wasting a few ringgit is not a big issue...but u could end up giving up planting all together...many aquarist simply give up. ...and i dont want to see this happen to u.

in short...the Reds could make u or break u.

go slow on this ..planting is a life time hobby...u got all the time for reds when u feel u have enough experience.
i know alot of planters who moved to Reds before their time, gooof up ,then switch back to greens and never again touch anything red.

i have to say ...buying a fully submerge red species like what u see in tropica wouldnt help u either if do not have the basic experience with reds...and real experience is not something u could read up or thru hearsay information.

on starting this track ...i setup 2 tanks as a guide..the no2 tank is an all red species tank...i planted them starting from the emgerge form ...ugly green broad thick leafs...and in the months to come i will show the photos on how they transform from stage to stage untill they become a full submerge red.
i cannot show u all the photos at one go...since such photos havent been taken...what i have shown u so far are the emgerge form and some transforming....have some patience..in time u will see the full grown species.

the aim of this track...is to get u to start from the bottom. if u can get an emgerge plant to grow to its full submerge potential...then u can handle most plants in the future.,....but if want to compare this to the plant u got from tropica...then i would say u are a sifu without foundation....

"sifu ah sifu ...how to plant this emerge plant ah?"
hei, sifu today busy la...teach u tomorrow ok.
"somemore tomorrow, ask yesterday ,say tomorrow, got how many tomorrow ah?"

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

If u have faith in me...i would advice u...if u want to try REDS...get a tank with minium 2 feet height..., the lower the height the more diffcult it is to plant reds.

here is how i do it with a two footer...just to give u a picture on what u have to go thru.
i always start from the emerge form since i couldnt afford tropica...and it would be silly to buy tropica if u could achieve somewhere near its quality with a rm2 plant.

LIghting for the 1st month in a 2 footer, 1.5 or 1 feet height doesnt make much difference if u are using a PLL.
the catch is ...i dont use PLL during the transformation period.
i use 6800K x 1, and 18000k x1. a total of 40watts.

2nd month....as the plants begin to transform...the lighting confiration becomes...
2900K x 1 , 6800k x1, 18000K x 1 total of 60watts

3rd month....the plants should be in submerge form by now.
the lightings change again.
865PLL x 2, 18000K x 1...total of 92watts...

normally heat generated from the lightings would be a problem by now...fixing a blower fan is out of the question with space taken up by the lighting.

but ...hear this...notice how the i add in the watts bit by bit in the past 3 months? some big time sifus swear that reds would not grow in temp above 27'C but i could do it even at 29'C.....why? figure this out yourself.
give u a clue...those reds started out as emgerge species.......then slowly............................................ ...

4th month. the lighting chances for the final time
865PLLx 2, hitachi 15 watts reddish light x 1, 15watts blue light x 1

u may ask why i use blue light in a planted tank. well....its a trade secret in dealing with reds...aaah...so so secret nowdays...the cat is out of the bag for a very long time now....blue is a must ...if u want to grow healty reds.


OK..now...after all this ...do u seriously want to grow reds in your 2 footer??? this is only the lighting part........ferts and substrate is a totall different and lenghty story.

suppose u preffer to go back to basics and start from there...its much better for u ...i asure u.

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

some photos updates from tank no2 ....the red species tank

New shoots from the tenellus 10 days after trimming. no further trimmings required after the 1st one..the shoots would be allowed to mature.they would be green in colour....later as more shoots appear they will transform into reddish bronze. its always exciting to see the colour transformation in your plants...this is one part u do not get to see if u purchase the fully submerge species.


Pink Aponogeton...havent tried planting this species before ...simply coz its too expensive for me. many years back this species use to cost abt RM50 per plant. i got this one at rm8. very nice plant...with its pink transparent leaves. not much experience with this species...kinda trying it out for the first time....but i have seen some very beautifull examples.


Luwigia Acurata....new submerge shoots began to form. in time they will transfor in to narrower blades in orange reddish colour depending how generous u are with your iron ferts. i will wait for another 2 weeks before i trim. the top end will not be replanted. i want new shoots from the trimmed stems. in this method they will appear more bushy and compact.


notice the bottom part of the Acuratas....no wiltting had appear here. ...which is what u should aim for. a Botak bottom acurata looks truly ugly...and should tell the story that u are doing something wrong. i planted 9 blundes of acuratas here. this formation is about 8 inches in depth and 10 inches wide.
in photo no 3...i have 5 bundle of Luwigia Repens planted tightly together. in normal circumstances...if planted too close together the bottom would wilt...but i have confidence in my lightings...they will not wilt. i intend to trim them at least 3 times to produce more shoots and avoid the normal tall vertical apperance.

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

This track close for one month .... World Cup la...where got time to chiya tua pau..

like everything else that suffer during World Cup ...im sure our plants will too...aiyo where got money buy ferts...Brazil kalah liao...machowkai...penalty also cannot masok .....KELONG

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

Ari, do this...immediately after world cup, show some pictures of your tank and let us see if it has become a jungle or not. Then you can continue with your lessons. Hai yah... like school holiday.

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The nose runs and the feet smell - go figure
Steven

what brand of FLOs or PLLs would u recommend??
this is the question most people had asked me....but i cant actually answer them except recommend the brands that i used before.


if money is not a problem....then i would recommend Aqualine Buschke,Ice Caps and Uri.
but if u are a sorry ass no money in the wallet soh hai like i am ...then i would recommend the cheapest ...but boleh pakai brand.

u would have notice by now ..i always mention Hagen..
ok not im a pro hagen...infact imo hagen is just a so and so brand. the only reason why i mention Hagen is because the required Ks and Lux are mention on the package box.
Remember ....this is Malaysia...folks would want to read whats on the box before buying and trusting it with their life...and Hagen provide just that.
whether Hagen is a good product...well thats a different story.

i personally trust NEC and AiM ....but since none of the Ks and lux or lumen is written on the box...it would be dumb on my part to recommend them in this forum.

here is what i have to say....Hagen does have the advantage of providing different Ks...But they are very and i say again very poor in Lumen and Lux.
u could forget about growing healty reds or high light requirement plants with hagen ...it doesnt happen.
on the other hand...Nec and Aim does the job perfectly....very high lumens and lux despite it was not written on thier product....and they are far cheaper than Hagen ...which brings us to another Malaysian Attitude....Cheap means NO GOOD!

so the story is ....get Hagen as secondary lightings for spectrum blending, while the main light provider comes from Nec or Aim
this is the cheapest and workable Flo lighting combination i would recommend.

sort of hagen 2800K (yellow)+ 18000k(pinkish) + Aim (white)


As for PLLs...the winner would always be Philips......... Osram...aaaah , havent tried that before...sort of why should i when i already got a winner in my hands...why change a winning formula?










this is how much lightings i use for a 3 footer setup for Reds. 3 Aim white light , hagen yellow and pinkish light , Nec sun glow and a 15watt PLL shining right on top the Macranda...a total of 165watts


two timers are used to play around with colour setting and hours required


this was last month

and now...the stellata will get a dose of Azoo red ferts soon ....after i save enough money ..hehehe

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

Why yr stellata look so pale? hahaha...no offence ah! come and check out the ludwigia i am having. I tested with the organic base fert + the NPK 15... lighting will not make the different. The one without the proper fert, the leaves look like orange color.

wat to do no money buy iron fert...borrow me some la.hehehe
no la ...wait first la..once full grown then only pukul fert la...now pukul ,...can pokai o.

this one ler kena pukul liao one

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Everyone Has a Photographic Memory..........some just dont have film!

ai yo..not the iron fert ler. is the sheep n chicken organic fert + the green color n pink color N15 P15 K15...less than rm10.