# Do plants introduce algae?



## Moonlight7wolf (Nov 25, 2013)

Hi, I'm new to this forum, I have been lurking for a while but keep having questions that I can't seem to find answers for.

Well anyways. I have a betta fish, Naartjie. He is in a three gallon tank (which I recently ordered a filter and heater for- should come tuesday, and do have plans to cycle but I already got most the information I needed on that), and his tank currently only has two fake silk plants. Now I think it would be really great to be able to grow some real plants for him. But I have a couple questions that would be nice to have clarified.

Well I have not had a problem with algae for a long time and I guess I am wondering if introducing plants can cause algae to be 'introduced' into the tank. Where does algae come from anyways? Does it just "poof" even if you never put in any plants that could have had algae on them? Basically, do plants have the potential to introduce algae into tanks? 

And also a problem I have had with real plants in the past (when I had a larger fish tank with more fish) was that I didn't know how to clean the tank around them. I wanted to clean the gravel from all it's yuck, but I didn't want to destroy plant roots either. And the obsessive part of me did NOT want to just clean the gravel around the plant, but is that really the only way to do it? Will not cleaning the gravel under plants degrade your water quality over time? Or make things smelly? 

So recently I have been considering getting a java fern and attaching it to a rock so that I can move the rock and still clean the gravel under it. But it would be nice to have a variety, and a lot of nice plants need to be rooted.

Oh and also, I know you have to 'clean' the plants before putting them into your tank, so whats the best way to do this. What will kill the algae, potential diseases/parasites and snails? Does potassium permanganate do all this? I asked for it in the pet store but they had no clue what I was asking for. :/ 

So I guess in a nutshell my questions are:
How do you clean around plants?
Will not cleaning the gravel under plants degrade the water quality?
Does introducing plants into a tank introduce algae?
How to clean plants before putting them in your tank?

Oh and also, are LED's capable of being used for plant growth?

Thanks for anyone who replies!


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## bethyMT (Nov 24, 2012)

Ok, I wouldn't call myself an expert, but I have three heavily planted tanks, two of which have bettas. 

Algae is not inherently a bad thing...it's a part of a natural ecosystem. A little is actually good, but a whole lot is not so good. It gets out of control when something is out of balance (lights, nutrients, etc). Also, snails help. I love nerites.

Cleaning gravel - plants do so so much to help your tank. Gravel vacing still should happen, just lightly clean around the plants with an occasional deep vac. Plant roots are tough, and if you aren't powerwashing them every week, they will recover from a little damage. The tank and the gravel should not look scummy, but a little mulm in there helps the plants grow. IMO plants are a necessity. If you test for nitrates, that'll be a clue if you need to do more.

Java fern really likes being tethered to something, so a rock would work. Mine LOVE driftwood.

As far as cleaning the plant goes before putting them in the tank, I haven't found a good way yet, although I have heard good things about potassium permanganate. I tried a diluted hydrogen peroxide solution once with disastrous results. 

Finally - LEDs can and do work for plants. However, there is a whole range of LEDs out there. Generally, the cheaper the fixture is, the less light it puts out. I have a super duper fancy reef LED on my 55g tank, which cost a lot, but works great. I have the aqueon modular on my 20g and those work well too, and weren't too spendy. Getting a good fixture for a three gallon might be tricky. A regular fluorescent hood with a cool white CFL in it is also very effective, and dirt cheap.

Hope I covered everything. Good luck, and keep the questions coming if you have them! We have all learned by experience and want to help.


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## OrangeAugust (Jul 23, 2012)

About the LED light, I got an LED desk lamp at Target for about $35. It puts out 800 lumens and my plants in my 10g tank love it.


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

bethyMT;3477225
As far as cleaning the plant goes before putting them in the tank said:


> bethymt, what was the disasterous result of h2o2? you said it was a diluted solution,please explain the amount used. what amount of water was used in the solution? as far as potassium permanganate, tithra on you tube has a tutorial on using it to disinfect new plants. i often use h2o2 as an algaecide with good results and no ill effects on my plants. did you use the solution as a dip?


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## Stone (Jan 6, 2013)

Algae is usually caused by something not being in balance, too much light, too little plants, too much nutrients, not enough water changes, fluctuating co2 levels, so in short there is no one right answer


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## Moonlight7wolf (Nov 25, 2013)

First off, thank you so much for answering everyone!

I thought about getting a snail, but then heard about some snails multiplying like crazy even if you get one because they stored sperm or something. And there was one type that also went through asexual reproduction. The Nerite snails looked pretty cool though, would I be able to have a snail in my little three gallon tank?

And also yeah, I guess that makes sense about cleaning the gravel near the plants less often. I may just start with a nonrooted plant (java fern- because i am not quite sure if I want a plant that just floats yet) And so if I attached the java fern to something i wouldn't have to worry about not being able to get at the gravel around it . (this would just be to start)

I would guess that my LED is one of the cheapy ones , it's just one of those LED's that came with the tank. Marineland Crescent 3 gallon or something. But would this work for low light plants anyways?

And Thanks for the suggestion on LED lights, I might see if my LED works to grow low light plants, and if not then I may have to invest in something else.

And so hopefully if things are balanced my tank won't get overrun with algae!


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

i have a halfmoon tank. i think it is a 10 gallon version of the crescent. the led light looks very similar.i can grow most low light plants with it,give it a try before you decide to replace it. it should grow java fern,moss and anubius at least. i would think if you throw in an extra gravel vacuuming, you could keep 1 nerite snail.


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## coreyh (Dec 1, 2012)

When it comes to algae I found that live plants don't really introduce it to a tank, but the fertilizing, light, etc associated with plants can cause it to grow out of control. 

All five of my tanks were overrun with hair algae not long ago, and I used pure hydrogen proxide on a cotton ball to remove the algae from the leaves of anubias, wisteria and java fern. It had grown between the leaves of my scarlet temple, and I let the plants soak in a 10% proxide water solution for ten minutes and it allowed me to easily remove the algae. The plants are all fine and the algae (knock on wood) hasn't returned.


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## rsskylight04 (Nov 9, 2013)

*hi*

Just wanted to say hi because I see your from upstate ny and so am I. Good luck with your fishkeeping! Algae spores are everywhere, its impossible to keep it out of your tank. The object is to keep it under controll. Low nitrates in your water is the best way I know of to do that.


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## Moonlight7wolf (Nov 25, 2013)

Okay thank you so much everyone! I think that I am probably going to end up getting plants over the thanksgiving break and I am probably going to try and clean them with the 1 part bleach 19 parts water, or maybe I will go the hydrogen peroxide route, I will further research which is 'better'. The only potassium permanganate I could find was at lowes and it was around $30! I am deciding to go the discount route. 

And I am probably going to end up getting a nerite snail. Hopefully I can find one at one of my pet stores, I mostly only see the mystery snails, and I heard those can grow BIG.

Just one more question though, since I live in college, whenever I move from home to college or college to home I pretty much have to drain my tank, now when I have my filter and I am trying to cycle/have cytled it and everything then I am going to make sure that I store my filter media in a cup of water or something so the bacteria doesn't die, but would my plants be okay sitting in a drained tank for 40 minutes to an hour? They wouldn't be completely dry because it's not like I am going to use a blowdryer to dry out my tank. I am just dumping the water to make transport easier. (and my fish and snail will also be in little traveling cups as well.)

And hi rsskylight04, nice to meet you too!

Thanks again everyone!
http://www.bettafish.com/member.php?u=104697


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## sandybottom (Nov 29, 2012)

pool stores may have smaller/cheaper potassium permanganate,not for sure though. if you cover your aquarium with plastic wrap,the plants will probably be ok.


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## Moonlight7wolf (Nov 25, 2013)

I failed at finding potassium permanganate. I searched at a pool store, 3 pet stores, Home Depot and wallmart. No such luck! I did buy a java fern though and I think I'm going to try an alum dip. Where you put 1-3 tablespoons in a gallon of water and soak your plants for 2-3 days. It's supposed to kill possible snails and their eggs and other hitchhikers. 

Has anyone tried this? I've heard it's normally pretty effective and won't kill your plant (bleach sometimes does).


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