Here is one of my sustainable
gardens in which I don't change water
nor use man made filters.
It looks nice and is clean of green algae.
In previous videos, I explained
how I control algae in my aquariums
without water changes
and using just plants instead of filters.
It works great all year around
for preventing algae bloom.
Which we should not confuse with
normal algae deposits
that can be found in all live aquariums.
Like this for example.
You can see deposits of green algae on
the rocks in an aquarium with a continuously
running filter in a pet store I visited.
Turning off the filter in this aquarium or
failure to remove wilting plants
from aquarium usually results in
a growth of excessive amounts of
otherwise healthy green algae
that makes water green and dangerous.
Let's check how dangerous algae bloom
can get in aquariums
and what we can do about it.
This aquarium has been populated
with snails, scuds, and plants.
The common green algae started building up
after I stopped removing wilting plants
from this nursery.
You may already notice some cloudy
greenish discoloration of the water
on June 4th, 2020
Apparently, small land plants on top are
not enough to hold back the algae growth.
I add a cutting of
slow growing Lesser Periwinkles
to see if it helps to reduce algae growth.
Scuds, snails, and planarian are
moving around here and there.
Those are just a few of the many tiny
aquatic critters that feed on algae.
There is guppy grass and land moss
growing underwater.
It's easier to judge about water clarity
in comparison to something.
Here we go.
The nursery on the left is visibly algae free,
the way I usually keep my aquarium gardens :)
The next day I added a cutting of ivy.
Usually, I add land plants
before algae starts building up.
It's easier to prevent than to treat algae.
We will see how it goes -
that is what experiments are for ;)
10 days later on June 15th.
Water is noticeably greener.
Snails are doing fine.
I replace the ivy cutting with another
already rooted ivy.
5 days later on June 20th
I added a rooted cutting of fast growing
Ornamental Sweet potato.
Here you can see it in the back.
Let me show you the root of this cutting.
It's about 2 cm long.
Another 5 days later, on June 25th.
The water is cloudy and green.
Guppy grass is dying.
Ornamental sweet potato is blooming
and has nice roots.
July 31st.
It's been about 2 months
since I started the experiment.
I add dechlorinated water to the level.
Water mostly evaporates
through leaves of land plants.
The larger the plants grow,
the more water I have to add.
Here you can see roots grow very strong.
And there are some young scuds
feeding on those roots.
The water is cloudy and greenish.
Aquatic plants are mostly diminished.
I start adding water weekly.
August 12th.
The water remains cloudy and greenish.
August 26th.
I trim the sweet potato for a second time already.
All land plants look good
and have strong roots.
It's been almost 3 months
since algae started blooming in this nursery.
Algae bloom did not stop
land plants from growing.
And land plants did not stop algae
from blooming either.
There is very little left from aquatic plants
after months of algae bloom.
The water is less green now
but still cloudy.
Let's turn the aquarium around for you
to take a closer look
at the remains of the aquatic plants.
Also, I see only young small snails and scuds.
And planarian.
The old large snails and scuds
most likely died of low oxygen
during algae bloom.
Low oxygen is also the cause of
aquatic plants’ misery during algae bloom.
On October 10th, I made
a time-lapse recording
to check on critters in this nursery.
Some young snails and scuds
moving around here and there.
The water is much cleaner now,
but still some clouds -
and it's been about 5 months!
The aquatic plants slowly recovered
as algae get subdue by land plants.
It took many months for a 1 liter aquarium
to recover after algae bloom.
I wonder how long it would take
a larger aquarium to recover, if ever...
Preventing algae bloom is much easier
than treating it for sure.