balance

Maybe it's getting closer to that.

(I put the darker backdrop on here because it makes the prefilter sponge less noticeable. I'd hide it with something, but I do like to watch the kuhlis snake their way up and down the grooves in the sides, foraging. You can see Snakey Fish doing just that).

Last week I saw GSA returning on the back wall of the tank, so adjusted the lights again, the brights come on at 2pm now- half an hour less brights/more color spectrum. It looks like maybe that did the trick- the green spot algae seems to be in check now, or at least not growing faster than my nerites can eat it. Still dosing less nitrates with the dry ferts. Growth with the plants is slow, but seems that all of them are putting out new leaves again, and to my surprise even the java fern looks better. I did have to scrape a few more spots of black beard algae off the driftwood, and there was a tuft of it on top edge of the prefilter sponge, I simply cut that off. If it keeps reappearing though I'll have to do something else.

Can see in this picture new growth on the watersprite (older stuff is yellowing as it dies back), rotala in the background greening up, and ludwigia (off center to the right) has new leaves, bright pinkish hue. The undersides are violet.