# Best way to get rid of this hair algae?



## DennisSingh (Nov 8, 2004)

No more shrimp? Use algaefix, then fix lighting co2 whatever needs fixing. If hair algae...better than manual removal


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## Pork Pie (Sep 28, 2014)

No more shrimp, had a mass death due to too much co2 because of a faulty needle valve. At least I think thats what killed them. I'll look into the algaefix tho. Thanks for the reply.


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## Dane William (Oct 1, 2016)

The blue green 'carpet' is BGA. The brown algae on your white stone are diatoms (do you know what the stones are made of?).
According to the Redfield ratio the N should be as close to 16:1 as possible. If you dose too much P it gives you diatoms and BGA. The 16:1 ratio is for pure nitrogen and phosphorus. The socalled Buddy ratio is the same ratio converted to KNO3 and KH2PO4 and should be 16:1/1.53 which would give you about 10:1. If you're dosing according to the NilocG instructions, you're actually dosing too much phosphate (or too little nitrate) which could explain your troubles.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Your KH should not be zero. Are you using distilled water or RO/DI water? You don't need a high KH, but it should be measurable, say at least 1 dKH. If you are using distilled or RO/DI water your water may be short on something else.


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

I would focus on improving the health of the plants. This will stop most algae from spreading and they get removed in time. 

I agree with Hoppy, add some baking soda or a little (treated) tap water to increase the KH. I like mine around 3. PM me if you need help with how much. In new tanks, the soil also takes some KH from the water, developing bacteria also require some KH, so it is good to provide a basic level. For most plants the KH level itself is not important, but it prevents big changes in the pH. Speaking about pH, with a KH 0 and a pH 6.5 there is very little CO2 in that aquarium. You would expect CO2 to drive the pH lower faster with a small KH. 

I am not a big proponent of ratios of A:B:C...:Z because every plant is different, every tank is different and to see what you have in the aquarium you would rely on test kits with wide confidence intervals. The suggested ratios were not proven to provide optimal growth in planted aquariums. Just give the plants what they need and do not exaggerate either way. The OP states 80ppm NO3, not what I would call too little nitrate. But to each their own method... 

How old is the tank ? How often do you do water changes ?

I would: 
1st deal with the easy to fix KH
2nd adjust the CO2 ( look for a CO2 pH KH chart as a starting point)
3rd some plants look like they need more light (only increase after you are confident about your CO2)
4th trim the HC to discourage loss of plant material at substrate level and encourage rooting

If you need help at any step just ask here


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## Dane William (Oct 1, 2016)

The Redfield ratio is not about the plants. It says that you'll get diatoms/cyano in the water meaning on plants, interior and whatever if there's too much P compared to N. You don't have to be a fan of it, it's how it is.

The ratio might not be 'optimal' to plants, but they'll use what they need from the available nutrients.


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## assasin6547 (Feb 6, 2013)

Oh no, this is exactly what's happening in my tank, except with monte carlo instead of the HC. Thankfully I have some algaefix on hand, but I'm hesitant to use it because in the future I would like to keep inverts, does anyone know how long it sticks around for?

I too have no livestock, just plants, and LOTS of cyanobacteria, hair algae, and diatoms. My light isn't nearly as strong and I'm running good CO2 as well, but it seems like only the algae is benefiting, as it is pearling like freaking crazy. Following.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

try dosing a capfull of excel daily and you should see some improvement within the week. The excel helps kill the algae spores floating in your tank and gives your plants a extra boost to fight off the algae on them.


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## Kubla (Jan 5, 2014)

IntotheWRX said:


> try dosing a capfull of excel daily and you should see some improvement within the week. The excel helps kill the algae spores floating in your tank and gives your plants a extra boost to fight off the algae on them.


I''m curious how you arrived at the dosage level of Excel. I didn't see where the tank size was listed. 

BGA is not actually algae it's bacteria. I had a major infestation and had pretty good luck with hydrogen peroxide. I did several searches here and came up with what I thought would be a safe amount to use, levels that people were treating their whole tanks with. I used 1/2 of that amount to be extra safe. Then I turned off the water circulation and applied directly to the BGA with a syringe. It's very satisfying too, it starts affecting it right away. It bubbles like crazy then dies and turns pink. Did that a few days in a row. I've also applied Excel directly the same way for hair algae but it was all in moss and the Excel wiped the moss out.


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## IntotheWRX (May 13, 2016)

Kubla said:


> I''m curious how you arrived at the dosage level of Excel. I didn't see where the tank size was listed.
> 
> BGA is not actually algae it's bacteria. I had a major infestation and had pretty good luck with hydrogen peroxide. I did several searches here and came up with what I thought would be a safe amount to use, levels that people were treating their whole tanks with. I used 1/2 of that amount to be extra safe. Then I turned off the water circulation and applied directly to the BGA with a syringe. It's very satisfying too, it starts affecting it right away. It bubbles like crazy then dies and turns pink. Did that a few days in a row. I've also applied Excel directly the same way for hair algae but it was all in moss and the Excel wiped the moss out.


the pictures from op


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