# Green algae (GSA?) on anubias/wood



## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

I have green algae growing on my anubias and bog wood in a 29 and I'm not quite sure where my imbalance is. Lighting is 1x F18T8 and 1 F30T12 30W; these sit on top of the tank and stay on for about 10-12H each day. My substrate is 2" of flourite covered with 1" of gravel. Stocking is 2x Kribensis, 9xendlers, 1xblack phantom tetra (lone survivor of the velvet outbreak of 2009 lol), 4-5nerites, unknown number of MTS, and ~8 glass shrimp. I started dosing Flourish comprehensive plant supplement last week, it has an NPK of 0.07-0.01-0.37.

Would you think adding more Vals for shade help keep the light off the anubias?
Here are some pics:


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I'm not seeing GSA (green spot algae) in your pictures. What I'm seeing looks like a light breakout of diatoms.

How long has this tank been setup? How easily does the algae come off when you try to brush/rub it off?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

It doesn't budge when I try and rub it off. It has a rough texture. The tank has been planted since January. I thought it was GSA because, it is comprised of many 'specs', it appears on slow growing plants in direct light, and the only thing that shows any interest in eating it are the nerites. I'm not that great at identifying algae.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

If it doesn't rub off easily, then it's not diatoms. You're right regarding the characteristics of GSA you described, but I just don't see it in the pics. When I think of GSA, this is what comes to my mind. http://www.aquahobby.com/articles/img/freshwater_algae_11.jpg

I'm not sure what you have. I'd suggest it could be the plants themselves due to a nutrient deficiency or something along those lines, but that doesn't account for the driftwood.

Are you positive it's the same thing on the plants and the wood? Have you tried looking at them under magnification?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

It looks like the GSA pictured here http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/ and here http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm. Could very well be GDA but GDA sounds like it avoids plants.
As far as ferts go, I have no idea never done it before and afraid it will all go horribly wrong. Don't know if it's related but some of the vals have gone slightly 'translucent'. 

I don't own a microscope and we are done using microscopes in lab so no chance of doing a microscopy.


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## Chlorophile (Aug 2, 2011)

Green spot and diatoms can have weird interactions together. 

The glass on my aquarium had green spot, but then diatoms grew on it and it became a brown dusty algae that I couldn't scrape off for the life of me!


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

It's not GDA. I can't see the spots or the green color in the pictures, but you're the one looking at them directly so if you see them, then that's all that matters.

The vals turning translucent indicates they are dying. This may be due to a lack of nutrients.

There's no reason to be afraid of dosing ferts. There's nothing about them that can go horribly wrong. Flourish Comprehensive is only micro ferts (without the iron), but doesn't include any macro ferts.

GSA is usually a sign of low phosphate. You can either dose dry ferts or liquid, they're the same thing (only liquid has water in it so you end up paying a fortune for the water).

If you want to stick with the Seachem ferts, you would need to add Flourish Phosphorus to increase phosphates (P). Flourish Nitrogen adds nitrates (N), and Flourish Potassium adds potassium (K). Flourish Comprehensive is your micros without iron. Flourish Iron is, obviously, the iron.

If you use dry ferts, you would normally just get a package of all three (PKN) + micros. This package includes the macros and micros (with iron) for $20. The whole thing will last you a year or more. http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/micro-macro-fertilizers.html If you like dosing liquids, you can add water to the dry ferts before putting it in your tank, but it's not necessary. You can dump the dry stuff in the tank without adding water to it beforehand.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

What do you think about hydroponics ferts? I have technaflora ferts BC grow/bloom/boost and awesome blossoms. Think they are safe for tank use?


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Ptyochromis said:


> What do you think about hydroponics ferts? I have technaflora ferts BC grow/bloom/boost and awesome blossoms. Think they are safe for tank use?


I honestly don't know. If no one else offers any help, then you can probably google it. I'm sure you're not the first one to try. Most ferts are non-toxic so I would expect they'd be okay. The main thing would be determining the right dosage.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Did some digging and they have tested some of the porducts on fish. It looks like the biggest threat are the products containing ammonium nitrate. Some also contain urea, Im going to have to be careful about which ones I use.

http://www.technaflora.com/downloads/msds/MSDS_ThriveAlive Red1.pdf
http://www.technaflora.com/downloads/msds/MSDS_BC Bloom1.pdf

Edit: Mostly they contain monopotassium phosphate, potassium nitrate, some contain Cu, but the bottle reads 0.00268%/0.00384% on 2bc bloob and bc grow respectively.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Either way. I have my siphon ready to go, and carbon ready to go in the filters should my fish start acting up.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

It's okay whatever you want to use as long as it works for you, but I am curious. With dry ferts being so cheap, why would you want to use something else? I'm just not understanding the reason for taking the risk.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Because I have it. Getting dry ferts would require me to spend money lol.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Ah, okay! That makes sense! :smile:


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

I tested my KH/PH against this chart Im at 8.0-8.2PH and 6.72dKH.120ppm. Which puts me under 1.8 for CO2.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Are you running pressurized CO2 or DIY?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Also I squirted about half of the ferts into the substrate around the vals, hope it helps. No CO2, Im a low tech kinda dude


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

It's okay to be a low tech kinda dude. I have low tech tanks and love them! You just have to keep in mind that not all plants can grow in low tech tanks.

Since you're getting GSA, that means the tank is running out of nutrients. Your choices are to either add nutrients to keep up with the plant growth or slow down the plant growth. Light is the accelerator peddle. If you need to slow things down, the way to do that is to reduce the light.

So you can give the root tabs a try and see if they can add enough phosphorus to the tank. If so, then that might be a solution that works for you. If not, then you might want to consider decreasing your lighting.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Ill set seperate times for the F18t8 and another for the F30T12 30w. Ill set the t12 for 10h and the T8 for 5 to come on in the middle. Or should I drop one all together?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Maybe ill get some female endlers/guppies. More CO2 production. I raised my water level and my HOB stopped spashing, ill check CO2 again tomorrow afternoon and see if that has helped.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

I think Hoppy posted some good info on your lights earlier. I'd use that as a guide for your lighting.

Where are you thinking the tank is getting CO2 if you're not adding it?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

I was always under the impression that CO2 always came from the fish and gas exchange from the surface.


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## Complexity (Jan 30, 2008)

Yes, but in what concentrations? How much CO2 does one endler or guppy produce in an hour? How much CO2 is in the air all around us? And is the CO2 in the water at a higher or lower concentration than the air? If the water in the tank is at a higher concentration than the air, then the CO2 would outgas from the water to the air. But what happens if the CO2 concentration in the air is higher than in the water? If you're not sure of the answer, look up the process of _diffusion_.

And even with all that, does it really matter? Does any of it involve enough CO2 to really make a difference in plant growth? How much CO2 does it take to affect a change in plant growth?

My point is that it's not so simple. This is why you see so many posts about adding CO2 to planted tanks. Unless you are adding CO2 through either pressurized CO2 or DIY methods, I wouldn't worry about the CO2. You simply have a low tech tank and need to treat it accordingly. There's nothing wrong with a low tech tank (and lots of things good about one). It just is what it is. It's just important to understand what it is so you can meet its needs appropriately. By that I mean -- No CO2 means low to medium lighting only.


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## Unikorn (Jun 14, 2012)

*having algae issues too*

I have a 20 gallon tank with an odyssea fixture with dual T5HO 6500K bulbs. I was running the lights 10 hours a day but since I've read this thread I reduced the time to 8 hours a day. My ferts are Gro Soil Tabs from a power seller on here and seachem flourish 1-2 times a week. The algae on my anubias won't come off when I rub it with my finger  Its the same situation with my sword  The tank has been running for at least 4 months, but the java moss wall is new and I slowly added more plants. I also just recently added pressurized CO2 to my tank for my birthday 

any ideas?


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

Complexity said:


> I'm not seeing GSA (green spot algae) in your pictures. What I'm seeing looks like a light breakout of diatoms.
> 
> How long has this tank been setup? How easily does the algae come off when you try to brush/rub it off?


I agree it looks like diatoms and they can get crusty on slow growers.



Ptyochromis said:


> It doesn't budge when I try and rub it off. It has a rough texture. The tank has been planted since January. I thought it was GSA because, it is comprised of many 'specs', it appears on slow growing plants in direct light, and the only thing that shows any interest in eating it are the nerites. I'm not that great at identifying algae.


It appears on the slow growers but not because of the light, IMO. But if it were GSA low phospahte would be the answer and dispite the EI dosing schedule the phosphates should be dosed at 1/3 the volume of the nitrates.


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## 150EH (Dec 6, 2004)

What is your maintenance schedule, water changes, etc. and how often are you dosing the ferts you mentioned?


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Water changes are about 1 every 2 months or so. Generally about 20-40% focusing mostly on removing organics. Pruning is weekly, or whenever i see something that needs clipping.

Well I just started dosing the hydroponic ferts Wednesday, so I guess they will go in again next Wednesday. No idea honestly, this is my first time doing ferts in this tank.

The other night I stuck some nerites on some of the worse leafs, and woke up to clean leafs :3

Also, I got timers \o/


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

Ordered corkscrew vals, hopefully this will make enough shade for the anubi


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## Aquachic (Apr 6, 2011)

Nice chart! I agree about the fertilizers. I was afraid to add too much and now am realizing I wasn't adding enough. The plants need it to outgrow the algae.


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## Ptyochromis (Mar 16, 2012)

My vals came in today. All 20 of them have been planted, and I am continuing with my fertilizer regiment. Im still not entirely sure what caused the bits of algae in the first place, my best guess is direct light and not enough nutes.


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