# Ok, brand new here and I want to hear what many of you think about MY problems!*PICS*



## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

Hey everyone, I was referred here by another lover of the hobby. I have been dealwig with some algae problems in my tank and have recently been told that it's my water that's causing it. To use R/O water rather than tap. It's not that I don't trust any of the advice that I am given, it's that I think that the more people that see what's going on can help me learn more about what needs to be done to rid myself of it once and for all so I can begin ENJOYING my tanks from now on.

Any ways, on with the pics! This is my 40 gallon.
I know I haven't listed any specs of any sort so if you want to know anything, just ask. I should be able to get a reading up here for whatever quickly.














































more to come in the next few posts including my 10 that has the same issues!


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)




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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

and the 10


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

Sorry in advance for the bombardment of pics. I just wanted to make sure everyone could see what was going on. And also, sorry if this might be in the wrong section. Thanks in advance for looking and your help!! = )


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

Ewwww.... does it smell? If it does, it's prolly cyanobacteria and not algae


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

well any planted tank will smell won't it? What type of smell are you referring to? When I remove the stuff by hand, it's like a loogie per say for the sake of a description...


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

One more thing, before I moved, I had this issue as well. Only worse though. I went dark for a week straight and used seachem's phosphate remover media things in my filters. After that week, it looked a LOT better. Not completely eliminated, but better than it was before.

One of my other "teachers" has instructed me to start over (yank the plants and get new ones) Now, I have no problem with this either but who's to say that this stuff won't come right back?

My lights are on for 8 hours out of the day.


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

No, planted tanks don't smell.

If you've got rotting vegetation or fish bodies, then they do, but in general, they don't. 

Unfortunately, it sounds like you've got cyanobacteria - it comes off in slimy sheets, right?


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

sarahbobarah said:


> Unfortunately, it sounds like you've got cyanobacteria - it comes off in slimy sheets, right?



YES! Educate me!


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## sarahbobarah (May 20, 2005)

go into the chatroom


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## Jim (Apr 4, 2005)

Robert,

What you have is blue green algae (BGA). Do a search on the term here on the site and you'll find plenty of information. I had it once and used Maracyn to get rid of it. Treatment was one week and it never returned. No harm to the fish or plants. Others will recommend the "black-out" method, which seems to work effectively as well. Good luck, 

Jim


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## bigpow (May 24, 2004)

got some snails or algae eating shrimps - they'll clear it in no time.
my black molly frys once cleaned the whole tank (I know, isn't that stuff supposed to be poisonous?)


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## ringram (Jan 19, 2005)

That looks like it might be BGA. I had a nasty bout of it about 6 months ago. You pretty much need to do a blackout for a few days, after removing all that you can (hopefully 90%+ of it) and clean out the filter media really good --- it likes to fester in there. Its nasty stuff, and you won't find any algae eaters that will eat it, as its not actually an algae at all...its toxic to the fish if they eat it. It can come back in just one day if you don't remove it all. I'll let one of the more seasoned veterans take it from here...


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## Safado (Jul 10, 2005)

ringram said:


> That looks like it might be BGA. I had a nasty bout of it about 6 months ago. You pretty much need to do a blackout for a few days, after removing all that you can (hopefully 90%+ of it) and clean out the filter media really good --- it likes to fester in there. Its nasty stuff, and you won't find any algae eaters that will eat it, as its not actually an algae at all...its toxic to the fish if they eat it. It can come back in just one day if you don't remove it all. I'll let one of the more seasoned veterans take it from here...


My Cherry Shrimp seem to love the stuff. I have even thought about growing some in a Nano Tank just to feed it to the shrimp. I hadn't heard it is toxic, so maybe that wouldn't be such a good idea.


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## Carpet-Pond (Aug 9, 2003)

Hi Robert,

On the 10th picture I noticed a reflection of light that is coming in from the open blinds on your window. While you're trying to get the BGA under control, one of the first things you might try is covering the window so that no light comes in. That stuff will really grow if it's shining straight on your tank. You'll want to pull as much of it out of your tank as you can and do several water changes. The R/O water could be part of the problem also. But for sure I'd make sure that no beams of light from the windows are hitting the tank while you're getting rid of it.


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

Thanks for the replys you all! Yeah, that 10th pic does show my blinds doesn't it. The sun doesn't come directly in from that side of the house either. But, it IS light nonetheless though so I'll keep those puppies shut. I just moved here and my bedroom window (I have 2 actually but the sun comes right in my eyes in one of them. So, from the little math that I do, I can tell you that that window you see the reflection of is facing north if it means anything.


Oh, how I sometimes miss the days of my african cichlids.. The days when algae and green stuff that you weren't trying to grow, grew... :icon_redf :icon_conf


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## Georgiadawgger (Apr 23, 2004)

First...can you resize your pictures...they're HUGE (I'm waiting for one of those "Forum has exceeded bandwidth" notices :tongue: :tongue: 

Its definitely BGA...and like the others have said, Maracyn will zap it with a one week dose. Barr et al. suggest the blackout method, but I always prefer to see what is happening rather than lifting up a black sheet a few days later for a surprise.


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

Georgiadawgger said:


> Its definitely BGA...and like the others have said, Maracyn will zap it with a one week dose.


If I used this stuff, would I need to physically remove as much as I could? Or, could I just dose and cross my fingers?


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## Aqua Dave (Feb 23, 2004)

I'd remove as much as possible before dosing with Maracyn and then every couple days while you do the treatment. The BGA will start to die and as it does it will decay in the tank. The more of it you can get out the better. I'd then do a good water change at the end of the treatment and vacuum out as much of the dead stuff as you can. You could see an ammonia and nitrite spike (why is debateable), which can be a problem for your fish. I saw one when I did the treatment and think I wound up losing one of my adult angel fish due to it. So the treatment is not entirely without issues.

One thing to keep in mind is that you need to figure out why you had the BGA in the first place. You should probably check your water parameters to make sure Nitrate, Phosphate, etc. are in order. Do some more research on this site if you have questions on how to go about doing this.

David


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

Aqua Dave said:


> You should probably check your water parameters to make sure Nitrate, Phosphate, etc. are in order. Do some more research on this site if you have questions on how to go about doing this.
> 
> David


Great idea Dave! Thanks. We just moved out here and so far due to the move, I have lost 0 fish. It's been on my list to test the water out here. I know one thing though, it taste's MUCH better than where I was living before!! :wink:


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

Ok, I just did a major WC in both of the tanks and got most of the stuff sucked up. I then dosed with the maracyn. Am I supposed to still go dark or does it matter now?


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

No, just do the full treatment and deal with the one thing no one told, *why you have BGA in the frist place.*

I'm getting my paddle out for the rest of the posters for that one
One whack each for all of you! hehe

The two main issues:
KNO3 and not enough plants to begin with.

You'll need to dose KNO3 and add some more plants, like 4-5x that many.
How big is your tank and do you add CO2?

You can have a tank near a window etc and dose KNO3 routinely and never had algae issues, I have 4 such tanks, 2 are non CO2 to boot.

Regards, 
Tom Barr

www.BarrReport.com


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## robert (Sep 13, 2005)

plantbrain said:


> No, just do the full treatment and deal with the one thing no one told, *why you have BGA in the frist place.*
> 
> I'm getting my paddle out for the rest of the posters for that one
> One whack each for all of you! hehe
> ...


Thanks for the reply Tom! I'll add some more plants as soon as I get this issue taken care of. My supplier/teacher told me that they are getting some more in in a week or so and he's going to pick them all out for me. I do inject Co2. They're the Red Sea systems if you're familiar with those. so, they're on the same timer as my lights. When they go out, the pump turns off. 

Again, I'll be looking into the powdered/etc ferts as well soon as this clears up.
Thanks again


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