# Algae Nightmare! (pics)



## Ruuby (Mar 6, 2014)

Hey guys,

I've been struggling with algae for a while now but am at a bit of a loss as to what to do about it!

My tank has been established for a few months now, it has two smallish plants in it, plus one Betta. It receives maybe a little morning direct sunlight, and my light is on about 8 hours.

The glass on my tank gets dust like green algae growing on it, clouding up the sides.
A hair-like algae seems to take over everything else - starting on the plants then eventually over everything within a week or two.


































Any help would be much appreciated,

Thanks!


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## happi (Dec 18, 2009)

this look like a case of very high light over this tank, plus you lack plants which gives more advantage for this type of Algae to grow.


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## shift (Jan 7, 2013)

Hair algae is almost always from to much light. Dim it down or raise it higher above the tank


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

Agree, too much light, not enough competition for the nutrients. I would reduce lighting and add some stem plants. 

Sent from my SGH-T889 using Tapatalk


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## rcs0926 (Jun 14, 2013)

If you aren't growing any substantial amount of plants (only saw 2 in your pics), then there's no reason to have your light on that long. If the tank is in a place that gets enough ambient light (not direct sunlight), I'd even go as far as to leave the lights off. If you want the lights on for viewing purposes, then you should definitely throw some fast growing stems and/or floaters in your tank.


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## Aqualady (Jan 14, 2013)

In addition to adding more stem/floating plants...I have also seen others place a piece of egg crate on top of their tops to cut some lighting ....good luck


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## puopg (Sep 16, 2012)

You want some frogbit? It will block a lot of light since it floats and its very easy to remove in case you dont want it anymore. I got to get rid of some, no charge.


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## Ruuby (Mar 6, 2014)

Thanks so much for the fast and informative responses guys! You're the best.

Alright so I've just ordered a bunch of plants.. these two..
http://www.trademe.co.nz/Browse/Listing.aspx?id=703603273
http://www.trademe.co.nz/pets-animals/fish/aquatic-plants/auction-702690561.htm

And may try to find a slightly dimmer bulb as I do like the lighting for viewing purposes.

Hopefully that will do the trick!

@puopg - thanks a lot, but I'm sure it will be a bit more of a hassle sending it all the way to New Zealand


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## Raymond S. (Dec 29, 2012)

No more than 7 hrs a day and absolutely no direct sunlight. If you like to watch the tank with direct sunlight then allow it only while you are actually sitting there.
You did not say which kind of or how much light you have or how tall the tank is.
These things determine if algae will be there.
Also those plants will not do well if there is not some complete nutrients in there.
It's like putting a plant in a pot full of sand.


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## chowdan (Jun 29, 2012)

Is there a specific reason for running the lights for 8hrs? If your running for viewing purposes only, you could pick up some leds and wire up a small little moon lighting system which would allow you to view the tank when lights are off.


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## Ruuby (Mar 6, 2014)

Hey guys, sorry for the late reply.

I bought some plants online and cleaned up my tank - here's the result










Yes one side of the tank gets a little bit of direct sunlight in the morning - apart from leaving my blinds shut when I can, it's hard to avoid this. 

I have the lights on because I thought I needed to for the plants, plus I liked them for viewing purposes. And thanks for the suggestion about moonlighting, I went out yesterday and bought some stuff to rig up a moonlighting system tonight! Excited!

In terms of keeping the plants I have in there healthy and happy, what extra additives will I need? I currently have nothing for them..


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## ufimych (May 30, 2011)

Add amano shrimps here and plant fast growing plants, particularly hornwort. Keep the lighting the same and watch hair algae disappear. Feed your beta only as much as he eats.


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## drewsuf82 (May 27, 2012)

Ruuby said:


> Hey guys, sorry for the late reply.
> 
> I bought some plants online and cleaned up my tank - here's the result
> 
> ...


 Wow what a difference! It looks great!

As for lighting schedules, I was finding that I had algae issue and I decided to change all of my lights over to timers. I follow a 4 on 4 off 4 on 12 off time system and have seen a massive reduction in the amount of algae seen in my tanks. 

As for ferts there are a lot of different ones which are offered, it just depends on what you want to do. There's everything from pre-mixed additives to root tabs (depending on the plants you have and how they feed). When you're ready nilocg has some great stuff at really decent prices. There's tons of info in the ferts section and a good FAQ sticky there to help you get started.


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## Chris_Produces (Feb 19, 2014)

Ruuby said:


> Hey guys,
> 
> I've been struggling with algae for a while now but am at a bit of a loss as to what to do about it!
> 
> ...


woah 



Ruuby said:


> Hey guys, sorry for the late reply.
> 
> I bought some plants online and cleaned up my tank - here's the result
> 
> ...


And after the cleanup...woah! :eek5: 
Great job


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## Ruuby (Mar 6, 2014)

Hey guys, reviving this thread because my algae nightmare continues....

It's been a while since I got those plants in and have been using "Flourish" to keep them healthy. I've changed my lighting schedule to 4 hours on in the morning, then 4 hours on in the afternoon. I've also covered the side of the tank that was perhaps being hit with a few minutes of morning sun.

HOWEVER... my algae isn't giving up. 

It's no longer vibrant green coloured, rather it's fuzzy brownish stuff hangning off the plants, with leaves and decorations being covered in a layer of dark brown (almost black) stuff. I try to rub it off when cleaning the tank but this is a reeeeal mission doing each leaf and it tends to rip the fragile leaves up a bit.. The smaller plants seem to have lost lower leaves and stalks turning brown. 

Photos below... Click on em to see bigger picture!





Any ideas and suggestions welcomed thanks!


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## zle (Jul 2, 2014)

the pic above this post is the real hair algae which am struggling at the moment too. am currently reducing my light hours to 4 and light intensity combating this algae while giving time for other plants to grow. if u can get seachem excel since u do not hv CO2 system, try Standard/Halved dosing it. it would not harm your betta and benefits the plants.


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## zle (Jul 2, 2014)

also i notice your plants have nutriet deficiency. seachem excel and flourish most likely will help. your light is quite intense, find ways to reduce it, example temporaily only one tube, remove reflector. as for the sun light u were saying, maybe a cardboard on the side before u go to bed to block morning sun (in case u woke up late) or when u not around.


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## dzega (Apr 22, 2013)

drop an otto catfish inthere. or some nonbreeding snail (apple?). your betta wouldnt mind


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## zle (Jul 2, 2014)

FYI, most of the time, only amano & molly will consume this hair algae (sometimes not). snail will only consume when the hair algae died. I have just gotten 2 juvenile amano testing on hair algae. the rest of my CRS shrimps, RCS shrimps, Malaya Shrimps, nerites, ramshorn snail would not touch it when the hair algae still alive.


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## Ruuby (Mar 6, 2014)

Thanks for the responses guys.

I've already blocked off the side of the tank that was getting a little bit of sun, so there's no sun going in there at all. And pulled back on the lighting. 

I will try some excel to complement my flourish for the plants.

I have tried having a little otto in there but he died after a few days - I saw my betta chasing him a lot and i think he probably stressed him to death and think he may have taken a chunk or two off him too.

I also had a snail in there when I first got my betta but my betta wouldn't leave him alone. He would even sleep on the ground beside the snail waiting for the snail to pop out of his shell. Snail only lasted maybe two weeks before dying - so I'm unsure if the betta killed him too or what.

I don't think we can get Amano shrimp here in New Zealand so that's unfortunately not an option...

I'm unsure what else to do...


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## rick dale (Feb 26, 2014)

*algae.*

I went through the same problem you are having , just not as bad. Look up using peroxide. It worked for me.


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## j03yYunG (Mar 26, 2013)

Ruuby said:


> Thanks for the responses guys.
> 
> I've already blocked off the side of the tank that was getting a little bit of sun, so there's no sun going in there at all. And pulled back on the lighting.
> 
> ...


An SAE will take care of the hair algae. But they do grow kind of big


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## Ruuby (Mar 6, 2014)

Unfortunately my tank's only 20L so really restricts my fish options..

Thanks rick dale, I will try hydrogen peroxide, I'm going to try the method mentioned here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=203684


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

What light fixture are you using? How many bulbs? Is it sitting on top of the tank? Light is a very important parameter, and you can't pick the light by what looks good. First it has to produce a light intensity that is within the upper and lower limits - not too much and not too little.


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## ced281 (Jul 6, 2012)

Ruuby said:


> Unfortunately my tank's only 20L so really restricts my fish options..
> 
> Thanks rick dale, I will try hydrogen peroxide, I'm going to try the method mentioned here: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=203684


The 1-2 punch is an excellent option to get rid of algae. Unfortunately, it won't solve the underlying problems that are causing the algae to grow in the first place.

I've gotten that brown scum/algae before and as far as I could tell it was an opportunistic algae that came in when my plants weren't doing so well... I'm guessing that the plant leaves slowly died off and the algae came in and starting feeding off the detritus. Normally, snails and shrimps would take care of that, but those are out of the question with your betta since he seems to enjoy terrorizing other inhabitants. I think you have two options:

1) Tech down
- Reduce your lighting
- Choose low light / low tech plants like anubias
- Diligent maintenance (if you see plants starting to wither or turn yellowish/brown, clean / trim them so that the detritus doesn't build up.

2) Tech up
- Add CO2
- Add fast growing stem plants (e.g. rotala, hygrophila, etc.)
- Maintain lighting

Teching up is always easier for me but costs more money and requires more maintenance. I'd probably go for teching down in your case.

At the end of the day, you just need to balance your desired plant growth with your undesired algae growth. The more you can tip the scales towards the plants you have, the less algae you'll have to deal with.

You're definitely in a tough spot, however, since you can't house any algae eaters =/


Also, be careful not to over do it on the added nutrients etc. Adding too much can cause algae spikes too if you don't have enough plant biomass to consume everything you add in.


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## BuddhaBoy (Jun 12, 2014)

It sucks when your betta is a jerk!

Some betta will coexist with others peacefully and some will be jerks and attack and harass. Looks like you have a jerk on your hands. Sadly that will make it harder to combat the algae

Like the others said, the algae is a response to an imbalance in your tank. By adjusting the photoperiod, feeding the plants, and adding supplemental co2, you will starve the algae out of your tank.

How much are you feeding your betta? Their gut is the same size as their eye so any more than they can eat in a min or two is just getting wasted.

Do you have a water test kit? If so what are your readings.

Good luck


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## roadmaster (Nov 5, 2009)

I doubt the flourish is providing enough macro nutrient's with or without Excel or CO2 injection.
(Is excel being used as directed?)Still have seen no mention of what type of lighting is being used and it is the light that drives demand for everything else.Flourish comprehensive is largely micro nutrient source and just doesn't have enough in the way of macro nutrients.


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## houseofcards (Mar 21, 2009)

roadmaster said:


> I doubt the flourish is providing enough macro nutrient's with or without Excel or CO2 injection.
> (Is excel being used as directed?)Still have seen no mention of what type of lighting is being used and it is the light that drives demand for everything else.Flourish comprehensive is largely micro nutrient source and just doesn't have enough in the way of macro nutrients.


It amazes me that Flourish hasn't done something to stop the confusion with this product. 

The word comprehensive means: including all or nearly all elements or aspects of something. I guess that doesn't help. :icon_mad:

I assume Seachem is looking at it from at low-light primarily fish setup where the macros would be provided from fish/fish food/waste.


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