# Hair algae - help! (ugly picture warning!)



## amitabh (Dec 16, 2005)

Hi all,

I've been battling this nasty type of black hair algae pretty much since I started with pressurized CO2. It seems to prefer my Echinodorus bleheri and my Hygrophila corymbosa. It does grow abit on the spray bar as well.

One week ago I replaced my gravel due to problems with KH rise. At that time I did a complete tank cleanup incl filter and equipment. I also pruned away all affected leaves. 

Stats => signature

I dont add macronutrients - never have. I have just ordered Fe and PO4 test kits. No substrate fert. - just plain gravel.

Since I restarted the tank I have not been adding ferts (just lights, CO2) as I was suspecting OD to be the reason for the algae bloom initially. Maybe I was wrong...

I do have some green spot algae on the anubias leaves as well as some on the tank glass.

I have had some CO2 swings since startup - still waiting for IKS pH controller to arrive.

Questions:

1) What type of algae is this?
2) How do I eradicate it?
3) How do I stop it from returning?


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

I don't know what variety of algae that is, not being nearly an expert. But, I do know that you need to provide NPK fertilizers along with the CO2 and adequate lights, which you have, before the plants will grow at a good rate. If that were my tank I would use EI, using Gregg Watson's dry fertilizers. I know he ships to Europe so you may find his cost plus shipping to be economical. Also, my recent experience is that the way to use CO2 is to add as much as you can without distressing the fish - the KH/PH tables just don't always give an accurate number for ppm CO2, and they tend to give a higher ppm than you really have.


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## Hydro (Jun 23, 2004)

They look like staghorn algae.

Some algae pictures here:
http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9


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## esarkipato (Jul 19, 2005)

I would agree with Hoppy. The best way to fight it is to remove all affected leaves, and then make sure the plants have EVERYTHING they need to grow. This includes N,P,K (macros) ferts as well as micros like Fe and others.

If I read your sig correctly, you've got very low general hardness? You would do very well to add something for that, you need calcium and magnesium if it's really that low.


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## amitabh (Dec 16, 2005)

esarkipato,

I have just ordered this product that increases TH. In the product description, it states that in Scandinavia, the tap water is usually very soft due to low mineral content in bedrock. It is thus a powder that "contains naturally existing mineral salts" and the increased hardness consists of 80% Ca and 20% Mg.

I started out in this fascinating hobby last autumn with a bunch of plants and water and then went through the following steps: DIY CO2, T5 lights, pressurized CO2. Now plants are growing well, but algae seems to be the "last frontier"...

So the consensus here seems to be to start adding macro ferts. There is actually a lfs in my area which supplies dry ferts similar to Greg Watson's. 

EI dosing and PPMD... seems like another chunk of info to process, but hey! I wouldnt be in this hobby if I didnt like learning


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

Amitabh, you are right about the learning. One thing I have learned is if I knew it last year it is now wrong! I have never seen a "technology" or hobby where the "facts" involved change so fast and so completely. It is like, if you go on a two month vacation you might as well erase your memory and start learning all over again.


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## jimmydrsv (Apr 8, 2005)

In my experience, limitation of nutrients usually led to problem in my tanks. Anything that your plants need and you aren't providing becomes a problem.


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## amitabh (Dec 16, 2005)

Hmm this is interesting...

Been reading through Tom Barr's article on EI. Seems contradictory but then again lots of people seem to use it with success. 

I guess the part that is a bit un-intuitive is that algae growth is discouraged through supplying nutrients in excess. I always had the belief that excess of ANY nutrient would cause an algae bloom.

Guess I am drifting off topic here, but if this can REALLY help me wage my anti-algae war efficiently it certainly seems like its worth a try.


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## jimmydrsv (Apr 8, 2005)

When growth, uptake and everything stalls out due to no nitrogen source or co2 source, in a way, every other nutrient you add would be in excess since the plant wouldn't be using it up. 

It's like someone telling your their feet are cold and you give them mittens to put on their hands. The problem doesn't actually get solved. Giving them more mittens still wouldn't solve the problem nor would not giving them mittens. 

Also, with EI, you aren't really supplying an excess because plants would continually be removing them and lowering the concentration of nutrients. The point is to give plants what they need continually so you don't have to worry about too little and the water changes keep you from getting too much.


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## Prettyhead (Feb 7, 2005)

Hydro- This is a nice article. Thanks for posting it.


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## amitabh (Dec 16, 2005)

*Algae still growing*

My plan: 

Shutdown T5 lights (2x39W)

Reduce photoperiod of T8 (2X60W) to 6 hrs. 

Observe for 3 days.

I cannot put myself to remove all affected leaves - simply too many of my plants are affected, it will hurt too much. Will definitely not use an algaecide so if this fails to work total blackout will be my only option. Dont want to do a full blackout just yet - afraid it will have a bad impact on my light-demanding plants, in particular the Alternatheras and Hemianthus lawn.

I have just ordered:

KNO3
KH2PO4
K2SO4

GH salt (magnesium and calcium based)
Tropica Master Grow

Tetra test PO4
Tetra test Fe

6 x SAE
6 x Otos

I am not giving up this battle yet! :icon_evil 

Questions: 

1) should I shutdown CO2 during this period?
2) dosing of ferts? 2 days ago I added usual mix of traces - Ferreal and Floreal - should I do a large water change now to reduce amount of traces in water column?

_________________

amitabh


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## leemacnyc (Dec 28, 2005)

could possibly be diatomous algae, which is not an algea at all, and ferts have nothing to do with its growth,,,its from diatoms in your water....it is common in new tanks...i've recently posted in the main section regarding elimination treatments...from searching posts, i've determined it will go away on its own, and that otto's will eat it as well....don't think you need a blackout...


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## wapfish (Oct 14, 2005)

I'm starting to get something similiar in my tank also and am also pondering what to do. Mine is more green, though, and probably not exactly the same.

Is yours more on some type of plants than others? I've noticed this type of thing (ie algae preferring particular types of plants in the tank) tends to happen a lot. One of your pictures is of an infested sword. Mine also seems to like sword leaves (and dwarf sag). I'm guessing either or both of two things might be happening: 1) these particular plants are growing least robustly and therefore "leaking" nutrients more than others, whereupon the algae take advantage and colonize, or 2) there's something tasty about the different balance of nutrients these particular plants provide to an incipient algae colony. 


In addition to the excellent advice you've already been given, I'm also considering the following more speculative approaches:

Since swords are notorious iron requirers, I'm going to make the simplistic assumption that there's some sort of connection between this algae, which likes swords, and iron, and change my iron supplementation regimen to see if it makes a difference.

Radically changing the the tank temperature, either up or down, is something else I'm considering. While this by itself probably won't totally eliminate the algae, I'm suspicious that different types of algae might find it more difficult to grow at one extreme or the other of a temperature range. Hopefully this algae would be one of them.

Lastly, one final thing I'll try is reducing my light intensity by at least 50% and cutting back the hours (currently runnning 4wpg/11 hr daily).

These approaches are not completely speculative, at least to me. Some combination of them seemed to help me get rid of an earlier infestation of soft green beard algae. Since my current infestation isn't as bad as yours, however, and since I don't want to mess up the growing conditions right now, I'll wait a bit and see if I can't get the better of this algae with a little patience.


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## lumpyfunk (Dec 22, 2004)

looks like staghorn to me remove as much as as you can manually, don't worry if you have to take off a few leaves, the plants will bounce back. If you want to get mid evil on it you can dip the effected plants in a H2O2 solution until the algae turns color, usually to purple. Here is a link

I believe that American or Florida flag fish will eat the stuff as well


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## amitabh (Dec 16, 2005)

Thanks all for your replies, and especially thanks to wapfish for your in-depth post.

I have ordered some laterite spheres that are to be put in the substrate near the roots of demanding plants - swords, anubias, alternatheras etc. 

Will also soon be supplementing iron solution to water column, guided by Fe tests. 

Nitrates are in excess most of the time due to my large fauna. I suspect potassium and phosphate (and iron) to be limiting factors. 

Definitely these algae have a preference for my swords, which are now almost completely overgrown. In particular the long stems that the swords send out, that seem to be about to flower...

They also seem to thrive in the upper, high lit section of the tank, as well as in the current from the spraybars. 

My anubiuas, hemianthus, H. corymbosa are affected to a lesser extent. Interestingly, my Limnophila sessiliflora are totally *unaffected* - hence must be something in the regional nutritional balance in the tank that makes these hair algae / staghorn grow. 

Now they seem to have the upper edge in my tank and I am close to doing whatever I can to get rid of them. 

Regards, 

amitabh


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## Intros (Jan 28, 2006)

I have had this type of algae, especially on H. corimbosa's leaf. It was impossible to get rid of this algae with biological measures, so for the first time I used chemical measures. I used with succes the Protalon 707  without significant harmful effect on plants or fish. Of course the biological measures are the first line, but I was desperate because lack of results. By the way, your algae looks like the red type algae Compsopogon. It survives more in alkaline water, so an increase in your CO2 level to lower your pH (as your fish can tolerate) could help.


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