# The brown/gray hair algae sympathy picture thread



## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Brown/gray hair algae is on all my plants!! ARGH so ugly!!!!!


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

It's normal for a newly planted tank. Do you want me to take a picture of my new tank to make you feel better  ? It's also slammed with algae.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Yes! Please do, so I can see if my stuff is typical or not! 

How long does it take to go away?? Do I need to do anythign to it?


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

I'll post it today. I'm staying in the hotel today for a meeting. I'll take a pic. once I get home . 

You don't have to do anything just yet. Are the plants growing? After 3-4 weeks, usually I add a little nitrate (3-5ppm) and just a few drop of fleet enema (less than 0.2ppm). Once your plants are growing at their max rate, the new growth are usually algae free. For stem plants, you just need to get rid of the bottom and replant the tops once algae stop growing. Don't dose any micro (flourish or plantex) until all algaes are gone.

Don't get panicked when you see some of the plants look like crap (worse compared to when they arrived). They're still adapting. You'll get healthy new growth from them and it won't take long.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

What is fleet enema?  And how woudl you add nitrate? God I'm such a newbie!!


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Here is some of my algae  

On the baby tears









On the Wisteria









On the java fern









On whatever that is.. 









And an overall tank algae pic:


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Yes, those are normal. It may get worse. You dose nitrate with KNO3. Fleet enema is available at pharmacy (for constipation). People use this to dose Phosphate. For fertilizers (including KNO3) you can get at www.gregwatson.com

Read the fertilizer section on this link and download the calculator : 
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

ninoboy said:


> Yes, those are normal. It may get worse. You dose nitrate with KNO3. Fleet enema is available at pharmacy (for constipation). People use this to dose Phosphate. For fertilizers (including KNO3) you can get at www.gregwatson.com
> 
> Read the fertilizer section on this link and download the calculator :
> http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm


Hey, cool, so that is all normal? What should I expect as the tank ages and the appropriate bacteria develop? Will the algae just disappear?

Yikes, that is going to suck to have to buy enema stuff at the pharmacy  Is it on the shelf or what? I remember having to buy preperation-H (anal itch cream) for my dog once, and that was a bit odd 

Is there an easier way to get KNO3?


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## pphx459 (Jun 25, 2004)

aychamo said:


> Yikes, that is going to suck to have to buy enema stuff at the pharmacy  Is it on the shelf or what? I remember having to buy preperation-H (anal itch cream) for my dog once, and that was a bit odd
> 
> Is there an easier way to get KNO3?


LOL!

This scene looks all too familiar, except mine is going away, hopefully for good! I think my algae was caused by a nitrate spike, didn't get a chance to test for phosphates yet..

Btw.. Is that a lemon in there?


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

I hope your algae goe away quickly  

Yes, it's a lemon. Is it ok?


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Don't dose fleet enema yet until your algae problem gets better. Also, check test PO4 level also in your tank before doing it. Sometimes the PO4 from fish food is good enough for the first few months. Also some tap water contains PO4. Fleet enema is available on the shelves. Here's how it looks like :
http://www.homecaredelivered.com/ca...74&PHPSESSID=8161a8dd6ffd0dab753d697eb0e3320b

(FYI : 0.3ml of fleet enema increases PO4 level by 1ppm for each 10gl of water.


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## pphx459 (Jun 25, 2004)

aychamo said:


> I hope your algae goe away quickly
> 
> Yes, it's a lemon. Is it ok?


Thanks buddy! Hopefully it will be gone soon.

Honestly, I am not sure if it's ok. I assume you are using it to lower the PH?


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## Momotaro (Feb 21, 2003)

Patience is the key! The one shot looks like it could be staghorn algae. nothing to do there but wait. once the aquarium settles in and you get things balanced, that grey algae will go away.

My newer 20L is undergoing a bit of an algae outbreak. I am just sitting tight and waiting it out. It has been up for a couple of months, and I don't plan on fertilizing for another couple of months.

Mike


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Nino, I need your algae picture for moral support! 

Aychamo!


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

I just got home. The tank's glass is covered with algae so the photos are not that clear (some even green). 

This time I have more hair algae than the usual brown algae. Actualy, at first, there were a lot of brown algae but after one wipe, they haven't come back. Hair algae is getting worse though. Even the hairgrass was totally turned yellow on the first few days and now getting the green color back.

I'll get better photos after I receive all my plants and driftwoods. It's very late right now and I just want you to know that you're not alone  Be patient.

For more pic. you can go here : http://www.msnusers.com/webnino/30glhexagonjournal.msnw


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## Laith (Jul 7, 2004)

I'm very curious: what is that lemon for? :icon_conf 

Laith


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Laith said:


> I'm very curious: what is that lemon for? :icon_conf
> 
> Laith


I thought it was an aid for the fishs' diet? I think I was wrong  

---

Ninoboy, thank you for the picture! It's amazing that this stuff will go away!


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## IUnknown (Feb 5, 2003)

You can get Po4 and everything else online at www.gregwatson.com. Here is my journal of algae for the first month,


> The first couple of weeks I had a lot of problems with brush algae along the substrate. The brown color is probably diatoms caused by the silicate in the new gravel. The algae was probably caused more because of the crud in the tubing and filtration mentioned earlier, than the fine sand that was plugging up the substrate. The new substrate also needs time to develop the beneficial bacteria colonies so that it can breath.
> 
> 
> 
> ...


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## putty (Nov 19, 2003)

You guys are making me feel better about my newly started tank. I only have BBA. I love BBA.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Hey guys

Would very frequent water changes help eliminate the algae problem (perhaps 50% twice a week?) quicker?


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## putty (Nov 19, 2003)

Water changes never hurt. In case of BBA you would be removing roughly half the spores and in the case of other algae you would be removing roughly half of whatever nutrient they are thriving off.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Err, guys.... 

How screwed/stupid would I be if I had, say, put in roughtly a dozen fert tabs throughout the substrate when I first put my plants in?


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

well, I know some of my algae problems started from there also (now I have slight tint of green water but starting to clear up). I moved or replanted some plants around and I think I might stir the nutrients from the root tab into the water column.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

Hey guys!

I just want to touch base. It seems like my algae may be dying off. It is really brown now, and I can suck it up very easily with my gravel filter. What should I expect from here on out? Should I keep sucking it out with the gravel filter (while doing water changes) or let it run its own course?


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## putty (Nov 19, 2003)

Removing algea is a good idea, it will leave less organics in your tank when they die and decay. If you have the patience do so...its rewarding too, you will be able to see your tank getting cleaner.

Good luck.


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## smif (Mar 3, 2004)

*damn*, and I thought my algae problem was horrible :tongue: 

I had the really hardcore green hairy stuff that would multiply like bunnies. It sucked, because it got on my plants, and would drown out their light, thus killing them.

I think the best way to get rid of algae, is to never start. Run a UV filter like a month after your tank is set up (because you dont want to kill the beneficial bacteria as it is colonizing your tank), and you should be crystal clear from the on out. Maybe get a otto catfish to eat up what little makes it through the UV.

But yeah, high light + high nitrates = ugly stuff on your plants :icon_conf


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

smifBut yeah said:


> Not necessarily. In a new tank, algae could start from basically nothing. My tank has 0 nitrate, ammonia and phosphate when it all started.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

ARGH!! 

My algae was all but totally gone, and I got some new plants in and put them in, BOOM its back!!


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Hehe :icon_lol: Again, you're not alone. In a fairly new tank, the algae will kick right back when you disturb the substrate (I think some nutrients leach into the water). My tank was cleared from green water. A few days ago, my second order arrived and green water came right back. I was really pissed and ended up getting some wisteria from my other tank and float them in my new tank. After 3 days now, it almost clear again.


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## aychamo (Jun 27, 2004)

ninoboy said:


> Hehe :icon_lol: Again, you're not alone. In a fairly new tank, the algae will kick right back when you disturb the substrate (I think some nutrients leach into the water). My tank was cleared from green water. A few days ago, my second order arrived and green water came right back. I was really pissed and ended up getting some wisteria from my other tank and float them in my new tank. After 3 days now, it almost clear again.


lol, you and I should start "the brotherhood of the algae" because we seem to be going through this beastly overtaking in stride!


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