# Hair Algae is taking over my aquarium!



## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

Ugh! I've had a planted 150 gal aquarium set up for 2 years now. It took me a good 6 months to get the lighting set up to where it was adequate for my tank.
4 X 54watt @ 6700k from 07:00-20:00. I have 2 X 250watt @ 20,000k for a total of 5 hours. I have each running for 3 hours, but they overlap for an hour. I love this lighting because it brings out some great coloration of the fish.

CO2 Injection. CO2 from 22-28ppm

15 gorgeous discus
5 clown loaches -- snail control
15 nerite snails
16 cardinaltetras
3 cory cats

I've had a few bouts with algae, but have usually found a way to get through it. Mostly cyanobacteria, and occasional black beard. This time, I'm at my wit's end! I started to notice some hair algae about 3 weeks ago, and it has now gone out of control. 

I tried dosing with Algaefix, but lost a couple of nerites and stressed the others. 

I've tried dosing with Excel, but I'm not seeing much change yet: I've been at it with Excel for about one week. I have a large piece of driftwood that had a large exposed area during a 60gal water change on Monday. I scrubbed hairl algae off of it, then squirted that area with Excel, and the algae doesn't seem to be coming back in the sprayed area, though. 

I've manually cleaned off some of the plants, but it's hard/impossible to get to all of them. The 150gal is dimensions make it hard to reach everywhere, and the algae seems to grow back when I've rubbed it off of a plant.

I think that my tank is undernourished, and I've ordered nutrients needed from the following thread:
Dosing Regimen for the Planted Aquarium
Perhaps the nutrients were okay while the tank was new -- some of the nutrients that leached into the water have been exhausted. I've put fertilizer tabs on a somewhat regular basis -- about 2/3 months.

My pH, nitrites, nitrates, GH, etc, are all good.

My question: should "literally" cut my losses to start from a "semi-scratch" state? I mean, should I cut all of my plants down to the base, should I pull all of them out? I don't think that I can control it without getting rid of the current plants. I have a good-sized forest of jungle vals, and it is almost covered with the stuff -- I swear can almost see the hair algae grow from morning till evening!!! My jungle vals jungle is pretty cool, but it may have to be mowed down, I'm afraid.

My fish are happy,but I'm not -- I hate the look of the algae, plus, it's covering the beauty of the plants and driftwood.

H-E-L-P!!!!

Hector


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## williamsonaaron (Jan 27, 2010)

First order of business I think is to reduce your photo period down to 6 - 8 hours, then start dosing your plants the nutrients they need then you can move your photoperiod and light on/off times accordingly once you have desired plant growth and have reduced the algae growth. I had to do the same thing but I still wanted to be able to watch my fish so I installed some LED strips as moon lights from home depot. I use the moonlights 5-6 hours a day and have my growth lights on only 6 hours now. I'll post a picture in a minute of what the moon lights look like - also with the moon lights I see fish behaviors that I hadn't seen before.

Here's how one strip of these LED's can light up and 80 gallon 28inches high tank. I originally had 2 on there but it made it too bright and ruined the ambiance..


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## tuffgong (Apr 13, 2010)

I think you have the lights on for too long also. To clear up the algae tank wide you might want to go for a 3 day blackout. That should severely decimate the algae and with the reduced photo period keep the algae from coming back.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

:-(

Yep. Kinda figured I had too much light for too long. I'm thinking I could compromise a bit, though: replace the 20000k's with 6700k and replace the 6700k with 420 or 460 actinic lights? This would allow me to see the aquarium without adding more lights (?). I had the actinics in it when I first got it, but changed them out for the 6700's. If not 420 or 460, which ones would be less likely to promote algae growth?

H


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## williamsonaaron (Jan 27, 2010)

I hate the look of actinics on freshwater tanks.. especially freshwater planted tanks. I don't think you need to go this far.. just adjust your photo period - you can make it match when you will be viewing your aquarium. say turn on at 7am and then off at 10 am till 5 pm and then on from 5-10pm.. or whatever schedule fits your needs.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

Won't turning off the lights and then back on (more than once a day on a regular basis) affect the fish's diurnal cycle? Meaning -- metabolic and neuroendocrine-wise? 

I do like your general idea, though. I could have the actinics turn on while I'm gone and the photopic lights could be on when I'm around.  Actinics go on at 7:00, photopics could go on at 13:00, off at 20:00, and actinics off at 21:00. Capice?

Think I'll try that.

H


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## aquaman3000 (Oct 21, 2006)

With high light and Co2, your plants require nutrients to grow well and compete with the algae. You should be dosing your aquarium regularly, and root tabs won't cut that for enough nutrients in the water column. Algae is very opportunistic and will be able to take advantage of nutrient imbalances quickly. Once you get the ferts you ordered, begin a dosing regimen. The photo period can be up to ~8 hours with good ferts and Co2. Manually remove as much algae as you can, and you should start winning the battle, although not immediately.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

Aquaman,

Sounds like where I thought I needed to go. Manual scrubbing in a 150gal aquarium will not be fun. I'll trim some plants, though: fo-sho!!

H


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## ibanezfrelon (May 23, 2010)

I would leave only t5's in use , it would make things a lot easier.
It's a big tank so i guess good co2 suply is a challange.
How do you disolve co2?
You must never assume your co2 is good.
Give the plants what they need , good ferts , good co2 etc. ...and then algae won't grow.

With those high lights your plants co2 demand is high and you may not be able to meet the demand , even if it's on for only few hours a day.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

ibanezfrelon said:


> I would leave only t5's in use , it would make things a lot easier.
> It's a big tank so i guess good co2 suply is a challange.
> How do you disolve co2?
> You must never assume your co2 is good.
> ...


I NEVER assume assume CO2 is good. I calculate it about 5 days/week, and I calibrate my pH meter every month. I have a BS in biology and BA in chemistry 

CO2 is mixed into a chamber with a water pump that spins the water around, this is right after it leaves the XP4. It then travels about 3.5 feet in the hole before it is released into the tank. Thanks has plenty of circulation -- but not an excessive amount, so CO2 distributes well. 

I guess my main omission has been adding the powdered fertilizers, which I received yesterday. I've cut down a lot of the plants -- rubbing off all of that hair algae is almost impossible!! I've also adjusted the lights, and I've replaced the 20k's with 8k's. See how it goes from here!

h


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## Sharkfood (May 2, 2010)

The problem with CO2 is that it can vary greatly throughout the tank. Most people don't use the KH/pH chart to determine CO2 anymore, current conjecture being that method is not very reliable. Good current throughout the entire tank, or multiple injection sites is the best way to get good distribution. 

My guess is, as long as CO2 is good, and you're supplying NPK and traces, your problem will slowly go away if you cut your lighting significantly.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

Understood. With good circulation, though, you can accomplish good CO2 distribution. When I started using the KH/pH formula, I took water samples (with a large animal syringe) from 5 areas of the tank. They were all the same (+/- 3ppm). Nature always wants to be at an equilibrium, so I'm confident that CO2 is good/consistent. My problem has been NPK, traces, and too much lighting (recently). Just took some good conversations to get my head straightened out! Thanks, everyone, for your input -- no one made you take the time to write on this thread, and I appreciate it. 

H


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

Sharkfood: I forgot to ask. Which method do you use to calculate CO2?

H


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## acropora1981 (May 30, 2010)

just going to jump in here; Do you have a CO2 drop checker or no? The CO2/kh/ph chart thing only works for pure H2O and doesn't really apply to real world scenarios.

Its like a $15 peice of equipment that is PRICELESS. Basically you just turn up the CO2 until the bulb of the checker turns green. Oh, and you have to make your own solution for it because the directions on all of them are wrong (I know this makes very little sense).

When I started I was also relying on the chart, as I am an aquatic biologist and the chart made sense, but it really isn't at all sufficient. 

Check out this thread about drop checkers.

Also, even though it makes NO sense to me; adding phosphates and nitrates seems to control algae as well. From a biological standpoint, it seems illogical, but, it works.

Sorry if you already knew all this stuff...


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

I have yet to find article to totally convince me that drop checkers are that much better. It's one color or another. How high is high, and how low is low? Know what I mean? No true specificity. It's either safe, low, or high. How do I know what "safe" is? 15, 20, 25, or 30? Convince me. If you can, I'll make the switch. I know the KH/pH isn't super accurate, so I always err on going lower with CO2, not higher. 

H


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## acropora1981 (May 30, 2010)

C3H6O3 said:


> I have yet to find article to totally convince me that drop checkers are that much better. It's one color or another. How high is high, and how low is low? Know what I mean? No true specificity. It's either safe, low, or high. How do I know what "safe" is? 15, 20, 25, or 30? Convince me. If you can, I'll make the switch. I know the KH/pH isn't super accurate, so I always err on going lower with CO2, not higher.
> 
> H


I don't know that I can 'convince' you lol. Have you read the articles about how they work? You may be interested in the 'double drop checker' (made by GLA), it uses a reference solution so you can compare and get right in at 30 ppm (where you want to be). 'Unsafe' is getting up into 40-50 ppm. 30-40 ppm is right where it needs to be to maximize plant growth and minimize algae growth. You really can't 'err on the low side' for CO2 in a high light tank; you've got to get it right. There are a lot of people who used to use the kh/ph chart, but they found once they tried a drop checker that they were highly underfertilizing their tanks with CO2 using that chart. 

Also, the drop checkers use a specific reaction using a dKh 4 solution with ph indicator (bromthymol blue) in pure distilled water with baking soda added to make a stock 4 dKH sol'n. The pH of the solution is green at pH of 7, and this is how you know that you have around 30 ppm CO2 (CO2 diffuses into the drop checker, lowering the pH by a certain amount depending on the how much CO2 is in the aquarium, which changes the color of the bulb). If you wan't a full description of the process, see the article by hoppy or Tom Barr (I can't find it! Maybe Hoppy will interject here, or you can PM him - he invented them). Of course there are many shades of green which is why I recommended if you want a very accurate measure (not really nessessary) to get one of the double drop checkers from GLA.

In any case, the ph/kh chart has been found wanting. It truly isn't giving you any real world indication of your CO2 concentration. Many who were using it found they were very low on CO2 once they threw a drop checker on. Since you are having algae issues, I would say that you probably don't have enough CO2. For the $15 (ebay) it takes to setup a drop checker, why not throw one on for a few days and see if it stays blue or turns green during the day? Just make sure you use the dKH 4 solution you make from distilled water and baking soda if you get an ebay one - they all instruct to use aquarium water which is not the right way to go (it will give a completely different reading).

Also, see this thread and attached threads for making KH standards and calibrating innacurate test kits etc.

Finally, my 90 gallon tanks are heavily planted with HC and fast growing stems in the background, and I use up around 180-200 bubbles per minute (milwaukee regs/valves) in order to get the drop checker lime green. Are you anywhere in that range? For a 150 I imagine you might need in the range of 250-300 bubbles per minute.


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## Goldfish Care (Aug 4, 2010)

I have a problem with hair algae in my small container pond on my balcony. I've been able to remove most of it and eliminate the extra material that might be contributing to the extra nitrates but I don't know how to get it out of my Java Moss. I really like my Java Moss and don't want to start over. Is there anything I can do? It's impossible to pick it out.
It has been a great place for a few unexpected fry to grow though.


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## acropora1981 (May 30, 2010)

Goldfish Care said:


> I have a problem with hair algae in my small container pond on my balcony. I've been able to remove most of it and eliminate the extra material that might be contributing to the extra nitrates but I don't know how to get it out of my Java Moss. I really like my Java Moss and don't want to start over. Is there anything I can do? It's impossible to pick it out.
> It has been a great place for a few unexpected fry to grow though.


This is completely out of place on this thread.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

Agreed. What the hair algae was that about?! 

I've done all of the reading you recommended. Good stuff, and I'm sold. Gonna get a few drop checkers. Thanks for the links!!

The tank is already looking better. Im using proper nutrition. Have pruned a lot! More pruning to do, I'm afraid :-(. All that is left is the drop checkers. 

Thanks again. 
Hector.


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## C3H6O3 (Apr 9, 2010)

The tank is looking great again! Dosing nutrition on a regular basis now. 

I'm now only changing 45gal only 2X/week, and the water looks cleaner than ever. I'm now seeing the true advantage of having plants in a discus aquarium. 

Thanks for all of the advice, guys.

http://i860.photobucket.com/albums/ab166/hgrios/Aquarium/IMG_1337a.jpg

H


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