# I'm low light/low tech with CO2, why do I have so much algae?



## thefisherman (Oct 15, 2011)

hey jag, sorry to hear about your algea bloom. plantbrain recommended this site. its very informative, i hope it helps!

http://aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/


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## Mxx (Dec 29, 2010)

Diatoms actually thrive in low light. Your tank has only been established for a very short time though. Get some Otos, and wait it out, or maybe consider adding something in your filter to absorb silica, which I believe Seachem phosphate remover does, but you might want to check that.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

The diatoms aren't really the issue, they're easily vacced off the sand - it's really the staghorn that's bothering me. It's only on the vals though.

It has only been established for a while but all the filter material, water, and substrate was from a previous tank so it's really been going for over 3 months now. I have otos and they're super fat, I don't even want to know what the tank would look like without them lol. Maybe I need some shrimp.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

I recently transferred plants substrate and equipment from a 46 gallon bowfront that has been up for years to a 57 gallon tank. My lights and ferts essentially stayed the same. Both tanks are the same height. Anyway, I all of a sudden had to fight thread and staghorn algae and I never had those before. I've had the other common ones but beat them all except BBA. Now the thread and staghorn are gone without doing much but manually removing it and maybe more frequent water changes for awhile. I am back to weekly 40 to 50 percent water changes.

I think you are in the same situation, the tank has to become established which, takes more time than we like to allow. I think if you do normal maintenance ie...water changes, manual removal it will work itself out. It's just a matter of time in your situation I think. Just make sure you have sufficient macros and nitrates available to keep the plants healthy.


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## takadi (Dec 13, 2010)

Test for other nutrients, I"m guess you might have a phosphate problem


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## n00dl3 (Jan 26, 2008)

Staghorn comes from lack of water flow in your tank. You'll need to add more current in the tank. Diatom comes from lack of an established tank. You'll need to manually wipe it down or get algae eaters. Green spot algae is common... everyone gets it... but usually there is imbalance in your tank of either lack of co2 or light. Your case might be lack of constant co2 flow.


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## hbosman (Oct 5, 2006)

Green Spot is the easiest to cure...add more kh2po4.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

Hmm... Lack of water flow is an issue in my tank. The staghorn is only really overtaking the old leaves on the vals I got recently, so I'll trim them off and see if I can hook up my other powerhead to increase the flow a bit. So much clutter in my tank :|

The green spot is only really on the glass, I scraped it off with a razorblade last night. The diatoms have calmed down quite a bit and I think the BBA is on its way out too. The outbreak must've happened when I stirred up my sand to do a big rescape. Thanks everyone.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

Looks like it might be something in my water... maybe a phosphate problem after all. 

I thought I was in the clear of algae. I cleaned out my filter (properly), cleaned my sand, scrubbed down all the glass, manually removed all the staghorn I could, trimmed every little bit of yucky piece off my plants, added another bottle of DIY CO2 and started dosing Excel at full strength again... and all was good for a few days... and then the algae bloom came back with a vengeance. 

I literally have every type of algae under the sun. BBA, GSA, diatoms, staghorn... and now there is cyano blooming on my sand, and green thread algae on my cyprus. None of it is particularly bad... it's just... there. Lol.

I am at a loss for what to do right now. I can't afford a RO/DI water system... nor probably any time in the near future. I have listed this setup for sale on a local classified site and hopefully I can just break it down and, combining that with Christmas money, start from scratch with a PROPER setup. No more DIY CO2 and tap water. This is frustrating. I have no test kit right now, so I'll have to get a new one soon too.


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## Fluidmachine (Oct 20, 2011)

Jaguar said:


> I am at a loss for what to do right now. I can't afford a RO/DI water system... nor probably any time in the near future. *I have listed this setup for sale on a local classified site and hopefully I can just break it down and, combining that with Christmas money, start from scratch with a PROPER setup.* No more DIY CO2 and tap water. This is frustrating. I have no test kit right now, so I'll have to get a new one soon too.


What are you all selling?


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## narhay (Feb 28, 2007)

Did your timer get reset and is the light staying on at all hours?


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

The tank/light/stand, and maybe some of the accessories and fish. I hate selling filters set up with BB so I'm keeping that.

And... no, I don't run my lights on a timer, I just take a mental note of what time I turned the light on and turn it off 7-9 hours later. I've seen so many people complain about faulty timers, I haven't gotten one yet haha.


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## takadi (Dec 13, 2010)

Have you addressed the flow problem yet? Sometimes all it takes is one of those circulator pumps to get things in equilibrium


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

Yep. I added another Maxi Jet 600 and it's blowing my vals around like a hurricane lol. It's not a LOT of algae, I just know it's in there, so it's really bugging me. The anubias is really the only plant hurting, it's covered in BBA and the leaves are turning yellow.


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## herns (May 6, 2008)

thefisherman said:


> http://aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/



Nice reference site for algae.


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## Jaguar (Oct 13, 2011)

I gave it a good read before, thanks... really think it was just getting light for too long. I started closing the curtains in the mornings and reduced light time to 7-8 hours. It wasn't getting any better or worse so I tore the entire tank apart, butchered my wisteria and vals and removed what algae I could manually... tank looks pretty crummy now but I'm not too concerned because I'm trying to sell the darn thing anyways.


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