# Who has Algae?



## LeTigra (Nov 25, 2008)

Well I'm low tech and I get algae. But I think thats due to low/fluctuating CO2 levels because I DON'T have CO2 injection. Swings and roundabouts......


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## @[email protected] (Oct 24, 2007)

i had an immense and never-ending bloom of cyanobacteria in my low-tech eclipse three. after some converting to high-tech, it got better. but didnt go away.
its about balance. the proportions are what matters, not the individual amounts.


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## KDahlin (Mar 12, 2007)

If you want plants, not a lot of work, and want to enjoy your fish, Tom Barr's non-CO2 method might be for you: http://www.barrreport.com/articles/433-non-co2-methods.html. 

There are a lot of nice low-light plants.


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## plantbrain (Dec 15, 2003)

Less light, less CO2=> less algae.

Try floating plants also. They block light, take CO2 from the air, sop up nutrients from the water etc.

Generally most fail due to poor care with too much light. 
That leads to poor CO2, and CO2 seems to kill moe fish and cause algae more than 90-95% of all other issues combined.

But it's CO2 that's the issue, it's the user:thumbsup:

We fail, not the method. Clearly plenty do great with it.
Perhaps you have had trouble, but if you define the goals better and accept some trade offs, you can generally fine a good happy medium.

Stick with moderately low light, lots of easy to grow plants, that are easy to trim etc.

Add some floaters etc.

It's only as hard as you make it out to be.
You can also grow the plants emergent in the filter sections etc.

Regards, 
Tom Barr


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## ka NUK (Nov 29, 2008)

manofmanyfish said:


> .... Because I'm back to the point of shutting it all down and selling it.


Let me know, I have a hard time resisting a great deal :biggrin:

About the algae:
I currently have a planted tank, which had a BGA outbreak recently. I upped CO2, fertilizers and water changes. I seem to have won the battle in that tank for the last month or so. 2.5 w/gal of light in this tank. The 4 otos in the tank take care of everything else.

I also own an African cichlid tank without plants, but with a huge sump/biofilter when compared to the bio load. I get a little algae. The glass gets cleaned every second week, durng the water change. I let it grow everywhere else, as the fish enjoy snacking on it and keep it in check. Never had an uncontrollable algae episode in this tank (except after and automatic feder catastrophe). About 2 w/gal ...which is way more than needed for that tank.

Also have a well-stocked, seasonal, mid-sized pond (10' x 5' x 2') plus creek, waterfall, large biofilter and a lot of floating plants which cover about 50% of the pond surface. The pond is built into a SE facing slope and gets virtually no shade. I didn't even get a spring algae bloom in the pond last seaon. Admittedly that may have been due to the barley straw I used in the filter. With the amount of light the pond gets it really should be "pea soup". I think the floaters really help keep that under control.

It's all about finding the right balance of bioload, filtration, fertilizers, and lighting. Once I figure these parametrs out (and each setup seems to be unique) algae is not really a problem. If it does take off you know something is not quite right ...like a decomposing cichlid stuck behind a rock :icon_redf

Remember that a _little bit_ of algae is not a bad thing. Keep slugging away at it, when you get it figured out the results are worth the effort.

ka NUK


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Diatom algae: I experienced this in 2 0f 3 new tanks I set up. One was high tech and one was low tech. Otocats got rid of it.

Green spot algae: I have seen residues of this in my low light and high tech tanks on leaves that are closest to the light but not on glass or plastic.

Green Dust Algae: I have traces of this on my low tech tanks. It is supposed to go away with time, but it seems to stick around indefinitely, If I try and scrape it off, it comes back. If I leave it alone it sticks on my glass like hard water stains. 

The only tank so far that has proven to be virtually algae free, is the DIY C02 15 gallon tank that I set up almost a year ago, heavily planted(including floating riccia, cardamine lyrata), 2 (23 watt 6500K compact fluorescent bulbs), Estimative dosing at 50% of recommended, and 50% weekly water changes.

I agree with KDahlin, based on my experience. My second best tanks(only second to the Aquasoil tank) with respect to little or no algae is my two 5 gallon tanks as per Tom Barr's low tech setup link. What really surprised me was the literal plant growth explosion right off the bat. This really got me off guard as I expected plant growth to be much slower considering there was no c02 injection and it was low light.


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## manofmanyfish (Mar 31, 2008)

Clearly some folks have made a career out of a hobby. Some people know more about this hobby than most people know about their profession. I'm not one of those people. Do we all have to learn that much to survive here? I'm sure I don't know how to digest the advice I get on these forums and turn it into success. I've tried and failed. The advice becomes conflicting and contradicting. I feel that I have found myself in over my head and I'm a reasonably intelligent person. Maybe I under estimated the "dedication" that this hobby requires to be successful. I just don't know what to do. I really have to reevaluate the whole thing, which I will.

What are my options?

1.) Pick myself up and keep trying to find the answers. What makes this difficult is that I'm not sure that I want to anymore. I mean if I manage to get it to stabilize, I'm told that the high-tech method is such a fragile state that if I over feed one time or have a power outage or let the CO2 run out.....look out!!

2.) Drop back to low-tech. How do I get there from here? Do I simply cut the wattage in half, turn off the ferts and the CO2, and replace my plants with low light species? Or do I have shut it all down, empty all contents and start with potting soil and the Diana Walstad method?

3.) Remove all plants, install non living (plastic) objects. As long as I don't overfeed the fish, keep light low enough to prevent major algae issues, and keep the tank clean, I should be able to keep the aquarium.

4.) Sell it all and get a dog.


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## kotoeloncat (Apr 12, 2006)

uh, theres no such thing as a tank without algae

its just a matter of quantity.


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

kotoeloncat said:


> uh, theres no such thing as a tank without algae
> 
> its just a matter of quantity.


Hehe, that's exactly right.

My low tech tanks are usually overrun by hair algae. My medium tech tanks with CO2 and ferts don't have too many issues, but like k said, no such thing as a tank without algae.


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## lovingHDTV (Oct 15, 2008)

manofmanyfish said:


> Clearly some folks have made a career out of a hobby. Some people know more about this hobby than most people know about their profession. I'm not one of those people. Do we all have to learn that much to survive here? I'm sure I don't know how to digest the advice I get on these forums and turn it into success. I've tried and failed. The advice becomes conflicting and contradicting. I feel that I have found myself in over my head and I'm a reasonably intelligent person. Maybe I under estimated the "dedication" that this hobby requires to be successful. I just don't know what to do. I really have to reevaluate the whole thing, which I will.
> 
> What are my options?
> 
> ...


Um don't go the dog route, they take WAY more effort than an aquarium.


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## fish dork (Jan 13, 2008)

I currently have BBA, GSA, and BGA. Oh and Clado. I just keep it at bay by making sure to watch my ferts and light. If it starts to get bad... the lights get cut back. And yes a dog is also a lot of work. I have 2 of those and a cat (luckily all 3 are algae free!) I enjoy the science experiment side of these high tech tanks though too... I try to tell people that when they see my tank and say "Oooo, I need one of those". It is not without work, that's for sure. But the payoff of a nice looking tank and watching the fish in the created habitat is well worth it.


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## Arakkis (Dec 7, 2007)

I have a lot of plant tanks which are all are on high output lights (4~6wpg) which are on 24 hours a day. Over the years I have found certian inverts to eat up such problems, but certian types are difficult to get rid of like hair algae of which only a few select species can get rid of enough to the point where it's no noticable anymore. It's never truely gone but it is manageable. The only hard part is that certian species don't do well in certian pH, GH, etc of which you have to fiddle with.


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## EdTheEdge (Jan 25, 2007)

Me me me! I got algae!


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## h2osanity (Sep 19, 2008)

Everyone has to find the balance of what they want out of the hobby and the time they are willing to spend to achieve it. I am not into the hobby for kudos, I read all of the stuff I should be doing to have one of those great award winning competition tanks and said forget it. 
I don't have the lifestyle or patience to do daily dosing either. I have a fish tank with plants not a planted tank with fish so maybe I shouldn't qualify here..:icon_roll I had issues when concentrating on the plants and had fish suffer for it so I quit worrying about the green stuff-my fish are not disposable.

I do have algae growing on my driftwood and rocks that my shrimp and otos love to graze on so why would I eliminate it? I have to scrape the glass once in a while mostly when I do water changes. I have eliminated everything one by one that takes any kind of time. I do 20% water changes once a week and prune when I need to-though sometimes it is twice a week. No dosing, no additives anymore and DIY CO2 that I change once a month or so. My starting water parameters would be considered a nightmare if I went high tech so why bother to fight it? 
It can work, and be a relaxing hobby- maybe you need to adjust your expectations a bit but don't give up.


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## Trio123 (Nov 5, 2008)

I have a 10 gallon that I never touch other than weekly water changes (I am not exagerating). I dont scrape the glass, I dont have algae of any kind, I dont touch it. It has a betta, two cory cats (had two african dwarf frogs), and five nerite snails. The plants are a crypts that grows like crazy, a floating hunk of hornwort that is full and green, and a large patch of java moss... what the tank has is balance and that is easier to achieve with low light plants. 
I also have a hi tech 65 that is a pain in the butt but it is the tank that gets all the ooos and aaahhhs so I stick with it... 
And hey, I know more about the aquatic ecosystem management thank you... oh I guess my profession is a bit related isnt it? :wink:
Good luck in whatever you decide.


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## Homer_Simpson (May 10, 2007)

Trio123 said:


> I have a 10 gallon that I never touch other than weekly water changes (I am not exagerating). I dont scrape the glass, I dont have algae of any kind, I dont touch it. It has a betta, two cory cats (had two african dwarf frogs), and five nerite snails. The plants are a crypts that grows like crazy, a floating hunk of hornwort that is full and green, and a large patch of java moss... what the tank has is balance and that is easier to achieve with low light plants.
> I also have a hi tech 65 that is a pain in the butt but it is the tank that gets all the ooos and aaahhhs so I stick with it...
> And hey, I know more about the aquatic ecosystem management thank you... oh I guess my profession is a bit related isnt it? :wink:
> Good luck in whatever you decide.



That is amazing! If you don't mind me asking, how long has your 10 gallon been up? I had tanks that started off 100% algae free, immaculate crytal clear water spotless lush green plants, and then after 3-6 months, algae began to creep in without warning and in some form or another. The only exception to date, been a year now, is my DIY C02 15 gallon tank with ADA Aquasoil 2, and 2 23 Watt 6500 compact fluorescent bulbs.


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## Trio123 (Nov 5, 2008)

Homer_Simpson said:


> That is amazing! If you don't mind me asking, how long has your 10 gallon been up? I had tanks that started off 100% algae free, immaculate crytal clear water spotless lush green plants, and then after 3-6 months, algae began to creep in without warning and in some form or another. The only exception to date, been a year now, is my DIY C02 15 gallon tank with ADA Aquasoil 2, and 2 23 Watt 6500 compact fluorescent bulbs.


I set it up as a quarentine for my 65 back in January, decided I hated quarentines and turned it into a tank for my betta and got some frogs. So almost a year. The tank isnt spectacular but here is a pic, the tank is my scrap plant tank also, so dont mind the brazilian sword and banana plants their just in there temporarily while I figure out what to do with them.

ps that crypt had three leaves when I bought it back in August. Notice that it is sending up baby crypts around its base... I think crypts are a great plant if you want a low tech planted tank.


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## Manda99 (Apr 30, 2008)

I hate algae. :icon_evil

Right now, I've got a BGA bloom in my 1.5 gallon desk tank. It's a low-tech tank. There's a (9 watt, maybe?) desk lamp over it and no ferts or co2. It just has one inhabitant - a sparkling gourami. And one plant - some sort of Anubia. I just started a black out yesterday and I'm worried the fish might be dead when I uncover. He's not been look so healthy lately any way.

What was supposed to be my high tech tank was overrun with algae when I tried to go high tech. And my loaches basically went comatose no matter what I did with my co2 and airstones and everything else. When my co2 was on, my loaches were not doing well and my algae issues totally went out of control. I'm back to low-tech now - 26 w over 14 gallons and no ferts or anything and appear to be almost entirely algae free. And my plants look gorgeous and my fish are happy. I'm scared to turn the lights and co2 back on... even though I've got buckets on money invested in the pressurized co2 components and dry ferts. 

My other tank is a low-tech ADA Mini-L. I think it's 13 w (?) over 8ish gallons. I've got a tiny bit of some sort of blackish algae growing alone some of the plant leaves. No ferts or co2 in that tank either. It's not enough to bother me overly much and the Nerites and Otos take good care of it.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

I have found that steady levels of co2 ~30ppm is the key to an algea free tank. Since this is set up on a solenoid and is constant, it is much more accurate then my EI dosing ever has been (really, how accurate ar those little spoons day in and day out). Since the introduction of pressurized co2 I have erradicated ALL algeas EXCEPT GSA/GDA I believe that they are an uncontrollable byproduct of a higher light tank no matter what (tom what do you say about that).


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## MrJG (Feb 21, 2007)

manofmanyfish: Without knowing too much about the tanks size, bulb type/wattage, CO2, etc folks aren't going to be able to give you specific ideas to turn things around to a tank you can enjoy as opposed to fighting algae all the time. 

If you are content with the plant species that will do well in low light by all means do it. Cut the light, no ferts, no co2. Growing a tank in takes a little longer but the good thing is everything is slower developing so if you notice algae it can be a tad easier to ward off. Honestly I'm really glad that my first planted tank HAD to be a low light tank due to it being a hex. It taught me quite a bit. Granted it doesn't have any stem plants in it I enjoy it just as much if not more than my high light tanks. All I do is a water change every 2-3 weeks and scrape a tiny bit of algae off the glass at the same time. Feed the fish/shrimp lightly 2 times a week. Just about any type of planted tank set up for an extended length of time is going to have some form of algae, its just a matter of getting it under control to acceptable levels.
I recently posted this tank on the forum for the first time even though its been running since 06? In its current look its been up and stable since Feb. this year and I haven't touched a thing. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/low-tech-forum/77660-mrjgs-10g-hex.html I will admit there is some GSA build-up on some of the older nana 'petite' leaves but it doesn't bug me one bit.

Low light isn't bad. Just slower and you have to adjust your goals.


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## Naja002 (Oct 12, 2005)

bsmith782 said:


> I have found that steady levels of co2 ~30ppm is the key to an algea free tank. Since this is set up on a solenoid and is constant, it is much more accurate then my EI dosing ever has been (really, how accurate ar those little spoons day in and day out). Since the introduction of pressurized co2 I have erradicated ALL algeas EXCEPT GSA/GDA I believe that they are an uncontrollable byproduct of a higher light tank no matter what (tom what do you say about that).


I agree, except for the GSA--you might be right, but I haven't thrown in the towel on that one yet. :thumbsup:


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## KDahlin (Mar 12, 2007)

bsmith782 said:


> I have found that steady levels of co2 ~30ppm is the key to an algea free tank.


Steady levels is easy, the trick is making sure the CO2 is well distributed. I'm still trying to work this out on my tanks.


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## bsmith (Jan 8, 2007)

When you figure it out LMK, ill buy the beer!!! 



Naja002 said:


> I agree, except for the GSA--you might be right, but I haven't thrown in the towel on that one yet. :thumbsup:


What kind of filter are you using and are you using a powerhead of any kind?



KDahlin said:


> Steady levels is easy, the trick is making sure the CO2 is well distributed. I'm still trying to work this out on my tanks.


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## derekz734 (Dec 18, 2008)

Less light has been suggested but the thing is, not all plants that you have might grow as well with lower light ... There's lots of things you can do to reduce algae but I think making it go away entirely is very hard and most people including me never make that work... I've seen a lot of tanks and very few were absolutely free of algae... I wouldn't worry about it too much though because so long as it's kept to a reasonable amount there's no harm done.


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## amp (Dec 2, 2008)

Algae is a necessary evil in the planted tank IME, I dont think any tank Iv ever kept was algae free, its just impossible. Adding pressurized CO2 to my current tank has really helped. My BBA algae seems to be in its last days, the GSA is dieing off the plants and I had some weird pink algae, almost marine like, thats dieing off too. I do have a very small amount of what looks like green hair algae that came in on some new plants that the CO2 seems to have a good effect on. It looked like it was pearling a little yesterday so I'll have to keep an eye on it. I also have some GDA & GSP on the back glass, but it doesnt really bother me, if it just stays there I fine with it.


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