# Algae and Water Flow Question



## Natty (Apr 2, 2008)

I have this issue where the area where my powerhead is pushing at seem to be developing more algae issue, especially thread/hair algae?

The powerhead pushes CO2 bubbles across my tank.

The area in question is on the bottom part of my moss.


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## Bk828 (Mar 11, 2008)

natty natty 3 days and still no help... tisk tisk tisk

Ill take a stab at this..

So basically what you are saying is that the moss which is in the direct flow of the powerhead is having algae issues??
Do you happen to know your co2 level? how often do you dose ferts/how often do you do water changes? 

Ive had moss before in direct flow and it actually helped the moss grow a bit more and not collect algae/poop/fish food. So perhaps something is not in balance in your tank.


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## Soujirou (Jun 16, 2008)

I think it may be that the CO2 concentration is highest there so if you were to get algae anywhere it would be there. Plus moss is notorious for getting hair algae.

My guess would be excess nutrients and my solution would be to stick more plants in there or decrease your dosing regimen. I only use root tabs so I couldn't help you much on the latter.


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

Soujirou said:


> I think it may be that the CO2 concentration is highest there so if you were to get algae anywhere it would be there.


What is this based on?


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## Soujirou (Jun 16, 2008)

Mmm, because I'm assuming the CO2 is injected in front of the powerhead in order for it to push the bubbles across the tank.


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## mpodolan (Mar 27, 2007)

I meant that your statement implied that algae would thrive in the area with the highest CO2 concentration. Why would this be the case?


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## Soujirou (Jun 16, 2008)

I believe the thread/hair algae Natty is describing is particularly difficult to get rid of because it thrives in the same conditions that plants do. My riccia had the same problem and no matter how much it grew it and how much algae I removed, the algae always grew longer than the riccia. It has only disappeared since I added more stem plants to the tank.

CO2 usually gets rid of algae by allowing plants to outcompete it for nutrients. For plants that can grow well without CO2 like moss, I am unsure of how much it affects its growth rate and the algae may respond better since it grows better in conditions that normal plants thrive in. Basically in a one on one match up, I don't think moss can beat hair/thread algae. This is probably why they are afflicted by it. I think adding more stem plants to the tank will reduce the nutrients in the water and the algae will die off hopefully.

I could be wrong though, the powerhead may be at the top of the tank, and the moss may be at the bottom, in which case perhaps there is little flow there and mulm, fish food, etc are building up on the substrate and allowing algae to grow. But it is usually a different type of algae that grows on the ground.


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