# Type and fix for this algae??



## awesometim1 (Oct 31, 2013)

Hello, My planted tank has been running for about 6 months now, but a specific type of algae has taken over my hc and Monte Carlo. Could anyone please identify it and help me correct the issue that is causing the algae?

Specs
- 20 Gallon
- pressurized co2 ~2-2.5 bps
- nilocg Thrive
- flourish excel 3ml daily 































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## Quagulator (May 4, 2015)

Algae in the Planted Aquarium-- Guitarfish

looks like Cladophora to me. 

The cause is a light:nutrient:CO2 unbalance. I think you have let your tank go too far, so some decent elbow grease is needed to get on top of the algal growth....

Remove as much as possible manually, H2O2 spot treat what's left, perform large and frequent water changes to remove excess nutrients, think "reset". 
Turn up the CO2, reduce photo period to 6 hours a day, ensure enough CO2 is dissolved as the lights come on. 

What type of lights are you using? make/model/spectrum?


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## jeffkrol (Jun 5, 2013)

Freshwater Algae Types: An Illustrated Guide - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish

looks most like Cladophoria to me.......


> Cladophora algae
> Cladophora is a branching, green filamentous alga, that forms a moss like structure. This algae doesn't appear to be slimy. Threads are very strong and very thin. It grows on rocks and submersed wood exposed to direct light, and in extreme cases will grow on plants also. Usually it tends to stay on one spot, which makes it easy to remove. Comb it and dose more CO2. In a case where Cladophora takes over the grassy plants, mow the plants like the lawn. No algae eater is known to eat this kind of algae.


Hair algae is usually finer and wispier, at least in my tanks...


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## awesometim1 (Oct 31, 2013)

Oh wow ok. Looks like I’m gonna have a hard time removing this algae... thank you for your responses. H202 in my experience did nothing to the algae so I’m guessing I’m screwed. I’m going to try and remove my Marimo ball and see what happens. 


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I’m using beamswork led DA


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## ipkiss (Aug 9, 2011)

Hi awesometim1,

From the looks of that full tank shot, you have way too much light for whatever co2 you are supplying. Like @Quagulator said, the elbow grease to get rid of the existing algae is unavoidable unless all that green glass is something you wanted. Going forward, you would benefit greatly from getting a dimmer for that beamswork and cutting down both intensity AND photoperiod for the immediate future. Then also what was mentioned, reevaluate how you’re getting that co2 in to really optimize it as best as you can. Of course, minding the fish. CO2 is much more than slapping in a diffuser and pumping 2bps. There should be a decent amount of thought involved in how it’s diffused, maximized, and spread throughout the tank. See how your plants and algae respond with each change you do. After things get a better balance , then, slowly increase light if you have plants that seemingly need more. Granted, you need a bit higher light for your plant choice, but right now, it’s all wasted on algae. Get that under control first - maybe even at the expense of some plants, otherwise u may end up losing the entire tank.


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