# My algae battle- hair algae



## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

Since setting up my tank last January I have been battling algae in some form or another. I believe it is green hair algae that took over my tank. Im sure the problem has been my lighting. I have a finnex planted+ and haven't been using co2. I was running the light 8hrs a day, then 6. Now I run the t8 bulb that came with the tank for 30 minutes then the planted+ kicks on and I run that for 2.5 hrs then turn it off and leave the t8 on for 30 minutes then the lights are off for 3 hrs then I repeat the process. 7hrs on total with a three hour break. This has seemed to have stopped new algae growth and spreading but all of the hair algae remained. 

Ssooooo instead off continuing to try to scrape it off, I pulled pretty much all the plants that that had the algae and manually removed as much as I could on anything else. 

I just added dwarf hair grass and did a sort of rescape. 

What I am wondering from you all is, do you think this will work to eliminate future algae issues?

Here are the tanks stats with before and after pics below:

20long
Finnex planted+ (7hrs with a 3 hr break)
17w t8
ecocomplete
Penguin biowheel 
Eheim surface skimmer
4ml excell daily
Pps-pro daily
Weekly water changes
Amn 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 20ppm
Unsure of kh/dh but I use ro water

Dwarf hairgrass 
Java fern
Anubias various x3
Anacharis
Wisteria
Ludwiga repens
Xmas moss

Rummynose tetra x5
Cardinal tetra x5
Gold gourami 3"
3 Amano shrimp
2 otocinclus'
3 nerite snails

First two are before and the other three are after. Cloudy as heck because of pulling so many plants out of there. 

Recap: based on what I wrote do you think I will have continued algae issues? Notice anything stupid I am doing?


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## BBradbury (Nov 8, 2010)

*Algae Battle*

Hello Will...

Smaller tanks need the water changed more often than a larger one. Work up to the point you're changing half every week. Twice a week would be better. This will guarantee a stable water chemistry and keep algae under control. Lighting is the most important to a plant. Aquarium plants are tropical and used to long hours of daylight. Put the light on a timer and leave it. I have roughly the same plants you do and the light is on 12 hours and off 12. Reduce the fish food/ferts and keep the tank water cleaner.

B


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## jrill (Nov 20, 2013)

You have too much light. Raise the planted + or put gray widow screen under it.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

I have been doing 25% water changes weekly since setting the tank. I just did a 50% when rescaping. I think a contributing problem has been feeding amounts. I feed them everyday and have read this can contribute to algae growth because of nitrates and phosphates. I don't have the ability to raise the light because of tank placement. I will consider a shade. Timers are coming for the lights and I know that I need co2 pretty soon. I have been looking at the aquatech regulator for a paintball co2 canister. Look like a good option.


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## vig (Aug 4, 2015)

\


Willcooper said:


> I have been doing 25% water changes weekly since setting the tank. I just did a 50% when rescaping. I think a contributing problem has been feeding amounts. I feed them everyday and have read this can contribute to algae growth because of nitrates and phosphates. I don't have the ability to raise the light because of tank placement. I will consider a shade. Timers are coming for the lights and I know that I need co2 pretty soon. I have been looking at the aquatech regulator for a paintball co2 canister. Look like a good option.


From what I read, you can feed them daily, but just cut down the portion. Low growth plants or small amount of plants means that your tank's nutrition will be abundant. Food + waste will be turned into nutrition for your plants. Abundant nutrition with no plants to consume will promote algae growth. Also reduce the amount of light. Add algae eater.

I'm battling similar but much worst scenario.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

From what I read, you can feed them daily, but just cut down the portion. Low growth plants or small amount of plants means that your tank's nutrition will be abundant. Food + waste will be turned into nutrition for your plants. Abundant nutrition with no plants to consume will promote algae growth. Also reduce the amount of light. Add algae eater.

I'm battling similar but much worst scenario.[/QUOTE]

I have reduced the amount of light (about a week ago) from 8hrs with the planted+ to 5 hrs and run the t8 for an additional 2 hrs. I will see how this lighting effects algae growth. I have also cut down slightly on pps pro dosing from everyday to every other day. Hopefully that is a good balance. I also added the dwarf hair grass (hopefully it will carpet this time) to cover the substrate so fish waste will be consumed more readily. A problem I had with the previous scape was that there was a lot of open substrate underneath the plants where fish waste wasn't being broken down very well.

I have reduced the amount of light (about a week ago) from 8hrs with the planted+ to 5 hrs and run the t8 for an additional 2 hrs. I will see how this lighting effects algae growth. I have also cut down slightly on pps pro dosing from everyday to every other day. Hopefully that is a good balance. I also added the dwarf hair grass (hopefully it will carpet this time) to cover the substrate so fish waste will be consumed more readily. A problem I had with the previous scape was that there was a lot of open substrate underneath the plants where fish waste wasn't being broken down very well.[/QUOTE]

I'm such a tard. I couldn't figure out how to quote someone and then couldn't figure out how to delete my post. ?


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

I have reduced the amount of light (about a week ago) from 8hrs with the planted+ to 5 hrs and run the t8 for an additional 2 hrs. I will see how this lighting effects algae growth. I have also cut down slightly on pps pro dosing from everyday to every other day. Hopefully that is a good balance. I also added the dwarf hair grass (hopefully it will carpet this time) to cover the substrate so fish waste will be consumed more readily. A problem I had with the previous scape was that there was a lot of open substrate underneath the plants where fish waste wasn't being broken down very well.


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## Archaeofish (Dec 18, 2014)

A planted plus on a 20 long will probably put you in the high light range--likely too high without CO2, even if you cut down the photo period. Another option for cutting down on the light is to add a bunch of floating plants. Unfortunately Dwarf Hairgrass is usually considered difficult to grow without CO2--it needs high light, but if it doesn't also get a lot of CO2, its a recipe for algae. Ludwigia repens is the other plant that needs more light. Most of the rest of your plants are lower light plants that will do fine even if you have a lot of floaters. 

I have a Finnex Fugeray (which produces less light than a planted+) on a 29 gallon with about 18 inches between the light and the substrate, and even I still have some algae on slow growers, probably due to an excess of light.


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## nfrog (Oct 14, 2013)

Hi,
I found my balance by letting my tank get overgrown then trimming back to acceptable levels. I for the most part stopped dosing and use only a slight amount of CO2. 
I see you have wisteria, let it go. Mine grows fast and my faster plants eat all the nutrients that my fish produce.
I do 5% water change every 2 weeks and am on a 10 hour very high 65k light source. 
I have no algae and don't clean my glass nor have I needed to clean my glass or had any algae for over a year.
I just have a balance; tons of plants and tons of fish.
76 degrees, mixed dirt and various substrate 40% of space taken by plants
25 small fish, 2 coreys a large angel and snails in a 55 
David in Denver


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

Thank you for the reply. I guess co2 is going to be needed quicker than I was hoping. I knew I needed it but was hoping I could get by with shortened photo periods.

Thoughts on temporarily running diy co2 and using the Eheim skimmer as a diffuser? I was thinking of just running the tube into the top of the inlet on the skimmer. Sad but too broke at the moment to even buy a proper diffuser.

I tried to add it to the skimmer and it was sucking out the co2 at an insane amount. Prob 30/40bps. Way to much. I positioned a diy co2 diffuser in front of the outlet of the skimmer. I have seen a .6/.8 drop in ph so I think I am in a reasonable co2 range


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

You have too much light and not enough plants. These are your main problems. Adding CO2 does not magically make algae disappear. You need far more plants.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

Yeah I know I need more plants. I just tore out a jungle of wisteria and ludwiga that was covered in hair algae and this is what I was left with. I will be getting more plants. I just have to wait. Since reducing the light I have seen no new algae growth, which I did about two weeks before ripping out the plants. Hopefully the addition of co2 will help the plants in there grow faster to absorb excess nutrients (especially the anacharis). I am really hoping I can get the hairgrass to carpet so I can scape around that.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

So I added some bacopa and crypt wendtii and 2 more nerite snails. I have also added a diy co2 setup that is achieving about 15 ppm. Since then (about ten days) the wisteria, ludwigia, and anacharis have grown very well. The dwarf hairgrass has also seemed to have past the brown/melt stage and is getting greener. Although I don't see much spreading. I will be adding a second reactor to try and achieve a higher concentration of co2. Pardon the water spots on the glass.


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## Willcooper (May 31, 2015)

Update: two weeks after adding co2

Growth has been amazballs. Over 6" of growth with the wisteria and ludwigia! Drop checker is a nice light green

Algae is pretty much gone with only minimal growth on the sides of the glass.


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