# black hair algae and brown algae



## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The brown stuff is most likely diatom algae, which affects many newly planted tanks. It seems to just go away on its own if the tank water is well fertilized. The black stuff is probably black brush algae, which likes fast moving water, high CO2 water that moves fast. Strangely enough, if the CO2 is up around 30 ppm and stable there during the days, the black brush algae doesn't usually show up. Once it does show up, remove all you can by hand - trim the worst leaves, scrap totally infested plants, and even dunk the plants and hard parts in a bleach solution (1 part bleach to 20 parts water). I found it only took 20 seconds to a minute at most to kill the stuff - it turns white when it dies. Then, replant and rescape and increase your CO2 until the fish get distressed, then back off a bit on it. Some sensitive plants will die back from the bleach, but if they have good roots they usually regrow.


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## actioncia (Jun 9, 2005)

Wow! That stuff really worked. I've noticed some black hair algae on some of my Glosso. I cutted one plantlet and took it out soaked in 1:20 bleach water, no longer algae.


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## andy1_52 (Mar 26, 2006)

I need to do this trick tonight... I overdosed my phosphates and not I have horrible black algae... I'll post some pics of it here in a second.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

andy1_52 said:


> I need to do this trick tonight... I overdosed my phosphates and not I have horrible black algae... I'll post some pics of it here in a second.


Overdosing phosphates won't cause black brush algae. If you add enough phosphates, when you haven't been doing so before, and add enough nitrate, again, if you weren't doing so before, the faster plant growth may reduce the CO2 in the tank below 30 ppm, and that does seem to start BBA. You need to monitor the CO2 ppm regularly to avoid this, or just periodically raise it a bit and see if the fish are distressed by that. If so, back it back down to where it was before. If not, keep slowly raising it and monitoring the fish to find where the maximum is before the fish get distressed.


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## andy1_52 (Mar 26, 2006)

I was keeping my CO2 at 30 ppm with the automated controller. Then I dosed 4 ppm phosphate and 40 ppm nitrate because I was told by an employee at my local LFS to keep it at a 1-10 ratio of phosphates and nitrates.

How high should I keep my phosphates and nitrates? I'm going to put more plants in my tank asap too compete for nutrients to maybe help the problem. I'm also still going to do a bleach bath for all of my plants too just so I can get rid of the stuff right away.


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## Hoppy (Dec 24, 2005)

The unfortunate news is that a pH controller does not ensure that you have enough CO2 in the water. First, the relationship of KH and pH to ppm CO2 is a theoretical one based on a water system having only carbonates contributing to KH and only CO2 contributing to pH. Our tank water rarely is that simple. It seems like all errors due to more complex water make the CO2 calculation show more CO2 that you really have. Next, pH probes are very sensitive to electrical interferrence, so if the light is on, the ballast and wiring transmit electrical interferrence, as does any cooling fan in the hood, and any heater in the water or any powerhead in the water. Finally KH does not remain constant with time - plants can and do use some of the carbonates for carbon, reducing the KH and evaporation of water raises the KH. So, in my opinion the best way to "measure" CO2 is to use the fish as a go - no-go meter. If you have too much CO2 the fish get distressed, stay at the top of the tank, lose color, etc. If the fish are comfortable, you don't have too much CO2. So, I am now just edging up the bubble rate until I see signs that some of the fish are unhappy, then I edge it back down a bit. I try to do this weekly. As a result I now use more CO2 in the tank than I ever did before, except when I mistakenly got way too high and killed a few fish.


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## andy1_52 (Mar 26, 2006)

so should I increase or decrease my CO2?


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