# Got algae!



## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay. I have the algae good so I think it's time to try and get rid of it. I have green spot algae, hair algae and two more. One it on the leaves of my slow growers and is brown with small hair like things. When a snail goes over it they leave a clean trail. The next I think is blue-green algae but I'm not sure. It has the color and is kinda like a sludge. It grows on the plants. If I grab it with tweezers the chunk of sludge will slide off the play easily and I can pull it out of the tank but now it's all over my java moss and is harder to get off that. 

Can anyone help me treat this? I hate it.

I have 80 watts over a 20H. But no reflectors and the fixture is just sitting on the top of the tank so I loose alot of light.

DIY co2. About 10-15 ppm.

Iron dosed with water change.

Nitrates, phosphates, macros dosed every second day.

Heavily planted.


I don't know what the phosphate levels are cause I don't have a test kit.

Help!!!

Thanks, Justin


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## amanda huggenkiss (Mar 3, 2004)

Hey Justin

How many hours of light does the tank get every day? 

And do you have a Nitrate test kit? Can you give us the reading? Could you take a water sample to your LFS to be tested for Phosphates (and Nitrates, if necessary)?

I would hold off on dosing Nitrates & Phosphates until you know what your levels are -- and _get some test kits!!_


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay I can test the nitrates tonight. I have that kit. I can't get to my lfs anytime soon so...
The lights are on a timer. On at 9 am and off at 9pm. So 12 hours. I can cut this down. I will also stop dosing for a bit. 

Will amano shrimp eat any of this crud?


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## amanda huggenkiss (Mar 3, 2004)

I think you should cut your light time down to about 10 hours/day, especially now that you're got that crazy 4wpg going!

And get your water tested as soon as possible. An imbalance in the nitrogen/phosphate relationship = algae, so you need to find out what those parameters are...


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay. I put the timer for 10 hours of light. I tested the nitrates and it reads less than 5ppm. For 5ppm is is supposed to be light pink and mine is almost totally clear.


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## amanda huggenkiss (Mar 3, 2004)

Well, ignoring this, your nitrate seems pretty low. I would keep dosing the nitrate, but hold off on the phosphate until you get it tested. Algaes love an excess of phosphate.

Your CO2 sounds good, and you now have a shorter light period, so if you can keep your nitrate up around 10ppm and your phosphate down around .5 or 1, you should be all set.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay I'll try that. But the problem with the nitrate dosing is that all the nitrate, phosphate and macros come as a mix in one bottle. I have to find another why to does the nitrate. For now I'll try to keep dosing to a min. 

Thanks.


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## trenac (Feb 15, 2004)

Justin...I agree with Amanda you need to get your P04 & N03 in balance. The best I have found to dose Nitrates is with a product called Green Light Stump Remover found at Lowes or Ace Hardware stores. A few other suggestions:
1) Increase C02 between 20-30 ppm.
2) Decrease lighting to 8-9 hours a day for two weeks.
3) Stop ferts for two weeks.
4) Decrease Iron dosing from weekly to bi-weekly or monthly. Over dosing iron can also cause algae outbreaks, I dose 2cc monthly.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay I'll try your suggestions. Do you recommend I add another diy bottle? I have one running currently. I'll decrease the hours of light and get some test kits etc. I just got my paycheck today so I'm also getting a 40 breeder.


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## Clone (Feb 29, 2004)

trenac said:


> The best I have found to dose Nitrates is with a product called Green Light Stump Remover found at Lowes or Ace Hardware stores.


What are the dosing guidelines for the stump remover?


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## trenac (Feb 15, 2004)

clone...Here is a link for dosing: http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nitrate.htm


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## trenac (Feb 15, 2004)

Justin...I use only one bottle on my 20G high tank to get 22ppm of C02. What type & much of each ingredent are you using for the mixture? How are you injecting the C02 into the water?


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

Dont forget, its not always how many bottles you use to get an elevated level but also the water parameters and how it utilizes the CO2. 
An extra bottle wont do diddly if your KH/GH is outta whack... sometimes buffering the water is the only way for the CO2 to be effective.


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## Buck (Oct 13, 2002)

> Okay I'll try your suggestions. Do you recommend I add another diy bottle? I have one running currently. I'll decrease the hours of light and get some test kits etc. I just got my paycheck today so I'm also getting a 40 breeder.


Dont ya think you should get this tank straightened out before you go buying another tank ? :icon_frow


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## Clone (Feb 29, 2004)

Thanks for the link


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Um. For the co2 I use 2 cups of sugar and 1/2 tablespoon of yeast then I fill with water to the part where the bottle starts to narrow. I buffer my kh to 60ppm but I'm going to check it again tonight to make sure I have the ppm of co2 right.

About the 40 gallon. I'm not setting it up right away. It's just that for a limited time I can get the tank for $40 canadian. Better than the regular price of about $150.


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## amanda huggenkiss (Mar 3, 2004)

So. Very. Jealous. :icon_frow


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Yeah. But man... the only algae that is bugging me is the Blue Green Algae. It spreads so fast. Now my hygro is the only plant without it. I get some out by hand but It takes a while.

Do you think I could do a blackout or something?


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay my original ph and kh are 7.4 and 70ppm. So that means I have about 15ppm of co2 according to Chuck's calculator.But my co2 starts off faster and decreases with the age of the yeast mixture. I would guess it starts at about 25ppm and eventually gets down to about 10ppm.


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## amanda huggenkiss (Mar 3, 2004)

Hey Justin, have you seen this site? It's a good listing of different types of algae, possible causes & treatments.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

I checked it out. It said blue-green algae usually forms with bad water quality. I'm gonna start doing daily waterchanges of 25%. I also stopped dosing nutrients and turned the lights down to 8 hours a day. Man this stuff spreads quickly. Maybe I should move the fish and use that Maracyn stuff.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay. Today I trimmed off all the java moss with blue green algae on it. Threw that out. Then I took out all my anacharis with it and washed it off under running water. Then I threw out all the water lily with blue green algae in its roots. Then I pulled all the hair algae off the drift wood. So now my tank has relatively little algae. I hope this will slow it down some since now it needs to re-infest the tank. I totally stopped dosing and did a water change this morning. About 25%. The lights are only on for 8 hours. I'm also going to cut back on feeding the fish. Anything else you recommend? I can't up my nitrates because the only thing I have to dose them also ups the phosphate levels. Right now they are below 5ppm nitrates.

Thanks, Justin


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## fedge (Mar 4, 2004)

Algae battles take TIME.. may take weeks to get rid off.. don't be impatient. I know its REALLY HARD.. I am very very very impatient about it also. I am in the throws of algae now. I bleached my plants and some died off slightly as a result. It didn't help. you removed the infested spots GOOD..if you can order some ferts from gregwatson.com and get some good test kits.. get the ferts in balance (if you got good light.still up) Let teh plants do thier work against the algae and wait..


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## Wasserpest (Jun 12, 2003)

Washing your plants and/or throwing them out is not the most efficient way to suppress algae.

Regarding BGA... 

1) Stop them with maracyn (half concentration). No need to move any fish.
2) Raise NO3 to between 5 and 10 ppm. Yes you only have a bottle of one-fits-all. Yes you need to order some KNO3 or buy stump remover to do this.
3) Adding CO2 (another bottle) would probably help. Watch the pH though to avoid fish losses.
4) Make sure there are no stagnant areas in your tank. If your filter doesn't cut it, perhaps add a tiny powerhead.

That should take care of your BGA much better.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

Okay. I'll do my best to do what you recommend.
Thanks.


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## jart (Jan 17, 2003)

justin you can buy your ferts kno3 and k2so4; also chelated trace mix from steve's hydroponics in sackville. 

steve's hydroponics
[email protected]
www.hydroponics.com (web site for parent company)
902-865-7764


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## tommyboy22481 (Mar 24, 2004)

If your timer can do it, add a hour seista in the middle of the day. Algae needs a long time to get up to speed and adding the hour of darkness in the middle of the day slows it down. shouldn't hurt the plants any.


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

I can do it. But should I make it so the lights are on for 4, off for 1, then on for 4? So they will still be on for 8 hours in total?


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## tommyboy22481 (Mar 24, 2004)

yep, and I would actually recommend a seista of 2-3 hours, with 5-6 hours of light before and after. This works because "algae are not as biologically advanced as plants and need a long and relatively uninterrupted period of light to function properly."


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## jcgd (Feb 18, 2004)

So like on at 8am. Off at 1pm for storm. Hehe. On at 4pm and off at 9? So ten hours of light?


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## trenac (Feb 15, 2004)

Justin...I got rid of my BGA in one of my tanks by just keeping it cut out. At first I did a major pruning session then afterwards I just keep it cut out as it reappeared and eventually it disappeared altogether. I have thought about using Maracyn but I have heard that it will kill your biological filter and this scares me a bit. 

Wasserpest...Can you comment on Maracyn killing the biological filter?


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## fedge (Mar 4, 2004)

tommyboy22481 said:


> yep, and I would actually recommend a seista of 2-3 hours, with 5-6 hours of light before and after. This works because "algae are not as biologically advanced as plants and need a long and relatively uninterrupted period of light to function properly."


GEEZ I think I will have to try that out myself.. my tank is pretty virgin (planted less than a month) and I just got my ferts balanced.. but algae still gaining..!!!


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