# Algae killing plants!



## bigpow (May 24, 2004)

Cyanobacteria 

Do a search on it, you'll see plenty of solutions


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

I thought cynobacteria was nearly impossible to peel off by hand? Also this stuff isn't blue at all, from any angle.

My mom has (what I thought to be) CB in one of her tanks. It's more like a bluish-green film that you can't pull or rub off with your finger, but rather you have to bleach/scrub it. The stuff in my tank I can pull/slide off of leaves with my fingers easily.


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## Ibn (Nov 19, 2003)

Yup, had to deal w/that when I restarted my tank after a few months of neglect. That stuff covered everything, from the sand, to the plants, and finally even the acrylic! Had to redo the tank again, after most of the plants died off (tank by window and no fertilization isn't a good thing :icon_conf ). 

Did a massive overhaul on it. I took out as much of it I could find (really easy to do since it comes out in sheets, even w/some of the sand along) and changed all the water (left enough to cover the substrate). Then I replanted whatever survived (crypts made it through amazingly), and added additional plants to the tank. Spent the next couple of days eradicating any signs of it by smaller water changes and sucking up any of the leftovers. No signs of it since then.


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

Well I've never put ferts in the tank. I've been waiting until the plants were able to settle in before I did, but since it's been a couple months I don't see how it could hurt.

Thing is this fert stuff confuses me. I used to think the standard recommended dosings of Flourish was all that is needed for a tank like mine (2 WPG, no sunlight), but not only are there 10 different kinds of Flourish, but that doesn't seem like it would be all I would need to add to keep the plants happy...

But at this point I don't think adding ferts would help the situation much. What do y'all think?


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## sn8k (May 24, 2004)

I think the best thing you can do is start getting your NO3 (10ppm), PO4(1ppm), K (15-20ppm) in sync before adding ferts... if any of these is out of wack then you can almost guarntee algae problems will strike.

HTH


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

Yeah, I _still_ need to get a Phosphate test. I've been having lots of trouble finding one, and was going to get one as soon as the new LFS opened up in my area, but it looks like I might need to BigAl's it before my plants die off.

What's "K"?


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## papa_loa (Oct 17, 2004)

"K" is the periodic table abbreviation for Potassium. It's a critical ingredient for healthy plants - they use for a whole bunch of things, not least for ensuring efficient photosynthesis.


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## trenac (Feb 15, 2004)

I had green slime algae, which is what it sounds like you have. I got rid of mine by using a product called Maracyn (e-mycin), some people use the 4 day blackout method. However if your tank is not inbalance then it will most than likely come back, so I would work on getting your tank inbalance along with getting rid of the algae. Once you do start adding ferts the main ones you will need is a general fert (Seachem flourish), micros (Seachem trace) & iron. You may also have to add nitrates, potassium etc. separately.


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## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

trenac is right on with those two solutions (how's it going trenac). Either one will wipe out your BGA problem. I've found that Maracyn (aka Erythromycin - an antibiotic) will work if you dose 200mg/10 gallons for five days, however it might affect some types of plants adversely. It stunted my Riccia for about a week but it's coming back just fine now. The blackout method also works but you don't get to see your tank for five days, which drives me nuts :icon_conf But like trenac said, make sure you get your nutrients in line or the problem will just reappear in time.


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

Well, because I will be unable to get ahold of a Potas. test kit until next Thursday at the soonest, would taking the Maracyn route be best until I can get the K (it must be K, because everything else is at optimum levels) back under control?


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## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

Don't worry about potassium test kits. There are no accurate kits made with the possible exception of a LaMotte or Hach kit, and they are very expensive. You don't really need to worry about potassium, it is not known to be associated with algae outbreaks. As long as you dose nitrates with *K*NO3 and/or phosphates with *K*H2P04 your tank should have plenty of potassium - and it's hard to overdose it. Maracyn shouldn't hurt anything and sure wiped out my BGA. I would go ahead and try it. Not to worry, you'll have time after the Maracyn dosing to get the nutrients in line.


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

Thanks for clearing that up!

But how am I supposed to know how much Phosphates to dose without a test kit?

As for Nitrates, my tank has been 10 PPM for as long as it's been cycled. I don't need it above 10, do I?


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## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

I was refering to _potassium_ in my previous post. You should definitely monitor your _phosphate_ levels. I suggest trying to keep them around .5 ppm or a little less. Seachem makes a good phosphate test kit that I use. Your nitrates are just fine at 10 ppm. Looks like you're on your way


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

DOH! :tongue: 

Thanks again!


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

Well today was the last dose of Maracyn for the tank. It doesn't appear to have had any effect on the BGA though (it hasn't dissapeared, but it hasn't spread either). 

I dunno how I can clean the stuff out of the gravel (I use eco-complete), but I should be able to get some time to clean it off the plants tommrow. I take it the stuff won't be going away on it's own, and I'll have to remove it by hand, correct?


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## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

That's possible. Can you still smell it? It should have a rather unpleasant odor. I noticed that, after I dosed mine with Maracyn, any of it left in the tank was dead and no longer smelled like BGA. You may just need to vac it all up and dust it off of the leaves of you plants, then do a 50% water change. If it was BGA there's no way it survived a 5 day Maracyn dosing. I just thought of something though - did you have charcoal in your filters? If so, it's possible that the charcoal could have absorbed some of the medication before it could act on the algae.


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## TheSmJ (Sep 4, 2004)

Nope, havent used charcoal for the past couple of months, actually.

I'll clean it out tommrow/this weekend and post the results. Thanks for all the help so far guys! My tank would have become a smelly green blob if it wern't for you.


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## ninoboy (Jan 26, 2004)

Hope it worked out well roud: Also make sure it was Maracyn and not Maracyn II. I made this mistake before, duh :icon_roll Maracyn II doesn't kill BGA.


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## travis (Nov 17, 2004)

heh heh Ninoboy - I made a similar mistake with Maracyn for Saltwater. The boxes don't mention on the outside very closely whether they are fresh or saltwater (just pics of different fish) and I got the saltwater by accident. It made my water gritty yellow for a couple of days but otherwise had no harmful effects. Same basic ingredients, it just doesn't dissolve well in fresh water :icon_redf


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