# Please help with solving my algae mystery!



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Algae has been a never ending battle in my tank for a few years. I've upgraded this, and changed that, tested everything I can think of.....and I still haven't been able to get rid of it!

I've got many kinds of algae:


Black brush algae covers my leaves, driftwood and rocks. I also have this other brush-like algae that is almost a turquoise color...not sure if that's the same? The turquoise is actually kind of pretty, as it moves kind of silvery in the water current.
Then I have the lovely green dust algae that I'm constantly scraping off my glass every week.
Staghorn is on several of my sword plants.
Some sort of green fuzz on a lot of my crypto.
And then I have a thick green mat that grows on the substrate, that I assume is blue green algae, but it's not really slimy, it's more fuzzy and thick. When I pick it up, it clings onto my substrate. So I end up throwing a lot of the top layer of my substrate out. Is that blue green algae?
And some sort of filament algae
It sounds like I'm completely inexperienced or this is a new tank, right? This ecosystem is over 10 years old, with upgrading to bigger tanks over the years. And I've had tanks all of my life! But this has always been my problem I cannot quite tackle.


Tank & Water Stats:


55 gal
Lighting - Finnex Planted+ 24/7 LED (I do not use the 24 hour cycle mode. I put it on max for 10 hrs a day. I used to use the 24 hr mode when I first got it, and it made the algae worse, so I switched to max for 10 hrs. Then I turn it to all dark blue at night.)
Dosing method - Estimated Index, using GLA's fertilizers. I stopped adding nitrates because they got too high (80-100ppm).
Substrate - Eco Complete
Co2 injection - drop checker is usually a turquoise in the morning, and then emerald green throughout the day. I added Co2 a year ago in hopes of it taking care of the algae, but nope. I'm using the actual solution (not water) in the drop checker.
SunSun Canister Filter HW303B
Water circulation - power head and spraybar (outtake of the filter) is on the right side of the tank. And intake of the filter is on the left side of the tank. Co2 diffusion sits right under the power head.
Fish - 6 mollies, 2 clown loaches, 2 tetras and 1 a-hole, oh, I mean red tailed shark
pH 7.6
temp 78F
ammonia - 0
nitrites - 0
nitrates - 30-40ppm (sometimes 60ppm)
phosphate - 0 (no matter how often I add phosphate, it always reads 0)
gH - 11d
kH - 5d
50% water changes every week.
What am I missing? What do I need to change here? TIA! TIA! TIA!

Bump: And i just noticed my title under my name as "algae grower." Oh, so appropriate! lol


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> Algae has been a never ending battle in my tank for a few years. I've upgraded this, and changed that, tested everything I can think of.....and I still haven't been able to get rid of it!
> 
> I've got many kinds of algae:
> 
> ...




Light light light. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...24-7-planted-par-lux-kelvin-pur-readings.html

I'm guessing you are at 18" debth from light to substrate. It's a pretty powerful light especially at 18" on max setting. If you are doing co2 you need to ensure 30ppm by the time the lights come on. Test with ph pen and kh readings at that time. Also how is the flow in your tank? You want good flow to ensure the co2 is evenly distributed. Place the drop checker at opposite end of tank where co2 comes in and also ph check that side.

One thing that really sticks out is you say phosphates are at 0. You should not be reading 0. Most likely your testing is bad so get another gh test kit. If you are at 0 then that really bad as plants need phosphates. It's a very important nutrient. Do you have some kind of phosphate remover in your filtration? This sounds to be the case and you need to remove it. Could be like phosguard or something. Plants need this. And could explain the issue. You typically want a 10:1 nitratehosphate ratio. So 20 nitrate to 2 phosphate. You need to really ensure your correct level of phosphate and get to the bottom of it. 

For the time being drop your photoperiod to 7 hours till you figure out the issue which hopefully I have helped. Then dose two times the amount of excel or metricide to help kill and rid the algae. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> Light light light. http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/1...24-7-planted-par-lux-kelvin-pur-readings.html
> 
> I'm guessing you are at 18" debth from light to substrate. It's a pretty powerful light especially at 18" on max setting. If you are doing co2 you need to ensure 30ppm by the time the lights come on. Test with ph pen and kh readings at that time. Also how is the flow in your tank? You want good flow to ensure the co2 is evenly distributed. Place the drop checker at opposite end of tank where co2 comes in and also ph check that side.
> 
> ...


I do have the drop checker on the opposite end and it's emerald green. But I don't think it's green at the beginning of the day. I'll move my Co2 timer to start earlier.

I have a powerhead and outake spray bar on the right side of my tank, and then the drop checker and intake on the left side. However, my Co2 is injected through a GLA ceramic stone diffuser that sits right under the power head. I can see the bubbles going pretty far over in the current. Even though the drop checker reads that the Co2 is good, should I still switch to an inline reactor?

Yes, I haven't had phosphates in years! I keep adding it, but the test keeps coming up as 0. I use API Phosphate test kit and it doesn't expire until 2019. I don't have any phosphate remover in the filter. I have Fluval Biomax rings biomedia, activated charcoal and filter floss. I've been adding GLA's KH2PO4 Mono Potassium Phosphate every other day (EI dosing), yet my test always read zero. I guess it may just be the test solution? I'll see about ordering a different brand.


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> I do have the drop checker on the opposite end and it's emerald green. But I don't think it's green at the beginning of the day. I'll move my Co2 timer to start earlier.
> 
> I have a powerhead and outake spray bar on the right side of my tank, and then the drop checker and intake on the left side. However, my Co2 is injected through a GLA ceramic stone diffuser that sits right under the power head. I can see the bubbles going pretty far over in the current. Even though the drop checker reads that the Co2 is good, should I still switch to an inline reactor?
> 
> Yes, I haven't had phosphates in years! I keep adding it, but the test keeps coming up as 0. I use API Phosphate test kit and it doesn't expire until 2019. I don't have any phosphate remover in the filter. I have Fluval Biomax rings biomedia, activated charcoal and filter floss. I've been adding GLA's KH2PO4 Mono Potassium Phosphate every other day (EI dosing), yet my test always read zero. I guess it may just be the test solution? I'll see about ordering a different brand.




A reactor is a better diffusion method but not saying that is your issue. Check your ph and hk readings as soon as light come on to get a good idea of your co2 level. Drop checker is usually delayed about an hour or two. I would turn on co2 a bit earlier to ensure you are at 30ppm by the time lights come on. 

Something is not right with you reading 0 phosphates. Knock the two bottle caps together for a good 30 seconds then ensure they are shaken another minute. Then add bottle solution number one. The shake a bit. Then add solution 2 then shake again. There is no way you should be reading 0. Like I said until you can figure out issue I would lessen your photoperiod. Get another test kit. 

You should not have any activated charcoal I assume you mean carbon? You should not have any in a planted aquarium as that removes a little fertilizers also. You should not need any chemical filtration but Purigen is fine to have. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## frenziedpace (Dec 17, 2016)

Photoperiod seems long.
A lot of slow growing plants?
Have a pic?


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> A reactor is a better diffusion method but not saying that is your issue. Check your ph and hk readings as soon as light come on to get a good idea of your co2 level. Drop checker is usually delayed about an hour or two. I would turn on co2 a bit earlier to ensure you are at 30ppm by the time lights come on.
> 
> Something is not right with you reading 0 phosphates. Knock the two bottle caps together for a good 30 seconds then ensure they are shaken another minute. Then add bottle solution number one. The shake a bit. Then add solution 2 then shake again. There is no way you should be reading 0. Like I said until you can figure out issue I would lessen your photoperiod. Get another test kit.
> 
> ...


I'll definitely check the ph & kh in the morning and report!

The instructions didn't say to shake the bottles, so I was hoping that was it. I did a lot of shaking of each bottles and the test tube. And still got 0!  Wonder if I should increase my dosage...

Oh yes, I meant carbon. I interchange the names of the two often. lol So I need to take out the carbon? Yikes! Had no idea! I hope that fixes this!


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> I'll definitely check the ph & kh in the morning and report!
> 
> The instructions didn't say to shake the bottles, so I was hoping that was it. I did a lot of shaking of each bottles and the test tube. And still got 0!  Wonder if I should increase my dosage...
> 
> Oh yes, I meant carbon. I interchange the names of the two often. lol So I need to take out the carbon? Yikes! Had no idea! I hope that fixes this!




Can you take one more test and take a pic and post here please? Knock the two tops together for a few seconds. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Aqua99 (Jan 6, 2017)

I agree with @clownplanted... drop that photo period down to 7 and see what that does. I'd also ditch the blue at night (ok, maybe I'm the only one that believes the data about the correlation between blue or led "moonlight" and algae, but there's really nothing to lose).

My own personal findings: Anything that you can take out and scrub, remove and scrub. You can do various chemical soaks for plants given the plant and algae type. You can also spot treat with H2O2 and/or Excel/Metricide. Increased flow can help (possibly angling a powerhead, or lowering a circulation pump to place it benefits more). My final step was to lower my fert dosages (was doing EI) to a lower "modified EI". I can go back to full EI in my 20g today and practically tell you what day the staghorn will show up next week.


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

frenziedpace said:


> Photoperiod seems long.
> A lot of slow growing plants?
> Have a pic?



I thought that 10 hrs was ideal, but I'm going to reduce it starting tomorrow. I don't have slow growth, but I do end up with a lot of leaves falling off and floating at the top of my tank, which reduces my light reaching the bottom. I'm removing leaves every other day.

I should have taken a photo earlier. I spent 3 hours scraping algae and removing overgrown plants today. So it looks pretty now. It was after all of the work that I was fed up and made a thread. I've been doing this for so long that it's become a normal part of my routine. :/


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> I thought that 10 hrs was ideal, but I'm going to reduce it starting tomorrow. I don't have slow growth, but I do end up with a lot of leaves falling off and floating at the top of my tank, which reduces my light reaching the bottom. I'm removing leaves every other day.
> 
> I should have taken a photo earlier. I spent 3 hours scraping algae and removing overgrown plants today. So it looks pretty now. It was after all of the work that I was fed up and made a thread. I've been doing this for so long that it's become a normal part of my routine. :/




10 hours works only if everything is in balance with lots of plants and high co2. Put it this way. The longer and more light you have the less room for error you get or algae like in this case wins. The first thing to do is reduce their light(fuel) and figure out what is not in balance. Then you test, test, and test more till you figure out what it is. So first steps are remove the carbon and reduce light to 7 hours. Then get another test kit to test for phosphates. Keep in mind if anything is out of balance whether it be light, ferts, plant mass, etc you will get algae. How many plants do you have?


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## frenziedpace (Dec 17, 2016)

Sharper said:


> I thought that 10 hrs was ideal, but I'm going to reduce it starting tomorrow. I don't have slow growth, but I do end up with a lot of leaves falling off and floating at the top of my tank, which reduces my light reaching the bottom. I'm removing leaves every other day.


A lot of leaves falling off doesn't sound good.
Are leaves getting choked by algae or do you think its a nutrient deficiency?


----------



## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

@clownplanted has it about right, ditch the carbon and reduce photo-period.

Here is link for testing your phosphate test kit before you buy another.
You will need to waste 6 grams of KH2PO4 to make a solution though.
https://sites.google.com/site/aquaticplantfertilizer/home/test-kits-and-testing
This can be used to validate your test kit!

Check out the PO4 to low/high tab on this site too!


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Here is a photo of my test result. And here are a few photos of some examples of floating leaves. Some just have algae on them, and some have pinholes. It's all from the Hygrophila, which grows like crazy. It's not stunted or anything, but looses quite a few leaves on a regular basis. The other plants don't have this problem, but they do get covered in algae. The hygrophila is the only one that has the holes.


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

That looks like you have not even added bottle number 2 solution to the vile. Are you sure you are adding BOTH bottles to the test and not just bottle number one. I'll show you what I'm talking about. Just tested my 20L tank. First pic is of just adding bottle number 1 solution. Then last pic is after adding bottle number 2. First pic Looks exactly like yours and means one of two things. You either aren't adding the second test bottle to test or your bottle number two is BAD 























Wanted to add that getting drops out of bottle number 2 should be much harder than bottle one. Really thick. 

Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> 10 hours works only if everything is in balance with lots of plants and high co2. Put it this way. The longer and more light you have the less room for error you get or algae like in this case wins. The first thing to do is reduce their light(fuel) and figure out what is not in balance. Then you test, test, and test more till you figure out what it is. So first steps are remove the carbon and reduce light to 7 hours. Then get another test kit to test for phosphates. Keep in mind if anything is out of balance whether it be light, ferts, plant mass, etc you will get algae. How many plants do you have?
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


As far as how many plants - Here is a photo of it right now. I've taken out a lot of overgrowth today, though. And it's still settling from water change.








This is what it usually looks like (minus the cats). This was taken in January.








This is what it looked like when I moved everything from the 30gal to the 55gal over a year ago. Look how clean it was :crying:











Maryland Guppy said:


> @*clownplanted* has it about right, ditch the carbon and reduce photo-period.
> 
> Here is link for testing your phosphate test kit before you buy another.
> You will need to waste 6 grams of KH2PO4 to make a solution though.
> ...


I don't have a gram scale.  I had used an online calculation to figure out my EI dosing that didn't go by weight.


----------



## Stacy1 (Dec 15, 2016)

With never shaking the bottles up til now, chances are there is no way to get an accurate reading with that test kit. Time to get a new one. You're getting great advice, and have come to the right place to get things worked out. I haven't been here that long but have learned alot from the people on this forum. Just dont get discouraged and know youre on your way to finding balance. Good luck


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> That looks like you have not even added bottle number 2 solution to the vile. Are you sure you are adding BOTH bottles to the test and not just bottle number one. I'll show you what I'm talking about. Just tested my 20L tank. First pic is of just adding bottle number 1 solution. Then last pic is after adding bottle number 2. First pic Looks exactly like yours and means one of two things. You either aren't adding the second test bottle to test or your bottle number two is BAD
> 
> 
> 
> ...


Yes, I'm adding bottle #2. The drops are very thick, so I definitely have to squeeze harder to get them out. I can do a video of how I'm testing it, maybe?
Save​


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> Yes, I'm adding bottle #2. The drops are very thick, so I definitely have to squeeze harder to get them out. I can do a video of how I'm testing it, maybe?
> Save​




I believe you just looked exactly like the second bottle wasn't added. As mentioned since you never shook the bottles till now it will be off anyway. Here is what I would do if I were in your shoes

1. Most important reduce lighting to 7 hours
2. Do a 50% wc if you have not already to flush out all the extra ferts in water. 
3. Get a tds meter. This gives you an idea how much extra stuff is in the water. I tend to follow that if I get a +100 tds build up I do a 50% wc
4. Get the 1pt ph drop by lights on to ensure you are at 30ppm co2 for the plants right away
5. Cut back EI macros and micros to half dosing the recommended level. I feel you have a build up going on and with that plant mass I feel half EI level will be more than enough. Another indicator is your nitrates being that high that is just what you have been able to test imagine all the micros what their levels must be at
6. Get a bottle of metricide 14(throw away activator that comes with it). You need to at least double dose this which it will then act as an algacide and kill the algae. Do this for 14 days in a row not missing a day. During this time try and clean up as much algae as possible. Then it will be easier to make sure you see no new growth
7. Most importantly do not get frustrated but follow the above steps and I can assure you that you will defeat the algae. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

I'll go into more detail with the metricide. It's just like seachem excel but stronger. What you want to do is dilute it so that it's the same strength as excel. Simply mix 300ml of excel with 200ml distilled/RO water. Then double the seachem excel recommended dosing level. I actually triple doses the level when I fought algae with absolutely zero issues to any livestock. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

And I'll ad another point. I have that exact same light and with a plant mass about double what you have I was dosing half EI and was more than enough. I since added a second light for more light and now do full EI due to more consumption. But with just the finnex you will have more than enough with half EI. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> I believe you just looked exactly like the second bottle wasn't added. As mentioned since you never shook the bottles till now it will be off anyway. Here is what I would do if I were in your shoes
> 
> 1. Most important reduce lighting to 7 hours
> 2. Do a 50% wc if you have not already to flush out all the extra ferts in water.
> ...


I've already adjusted my solenoid and light timers. Solenoid comes on 3 hrs before lights and goes off 1 hr before lights off. Is that about right?

And I'll test ph & kh right when the lights come on. I've already removed the carbon. 50% wc already happened today. 

Do you get the tds meter on amazon?

Writing all this down. Looks like i have a lot to do tomorrow. Thanks so much for a to-do list!



clownplanted said:


> I'll go into more detail with the metricide. It's just like seachem excel but stronger. What you want to do is dilute it so that it's the same strength as excel. Simply mix 300ml of excel with 200ml distilled/RO water. Then double the seachem excel recommended dosing level. I actually triple doses the level when I fought algae with absolutely zero issues to any livestock.
> 
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


I actually have some left over excel on hand. Do I still dilute it, or just double or triple the usual dose? And every day for 14 days, right?


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> I've already adjusted my solenoid and light timers. Solenoid comes on 3 hrs before lights and goes off 1 hr before lights off. Is that about right?
> 
> And I'll test ph & kh right when the lights come on. I've already removed the carbon. 50% wc already happened today.
> 
> ...




You are on the right track. With excel no need to dilute. I just mention metricide as it's a much cheaper option if you do not already have excel. Excel double what the dosage says. And yes 14 days everyday. 

Tds meter you can get on Amazon or eekbay. Got mine on eekbay. Just search for top rated or top seller depending on what site you get from. 

And yes sounds right for your co2. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

@Sharper I'm having a hard time believing the PO4 test kit is bad.:frown2:

Since you don't have a scale I think I have a way to test this.

1 gallon of water and 1 teaspoon of KH2PO4. Mix well.
This is like 5.something grams or so.

Add 4ml of this solution to another 1 gallon of water and you should have a 1ppm solution of PO4 to test with.
4ml would be about 4/5ths of an API test tube relative to the 5ml mark.

Add another 4ml to the same gallon to test for 2ppm.

At least this will prove your test kit.


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> You are on the right track. With excel no need to dilute. I just mention metricide as it's a much cheaper option if you do not already have excel. Excel double what the dosage says. And yes 14 days everyday.
> 
> Tds meter you can get on Amazon or eekbay. Got mine on eekbay. Just search for top rated or top seller depending on what site you get from.
> 
> ...


The lights just came on and the pH is 6.8 (was 7.6 yesterday evening). kH is still the same at 5d



Maryland Guppy said:


> @*Sharper* I'm having a hard time believing the PO4 test kit is bad.:frown2:
> 
> Since you don't have a scale I think I have a way to test this.
> 
> ...


I'm definitely going to try this! Thanks!
Save​


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Maryland Guppy said:


> @*Sharper* I'm having a hard time believing the PO4 test kit is bad.:frown2:
> 
> Since you don't have a scale I think I have a way to test this.
> 
> ...


Well my measurements must have been off, but it looks like my test kit works! No need to buy another one. So this means that it was reading correctly as 0ppm for the tank. I can only assume it was the carbon in my filter removing it? I took it out yesterday, so I hope that helps.







Save​


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> Well my measurements must have been off, but it looks like my test kit works! No need to buy another one. So this means that it was reading correctly as 0ppm for the tank. I can only assume it was the carbon in my filter removing it? I took it out yesterday, so I hope that helps.
> View attachment 765641
> 
> Save​




Wonder if your carbon had some kind of phosguard in it or something? Was it a combo with carbon and something else in it? Would make sense as 0 phosphorus will definitely cause issues you are seeing. So once you get the excel dosing going hopefully you are good and rid of the algae. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

PO4 is now solved.
Great Deal!


----------



## jnboone (Aug 1, 2011)

Read thread on one two punch for algae. It worked great for me. Might give you a clean slate to work from


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Doppelgaenger (Jul 20, 2015)

What is your substrate and when is the last time you vacuumed it? Yours looks very deep and I've noticed a potential correlation between deep substrate that has accumulated a lot of fish poop, and algae. If you can, I'd do as deep a cleaning of your substrate as possible as well as the other points that have been made so far.


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Doppelgaenger said:


> What is your substrate and when is the last time you vacuumed it? Yours looks very deep and I've noticed a potential correlation between deep substrate that has accumulated a lot of fish poop, and algae. If you can, I'd do as deep a cleaning of your substrate as possible as well as the other points that have been made so far.


I vacuum every time I do a water change, but not under the surface of the substrate. I use Eco Complete and I vacuum just above it because it sucks up a lot of the substrate into the bucket if I put the vacuum onto the surface. I do try to stir up a lot of the surface and collect what flies around with the vacuum. Should I still dig the vacuum down into the substrate, even though a lot of it comes out?


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

My TDS meter came in today. I also got some calibration solution to make sure that the meter was calibrated - it is. My tank water reads 232ppm and my tap water is 160. Does this mean my tap water is not good to use for the aquarium? What can I do to get the tank water below 100ppm?


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Sharper said:


> My TDS meter came in today. I also got some calibration solution to make sure that the meter was calibrated - it is. My tank water reads 232ppm and my tap water is 160. Does this mean my tap water is not good to use for the aquarium? What can I do to get the tank water below 100ppm?




Tds incorporates mostly of your GH and kH plus what you add in as far as ferts go. That really is not that bad so you should not need to change your water parameters. Typically what I do is when I hit +100 tds over tap is when I do a large 50% water change. That is why a tds meter is good so you can see the build up. By you not being at +100 you should be fine. It allows you to see how much is being added, not being consumed and therefore building up. This is what is required if you do PPS Pro dosing but I incorporate it using EI to ensure levels do not get out of hand because too much is bad. Hope this makes sense. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

Also to give you an idea there is no reason to shoot for a tds of 100 or less. Reason being is 100 tds equals like 4gh and 2KH and this just is not needed. To give you an example for my shrimp tank I use half ro and half tap water. I then remineralize it to 6gh and 2KH. This is roughly 130 tds for these shrimp which need more strict water parameters. So you are perfectly fine where you are at. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Oh! So 100ppm over the tap water reading. Not just a flat 100ppm reading. Got it! Good to know that is good! Thanks!


----------



## jellopuddinpop (Dec 12, 2016)

This is way off topic, but I just needed to chime in about how great a lot of the people on this forum are. Everyone has been so helpful for you, and you’ve been so patient asking questions and receiving answers, while I’m sure you’re frustrated to no end. I’ve seen people post time and time again asking for help, then completely ignoring the help lol. You’ll get to the bottom of this in no time!

For my on-topic answer, I’ll second (or third?) the recommendation to use Excel or Metricide 14 for algae control. I use Metricide 14, and I just dose at the same recommended dose as Excel (1ml per 10 gallons). I would also take one additional step whenever you do a water change too. Take your dose for the whole tank, and mix it with a little water in a clean spray bottle. After you drain half your water, but before you refill, spray all exposed surfaces and exposed plants from the spray bottle, then dump the remainder of the bottle in the tank. This will make for a 50% stronger solution in the tank water, and a super concentrated solution above the water line. Then when you refill the tank, the resulting concentration will be right where you were shooting for in the first place.


----------



## Doppelgaenger (Jul 20, 2015)

Sharper said:


> I vacuum every time I do a water change, but not under the surface of the substrate. I use Eco Complete and I vacuum just above it because it sucks up a lot of the substrate into the bucket if I put the vacuum onto the surface. I do try to stir up a lot of the surface and collect what flies around with the vacuum. Should I still dig the vacuum down into the substrate, even though a lot of it comes out?


I've only just started using Eco Complete so I know exactly what you're talking about. I've also started a new aquarium where that will be even more of a problem because of the dumbass way I put it together (I have colored substrate on top of the Eco-Complete). 

You can use a hose pincher to throttle the water flow on your vacuum. If you lower the flow so that the substrate isn't pulled up, the mulm will still be sucked up since it's so damn light.

Large amounts of mulm will make your water tinge brown over time, even if you do regular water changes.


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

jellopuddinpop said:


> This is way off topic, but I just needed to chime in about how great a lot of the people on this forum are. Everyone has been so helpful for you, and you’ve been so patient asking questions and receiving answers, while I’m sure you’re frustrated to no end. I’ve seen people post time and time again asking for help, then completely ignoring the help lol. You’ll get to the bottom of this in no time!
> 
> 
> 
> For my on-topic answer, I’ll second (or third?) the recommendation to use Excel or Metricide 14 for algae control. I use Metricide 14, and I just dose at the same recommended dose as Excel (1ml per 10 gallons). I would also take one additional step whenever you do a water change too. Take your dose for the whole tank, and mix it with a little water in a clean spray bottle. After you drain half your water, but before you refill, spray all exposed surfaces and exposed plants from the spray bottle, then dump the remainder of the bottle in the tank. This will make for a 50% stronger solution in the tank water, and a super concentrated solution above the water line. Then when you refill the tank, the resulting concentration will be right where you were shooting for in the first place.




Thanks for the tip! I'll keep that in mind for the next WC!

And for sure, I love this forum! So many helpful people here. Last summer, there was a member that looked for all the parts on ebay that I would need to build a co2 regulator and walked me through the entire process! I was so grateful since I had no idea what I was doing! This forum is the best!

I try to hang out and learn as much as I can. So even if I'm not posting, I'm lurking around a lot. I see so many amazing tanks and beautiful plants & fish, that I shy away from posting any photos of mine. Nothing much to show off.


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

Doppelgaenger said:


> I've only just started using Eco Complete so I know exactly what you're talking about. I've also started a new aquarium where that will be even more of a problem because of the dumbass way I put it together (I have colored substrate on top of the Eco-Complete).
> 
> You can use a hose pincher to throttle the water flow on your vacuum. If you lower the flow so that the substrate isn't pulled up, the mulm will still be sucked up since it's so damn light.
> 
> Large amounts of mulm will make your water tinge brown over time, even if you do regular water changes.




Oh that's a great idea! All these years I've been using eco complete and I never thought to pinch the hose! Lol

After stirring up a lot of mess, I can definitely see it all after it settles. I cannot wait to get after it during the next WC. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

I guess I could have posted a quick update. I have spent the week trying to scrub out and kill as much algae as I could get to. I forgot what my rocks and driftwood looked like! [emoji23] I'm still in the middle of putting it all together. 











Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## clownplanted (Mar 3, 2017)

You know after reading your tank stats on the first page something else came to mind. Your substrate. How long has the eco complete been in the tank? I'm asking because initially for a while it's purpose is to absorbe nutrients from the water column storing them for the plants. But as with anything after a while it's absorbing capability is depleted and it's known to start leeching stuff possibly heavy metals back into the water column and could be causing a toxicity issue. There are some as you may of come across that have ran into this issue with eco complete. Obviously the older it is the higher chance it can do this. 

Do you have a tds meter? Because if you do you can somewhat test this. What you do is after a large water change take a tds reading. Then after two days without adding anything else into the water take another reading. If it's noticeably higher than this is most likely the problem. I believe it is a combination between the low phosphates and possibly your aged and depleted eco complete. 

Reading about some of these high cec substrate issues like eco complete have kept me away from them and I just use inert substrate particularity BDBS. If your substrate is old like a year and half or older you might want to consider swapping it for a substrate that will not leak bad stuff in the water after time. 


Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


----------



## Esteban Colberto (Mar 7, 2017)

Ok so I skipped page 2 of 3 but I'm throwing this out there. I have a 30 gallon heavily planted and I have a problem with brown algae. I constantly have to wipe my plant leaves clean or they'll just turn brown and die. You hear a lot that it's diatoms (still algae) caused by low light, yadda yadda nothing I did really seemed to have an affect even reducing the photoperiod down to 7 hours didn't help. 

What did help me is a siesta in my light timing. I'm running five on, four off, five on and it's really taken a bite out of my algae and kicked my plants into faster growth. It could be the light interruption for the algae and the chance to recharge my CO2 levels for the plants (I don't inject) but for some reason it's working and I still get 10 hours of light per day.

Just throwing it out there from one small perspective. Good luck!


----------



## Sharper (Nov 1, 2009)

clownplanted said:


> You know after reading your tank stats on the first page something else came to mind. Your substrate. How long has the eco complete been in the tank? I'm asking because initially for a while it's purpose is to absorbe nutrients from the water column storing them for the plants. But as with anything after a while it's absorbing capability is depleted and it's known to start leeching stuff possibly heavy metals back into the water column and could be causing a toxicity issue. There are some as you may of come across that have ran into this issue with eco complete. Obviously the older it is the higher chance it can do this.
> 
> Do you have a tds meter? Because if you do you can somewhat test this. What you do is after a large water change take a tds reading. Then after two days without adding anything else into the water take another reading. If it's noticeably higher than this is most likely the problem. I believe it is a combination between the low phosphates and possibly your aged and depleted eco complete.
> 
> ...


Yikes! I've never heard for eco complete leeching toxic chemicals into the water! Most of the substrate is only about a year old. About 1/4th or 1/3rd of it is from a 30gal that I had upgraded from, and that substrate is about 4-5 years old. I mixed it with the newer when I moved to the 55gal. 

The TPS showed that it was good a few days ago when I got it in. But today, it hit that 100ppm limit, and it's in perfect timing because my schedule has me doing a 50% WC tomorrow. I'll go a few days after without any ferts and see what the TPS says. I really hope I don't have to replace my substrate (what a headache). 



Esteban Colberto said:


> Ok so I skipped page 2 of 3 but I'm throwing this out there. I have a 30 gallon heavily planted and I have a problem with brown algae. I constantly have to wipe my plant leaves clean or they'll just turn brown and die. You hear a lot that it's diatoms (still algae) caused by low light, yadda yadda nothing I did really seemed to have an affect even reducing the photoperiod down to 7 hours didn't help.
> 
> What did help me is a siesta in my light timing. I'm running five on, four off, five on and it's really taken a bite out of my algae and kicked my plants into faster growth. It could be the light interruption for the algae and the chance to recharge my CO2 levels for the plants (I don't inject) but for some reason it's working and I still get 10 hours of light per day.
> 
> Just throwing it out there from one small perspective. Good luck!


Thanks Esteban! If the algae starts to come back, I'll implement this lighting schedule as my next experiment.


----------

