How long has the tank been set up?
When did this particular algae start creeping in your tank and how long has it been going on? An estimated growth rate will help too, like if it popped up out of nowhere or slowly started growing.
What kind of lighting unit and the specs of the unit, if known.
What kind of filter and or circulation does the tank have?
Be specific as possible! Haha
I'm also not familiar with the ferts. You use, I'm assuming the one is a liquid carbon source and what does the other contain in it? Macros, micros?
Unfortunately I can't identify the algae, but I know it can be a Pain. I'm not good with identifying algae, there's so many different kinds, but no matter what it's called, i know it can be a pain especially if it's overrunning your tank. With more details, I can help trouble shoot and recommend ways to get rid of it and possibly keep it from coming back. EDIT: also what livestock does this tank possess?
Is it just in a couple of spots? If so, a short term solution is to try blasting it with a pipette of hydrogen peroxide, underwater. The stag horn should die and turn red in a day or two.
Do not soak the plants in hydrogen peroxide, like I tried to do recently...
Can we see pics of your whole tank? Might be useful to see how all of your plants are doing.
Cut affected Vallisneria leaves. When you dose the TNC Carbo stop all filters /pumps. Put the Carbo in a syringe and slowly squirt over any other affected areas (such as the rock). After 5-15 minutes restart pumps. Do not try to brake it manually as it will only favour its spread.
The only association that I could find with this algae was high organic load / decomposing matter. Any increase in fish numbers ? Feeding style ? How often do you change the water ?
TNC Carbon....
*face meet palm**
Not sure why I missed that but my last battle with this stuff was due to low/fluctuating co2 levels. I had too much surface agitation and was gassing of the co2 I was injecting. As soon as I got that under control the staghorn was gone within a few weeks.
I don't use liquid carbon my self but as dukydaf and bananableps suggest, I have herd of people directly blasting the algae with liquid carbon and hydrogen peroxide to help get rid of it.
I would make sure your liquid carbon levels are consistent and or high enough.
Thanks everyone i'll try and respond to everything at once!
Whilst talking to a friend the night before last I convinced myself it must be a combination of a fully stocked tank, thus relatively high organic load (11 Neon Tetras, 10 Harlequins, 3 Dwarf Gourami, 2 Nerites and 5 Amanos) and trying to settle in (tank is about 3 months old) to a once a week 50% water change.
Dosing schedule isn't ideal as I dose before leaving for work at 0630 and lights aren't on until 1600.
I do agitate the surface constantly however would this be an issue with liquid carbon due to it acting differently to co2? Saying that the effectiveness must certainly be reduced by the time lights are on despite a relatively high daily dosage.
It could also be due to the fact I was slightly disturbing the substrate daily whilst replanting any float away S Repens I'd recently added.
I'll try everything mentioned today on maintenance Sunday [emoji4]
I do agitate the surface constantly however would this be an issue with liquid carbon due to it acting differently to co2? Saying that the effectiveness must certainly be reduced by the time lights are on despite a relatively high daily dosage.
Not sure if that's true or not, but recall that glutaraldehyde is not your tank's only source of carbon. The decomposing fish waste also produces an important source of CO2, and water agitation will outgas that.
Also, if your powerhead is pointed towards the surface of your water, that means it's not pointed in the direction of your plants. Give that algae a little more water flow, do some light substrate vacuuming, and use a pipette to blast it with hydrogen peroxide and glutarldehyde.
I haven't dosed glutarldehyde since switching all of my tanks over to dirt, but when I did, I always dosed it directly onto the algae. Two birds with one expensive chemical!
Maybe you could try 6 with a siesta? Depending on when you go to work, have 3 hours of light in the morning, then 3 hours of darkness in the middle of the day, then 3 hours of light in the afternoon. The dark period gives your tank time to recharge CO2 levels, and I've also heard algae takes more time to wake up (never looked up the validity of any of that though). I personally like a siesta because it means my tank isn't dark when I come home at night, but maybe you could try it for the supposed algaecide properties. Perhaps you could even try 8 hours with a siesta - go nuts!
Glad to hear the happy ending Enjoy your healthy looking tank and algae free lava rock
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