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Algae Problems

833 views 7 replies 2 participants last post by  K_Hedin 
#1 ·
Hi All,

Brand new here and looking for some help with my low tech tank. I am having an Algae issue with one of my plants and can't figure out how to fix it.

I have a 55G US aquarium. After not doing water changes for a month and a half it still hadn't gone away and my plants started suffering from not getting more nutrients in the water. I did a water change last week and turned my air stones on to create more flow. Looked closely at one of my plants today and the algae was out of control on it. Turned the air stones off. Still need to conquer this algae problem though. Attached are a few pictures of the tank.

I would love to dose with Flourish Excel but my budget is very tight right now and I can't afford the small extras. Is there another way to combat this? I have tried pruning the plants back in the past and then I just ended up having to regrow everything.

Forgot to add the tank details. 35W T8 bulb on 8 hours a day. Usually gets some direct sunlight for about an hour in the late afternoon. HOB filter doing 300 gallons/hour. Not dosing anything at this time. Ammonia/Nitrites/ are 0 and Nitrates are between 10 and 20 according to my test. Stocking is 8 Sunset Platies, 2 Sailfin Mollies, 2 Black Mollies, 1 Columbian Shark, 1 Tire Track Eel, 1 Swordfish, 1 Guppy, 6 Peppered Cories, and 5 Black Skirt Tetras.







 
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#2 ·
Here is one of my favorite algae guides.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

Looks like you have BBA. This can be from too much light, low/no co2 and flow has also been linked to this algae as well. I have found that low or fluctuating co2 is the cause for BBA in my tanks but I have a couple high tech tanks and can just crank up the co2 when I see it appearing.

I don't think that upping the co2 is an option for you since you don't have any. I would try to limit the direct sunlight as much as possible and cud down the photoperiod)how long the light is on) a bit. Unfortunately I have no experience changing the parameters I suggested for you and seeing if it goes away. I don't think BBA just goes away on its own. You can manually remove as much as possible but that might be a PITA.
 
#3 ·
Well the lights are only on 8 hours a day and I try and limit the sunlight as much as possible. Can't move the tank so I just make sure the drapes are closed when it starts hitting the tank. I believe the problem is flow as I am only turning the tank over 5x an hour with my current filter.

I did my weekly water change today and cut back the Wisteria so that they are all trimmings now and no BBA is on it. Tank looks super bare but maybe it will help. Moved the filter to the side of the tank that most of the Wisteria is on as well. We shall see what happens. Maybe I can get some Excel and start dosing that again as I know that would help.
 
#8 ·
55G is the major problem one. Starting to see it develop in a 10G. Can't do CO2 on the 10G though. The 2 year old son would be be in everything and the wife would flip about it looking messy. The stand doesn't have any doors. The 55 is an option but I would really prefer to stay away from it. Maybe I just need more plants in there so that the algae doesn't have a chance to grow
 
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