Algae/levels question

Hoontar · 10-28-2009, 05:45 PM

Hey, so I've got a 20g, 1W/g low tech setup - adding Nutrafin iron enriched plantGRO weekly, an amazon sword, 2 hydrophilias and some java moss... Prior to adding DIY CO2 I had damn slow growth, but healthy looking plants and essentially zero algae, at most a small clean every other week.

So I've added DIY CO2, firstly, there is an obvious increase in plant growth, its pretty stunning how fast they grow now actually. That being said, I've also got algae popping up daily now as well. Is this an inevitable development in a low tech setup + DIY C02 or is there something (a tad more light or fertz for eg.) that might reestablish an equilibrium, reduce algae but maintain the fast plant growth.

Suggestions?

skabooya · 10-28-2009, 08:26 PM

you got it right. something is out of balance. DIY is hard to regulate but from what i understand you need to match the output of the C02 with the fert schedule. How much plantgro do you add weekly? I used to use this stuff until i went dry and mixed my own.
What kind of algae do you have? It could be your pumping all these ferts into your tank and have good C02 but the lights arent strong enough to have your plants growing to their potential (i hope im explaining this right) to match your fert schedule so algae can develop.

Hoontar · 10-28-2009, 09:56 PM

It is just generic green algae, fuzz on the glass walls (especially by the heater - is that common?) I double dosed the fertz last week when I added some new plants, perhaps it was overboard and the excess nutrients are being used by the algae growth... Maybe it will stabilize over the next week... if it is a discrepancy between the C02 and light levels then I'm in trouble, I have no intention of increasing my light... and I like the added plant growth from DIY C02.

lhscouchmonster · 10-29-2009, 05:16 AM

Since your light isnt all that high, you are probabaly dosing too much fert. I have a heavily planted 10 gallon that I have never seen a spec of algae in just by using flourish excel (its a simple carbon compound that algea hates). I use 1 ml on top of my diy c02. This keeps the algae in check. Search the web for 'flourish excel' + algae and you will find tons of info.

I got 250 ml for 6 bucks at my LFS. That would last you 125 days with my dosing cycle. its worth the 6 bucks

fish h20 · 10-30-2009, 01:48 PM

I would say too much fertz. Don't dose for a week or two and see if it helps. You could also do a 50% water change to reduce fertz.

skabooya · 10-30-2009, 05:27 PM

read up on tom barrs method for low tech tanks. It works. I modified it slightly for my personal tank because each tank is different but i started with his method to fix my tank and it really worked.

Hoontar · 10-31-2009, 05:05 AM

Thanks for the help folks - a few days following my "over-fert" it seems the algae growth has really slowed down, I'm sure after a clean and water change this weekend (and no additional fertz) it will seize to take over.

10-28-2009, 05:45 PM	#1 (permalink)
Hoontar Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 10	Algae/levels question Hey, so I've got a 20g, 1W/g low tech setup - adding Nutrafin iron enriched plantGRO weekly, an amazon sword, 2 hydrophilias and some java moss... Prior to adding DIY CO2 I had damn slow growth, but healthy looking plants and essentially zero algae, at most a small clean every other week. So I've added DIY CO2, firstly, there is an obvious increase in plant growth, its pretty stunning how fast they grow now actually. That being said, I've also got algae popping up daily now as well. Is this an inevitable development in a low tech setup + DIY C02 or is there something (a tad more light or fertz for eg.) that might reestablish an equilibrium, reduce algae but maintain the fast plant growth. Suggestions?

10-28-2009, 08:26 PM	#2 (permalink)
skabooya Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kitimat BC, Canada Posts: 645	you got it right. something is out of balance. DIY is hard to regulate but from what i understand you need to match the output of the C02 with the fert schedule. How much plantgro do you add weekly? I used to use this stuff until i went dry and mixed my own. What kind of algae do you have? It could be your pumping all these ferts into your tank and have good C02 but the lights arent strong enough to have your plants growing to their potential (i hope im explaining this right) to match your fert schedule so algae can develop. __________________ 32 gal planted amazonian-ish tank http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lo...8-finally.html

10-30-2009, 05:27 PM	#6 (permalink)
skabooya Planted Tank Enthusiast (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Apr 2005 Location: Kitimat BC, Canada Posts: 645	read up on tom barrs method for low tech tanks. It works. I modified it slightly for my personal tank because each tank is different but i started with his method to fix my tank and it really worked. __________________ 32 gal planted amazonian-ish tank http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/lo...8-finally.html

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10-28-2009, 09:56 PM	#3 (permalink)
Hoontar Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 10	It is just generic green algae, fuzz on the glass walls (especially by the heater - is that common?) I double dosed the fertz last week when I added some new plants, perhaps it was overboard and the excess nutrients are being used by the algae growth... Maybe it will stabilize over the next week... if it is a discrepancy between the C02 and light levels then I'm in trouble, I have no intention of increasing my light... and I like the added plant growth from DIY C02.

10-29-2009, 05:16 AM	#4 (permalink)
lhscouchmonster Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Oct 2009 Location: Pittsburgh, PA Posts: 15	Since your light isnt all that high, you are probabaly dosing too much fert. I have a heavily planted 10 gallon that I have never seen a spec of algae in just by using flourish excel (its a simple carbon compound that algea hates). I use 1 ml on top of my diy c02. This keeps the algae in check. Search the web for 'flourish excel' + algae and you will find tons of info. I got 250 ml for 6 bucks at my LFS. That would last you 125 days with my dosing cycle. its worth the 6 bucks

10-30-2009, 01:48 PM	#5 (permalink)
fish h20 Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: May 2009 Location: Buffalo, WV Posts: 16	I would say too much fertz. Don't dose for a week or two and see if it helps. You could also do a 50% water change to reduce fertz.

10-31-2009, 05:05 AM	#7 (permalink)
Hoontar Algae Grower (View User Tanks) PTrader: (0/0%) Join Date: Feb 2009 Location: Canada Posts: 10	Thanks for the help folks - a few days following my "over-fert" it seems the algae growth has really slowed down, I'm sure after a clean and water change this weekend (and no additional fertz) it will seize to take over.

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