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Hair algae! Is it permanent?

3K views 16 replies 9 participants last post by  newplantguy 
#1 ·
Hi All,

Over the months I have been battling with hair algae. I think I mostly have it taken care now thanks to my Black Lyretail Mollies and maybe my Flying Fox but I have been left with these little short hairs all over my plants and I have no idea how, or if it is even possible, to get rid of them.



Any suggestions? The tank looks great from a slight distance but when you start to really examine it you can see the darn hairs all over the place.

Ryan :roll:
 
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#2 ·
Little more info plz

How powerful is your light?
PO4 lvl and NO3 lvl?
Plant fertilizer used?
 
#3 ·
Here is the info..

4.4wpg AH Supply CF @ 5300k / 12hr Photoperiod
0.0 PO4 (Hagen Test)
0.0 NO3 (Aquarium Pharm Test)
1.5ml/wk Seachem Flourish Comprehensive
20% Weekly Water Change
 
#4 ·
Thanks for taking the time to bring the info.

From the info,i think it is the light that problems.4.4 watt per gallon seems to be too much. 2-3 watt per gallon is more sufficient in planted aquarium. To clean the algae for once and for all(i hope), cut off the plant leaves with most hair algae while the others,consider these:

a)leave them for fish to eat.

b)take the plant out of the water and use a sponge to scrape them off gently and wash them with tank water and place them back.

c)Left the lights off for 72-96 hours so the algae will die off from lack of nutrients and light.(i don't recommend this one)


And 40% water change is better for a weekly water change
 
#7 ·
Your problem is your NO3 and PO4 levels. Algae can survive on nearly undetectable levels of N-P-K, while plants need those levels to be within a certain range to grow.
Add NO3 until it is between 5-10ppm and add PO4 until it is between 0.5-1ppm. Once your plants start growing quickly, there will be less algae on the new leaves, and you can trim off the old leaves.
 
#9 ·
I can hardly tell the best way to fix algae breakout since i never experienced it before.... :lol:
 
#10 ·
Thanks for all the suggestions!

I do dose CO2 via a yeast generator (not very effective but better than nothing). Do you think my test kits are OK or are Hagen and Aquarium Pharm kits known for not being accurate?
 
#11 ·
I think that most test kits are accurate, it's just that some are easier to read than others. I have the Master Kit, which I think is the same as your Aquarium Pharm test (though I could be mistaken) and the reason I chose that one is because it's much easier to understand the readings than with some other tests. The colour charts that you match your results to seem a lot clearer than some.
 
#13 ·
For a smaller tank Seachem is a great source, however if you have multiple tanks or a real large tank like I do. Such premixed products can start costing an arm and a leg.... At that point you would look to buy the specific chemicals you need...


Jason
 
#17 ·
Thanks again guys!

I just got inspired and I think I am going to do a reorg this weekend. Should be fun and hopefully with my new dosing regimen the new layout wont be plagued with my past algae issues. I will post pics later. :D

Ryan
 
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