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What kind of algae is this (lots of pix)

2K views 12 replies 6 participants last post by  skiboarder72 
#1 ·
Ok I am pretty sure this is green spot algae but i don't really know what the other stuff is (hair? BBA?)

Ok I am getting stuff on the glass.... probably GSA

Scraped off 5 days ago


Never scraped






Then I am getting stuff on my micro sword... and crypts... and ludwiga (only on older growth)









Then I am getting i think a different kinda of algea on my amazon sword... (color is off in these it appears dark green in real life)








Ok well there you go.... I have been dosing GW ferts using the EI method (making sure there is plenty of PO4 because i heard that caused alot of the GSA) and I have 65w over 26 gallons. I have a 3 liter being diffused into a hagen bubble lader with a decent amount of circulation past it (I checked my ph and kh about a week ago and got ~20ppm Co2...) I am guessing the whole thing is caused by co2... do you think adding another yeast bottle would help? Thanks!
 
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#2 ·
How hard is that stuff to scrape? It actually looks like GDA (Green Dust Algae) to me. If it's easy to remove, like just wipe it off, then it's GDA. If you have to put some mojo to it, then it is indeed GSA. There are several threads on GDA. The "cure" is to let it go through its lifecycle by leaving the tank strictly alone for 2-4 weeks.
 
#3 ·
the stuff on the glass just wipes off (so i should just leave that there for 2-4 weeks? how will I know when its done? do i wipe it off then?)... on the plants it doesnt really come off the micro swords too easy... the sword it comes off of fairly easy but still stays in some of the ridges of it... same with the crypts. Will this stuff come off when it dies? Whats causing it do you think? Co2 is my guess
 
#4 ·
Hard to say about the time. It seems to vary a bit. Here's a pertinent thread:

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/31234-algae-glass.html

I don't think GDA cares about lack/amount of CO2 at all. Seems like people will have it regardless of CO2. With me, I tried to leave it alone for three weeks and then thought it looked like it was dying and ready to go so I cleaned my tank. It was back the next day :(. The next time I left my tank STRICTLY alone (cut the photo period a bit and halved the ferts), not doing water changes or pruning or ANYthing for a month and it allwentawaybyitself. I mean, I didn't even have to clean the glass. **** and span. All the algae on the plants (which was a variant of GSA) went away too. That's the kind of algae battle I like :).
 
#11 ·
The first time I did the wait-it-out, I did what I thought were a couple of very careful water changes. Apparently not careful enough. The thing is, if you knock any of that stuff loose from the glass or the plants, it'll start the cycle all over again. As I recall, I didn't even bother topping off my tank, but I don't seem to lose a whole lot to evaporation. Over the course of a month I think the level might drop a max of 1.5 to 2 inches.
 
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