What is this Black Algae? So sick of it!

[mrchach]

man i don't have this anymore but used to have it...

This is the be all end all worst algae i have encountered
i had it growing on a rock it mostly covered the rock in the spotty fashion you see in the picture when i removed the rock i couldn't rub that stuff off, only scrape! i think it comes from space....

[esworp]

sooo... did the lab report say anything? :]

[Bannik]

I think dark cobra nailed the issue in his first post. You have something limiting the growth, most likely a nutrient or CO2 deficiency. Increasing the CO2 and flow might fix it. However I'm thinking the most likely cause is insufficient amounts of one of the macro ferts like potassium or phosphate.

The easiest fix is to continue your dosing regimen with 50% water changes every week. Pinch off any leaves already affected by the BBA so your plants can focus on healthy new growth and reduce your photo period by 2-3 hours. Wait a month and if the BBA comes back you know it is a CO2/flow issue. If it doesn't come back increase your photo period to what it was and try increasing the dosage of each of the macros until you find out which you weren't dosing enough of.

[esworp]

Urg. CO2 is not at issue in my tank, nor is flow. I dose EI and do greater-than-50% water changes.

Originally Posted by Bannik

I think dark cobra nailed the issue in his first post. You have something limiting the growth, most likely a nutrient or CO2 deficiency. Increasing the CO2 and flow might fix it. However I'm thinking the most likely cause is insufficient amounts of one of the macro ferts like potassium or phosphate.

The easiest fix is to continue your dosing regimen with 50% water changes every week. Pinch off any leaves already affected by the BBA so your plants can focus on healthy new growth and reduce your photo period by 2-3 hours. Wait a month and if the BBA comes back you know it is a CO2/flow issue. If it doesn't come back increase your photo period to what it was and try increasing the dosage of each of the macros until you find out which you weren't dosing enough of.

[takadi]

How established is your tank? Sometimes algae is just a symptom of a transition and having plants flourishing and the tank stabilized is the only way to reduce algae. Excel also helps a ton

[esworp]

Originally Posted by takadi

How established is your tank? Sometimes algae is just a symptom of a transition and having plants flourishing and the tank stabilized is the only way to reduce algae. Excel also helps a ton

it's /well/ established. almost a year of ongoing pruning.