i have this spot algea growing on the glass well all over it. like crazy. i know i need to do a water change. to get this under control but i also have this other algea growing all over everything from plant leaves to filter return to powerhead while moving. it is really not a green but really not a brown and is extreamly hard to remove by pulling it off and grows about 1/4 inch more or less but hairy like and very strong and stays short. here is my problem my bushy nose pleco's are breeding like crazy i have just turned my lights on and have personally counted 8 new babies. will they eat all this algea or not? if not how do i control it with out sucking up any babies. and do i need to remove the babies? if so how? they are really fast and in a 75 planted tank. any help will be greatful. thanks i will do a 3 day black out and see if i can control it also i have 6 mystery snails in the tank as well but nothing seems to keep it under control and i have 3 of the algea balls that are suppose to help control algea. i am thinking of getting a UV thingy to filter the water through since i have such an algea problem. i bet most fish people dont do water changes every day. i have to to keep this darn algea under control. I am just really tired of spending lots of money on this planted tank just for a small thing like algea to kill it. this is the 3-4 time in the last 2 years i have lost all the plants to this algea. mabey it is time to go plastic. thanks for all your help tina

nothing eats this algae to my knowledge. it usually happens if you get direct sunlight hitting the tank. try closing the blinds in the room for a few days after scraping the glass and it should take considerably longer to grow back. you can also try lowering the photoperiod and/or light intesity of your bulb(s) (cover a part(s) with tin foil).

IMO I wouldn't do anything too dramatic to the tank while you're trying to raise baby BN plecos if you want them to survive? Also they're probably loving the daily PWC- that's one of the best things you can do to encourage growth in baby fish.

Can you tell us some more about your setup? Size of tank, Lighting (type, wattage, bulbs, and how long you're running the lights each day), filtration, plantload, what other fish are in there and how big are they? Are you using ferts? What kind, how much, how often? Are you dosing CO2 on the tank?

Plecos put out a lot of waste- it could be that your plants and filtration just aren't enough to keep up with it all, especially if you've got too much light on the tank and/or not enough ferts?

tank: 75 gallon glass
lights: JBJ aqua lighting with 4-65 watt bulbs dual strip they are on a 2pm and go off at 10 pm. I have the lights off during the lightest part of the day as i have a bunch of windows in the living room. the tank is on an inside wall with one end exposed to the light comming through the front door. will explain this later under plants.
filter: emperior 400 with out biowheels. they have been removed. also there is 1 power head at the other end of the tank to move water toward the filter.
Plants: there are 10 plants total as the rest have died again from this algea problem. some i will have to look the names of them up. 1 water sprite, 1 java moss wall on end of tank that is exposed to natural light from front door, 1 java fern, 3 marion balls, 1 Balansae, 1 money wart (hanging in there barely), 2 small rocks planted with pelia (also hanging in there) 1 potamongeton gayi, and 1 spiralis. no co2 at this time in tank.
Fertilizer: Seachem Flourish i use 1 capful 2 times a week and the directions say 1 capful treats 60 gallons.
Fish: 1 adult pair of bushy nose plecos and assorted babies, 6 mystry snails power head killes 2 of them, 2 platys both males, 1 otto, 1 chinese alge eater, 1 swordtail female, 4 mollys and 6 guppies and about 10 babies.
substrate: ecocomplete about 2-3 inches thick
paramaters: weekly water changes until baby plecos arrived. need to do one bad but dont know how to keep from sucking the little ones up. but had algea problem before babies. ph 7.8, ammonia 0 ppm, nitrite 0 ppm, kh 200.8 ppm, gh 214.6 ppm. i have always had high ph and waterhardness. nothing has changed there i have natrual spring fed well water not city. temp is 78 degrees.

i hope this helps i also have 2 large pieces of grapevine driftwood in the tank. and i think the algea is blue green algea or BGA but not for sure that is the best i can narrow it down to. and the spot algea i can scrape it off with a razorblade. i hope this helps you in helping me with my algea problem. thanks tina

you dont have any sponge plants. dump in some hornwort, itll suck the nutrients right up.

Does it look like what is growing on the anubias on page 5 of this thread?
I searched all over for the type of algea that you are discribing and that picture was exactly what mine looked like. It is kind of creepy looking IMHO.

i think it does but i will try to take a picture of it for you and add to this thread.

here are some bad pictures. i know about the spot algea but it is the other kind i am not sure of. it is the really dark algea you might best be able to see it growing all over the filter in the back. thanks tina

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Looks like BBA to me. Usually indicates poor or fluctuating co2 levels, and since you don't use co2, this is likely the problem. You can spot treat it with excel to kill it.

You have a lot of light over that tank. You'll need good co2 and ferts to keep the tank in balance and get good plant growth. This is what prevents algae. I would recommend that you only use 2 of the bulbs (if possible) unless you get co2. Less light=less demand for co2 and ferts for the plants, as they grow at a slower rate.

It is possible for fish to provide the nutrients that the plants need in some cases. You are adding Flourish, which only takes care of the micronutrients. Plants also need N, P, and K, which are the macronutrients. Do you have test kits for nitrates and phosphates?

could it be black brush algea? i have co2 hooked to the tank i will turn it on again. Phosphate tested at 5.0 very high


go to this web page http://groups.msn.com/LyreTailsAquar...andalgae1.msnw
and look at the picture called Algae Identification Picture at the bottom of the page and look at the black brush algea it really looks like that. what do you think? i do not have macronutrients what do you recommend? and i will check on test my nitrates if i have a test for it or not. will get my co2 running again. thanks tina

i do not have a nitrate test kit just nitrite test only. i will have to get one next time i am out or might have to order one. thanks tina

Yep, that's what I meant by BBA (black beard or brush algae). What you will need to add depends on what you parameters are. You clearly don't need P right now (if your test is accurate). I use dry ferts from rexgrigg.com You can read more about these issues there and get a good sense of what it takes to run a successful planted tank

i also have flourish tabs for the roots would this be the macronutrients? i have not put any in since my tank has only been replanted for about 3 weeks now and the algea and baby bush nose have taken over i plan on putting them in next weekend and carefully doing a water change since i am over due and dont know how to do one with out sucking the babies out.

No, the tabs are basically the same as the liquid
http://www.seachem.com/products/prod...urishTabs.html

You can try to put some fine netting over the hose you use to syphon out the water to prevent them from getting sucked up

yea a friend told me to put panty hose over the end of the tube. and i will get some macronutrients. thanks tina