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Algae on the rock, ID please *Now on HC too*

1586 Views 11 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  mistergreen, 
U
I've been dealing with this type of algae for a month or so, it never overgrown but never go away either. I also have GDA on the glass as well.

Tank is 5 gallon, about a month and half old, 25 degree. Pressurized CO2 enriched @ 40 ppm, plants pearling every time as soon as light comes on. EI dosing with stock solution, NO3 @ 20 ppm, Phosphate 1.2~1.5 ppm, 0.5ml Flourish three times a week along with 0.5ml Flourish Iron. pH 6.2, Gh 4 degree. Water change done weekly of 70%.

Light is 13W 6500K Philips Daylight CFL 3.7 inch above water surface, 9.5 inch to rock, on timer for 8 hrs/day.

EI stock solution formula:

KNO3: 10 tsp to 250ml diluted water, 2.5ml per dose.
KH2PO4: 2 tsp to 250ml diluted water, 1.5ml per dose.

Here come the photo:



any input appreciated, :biggrin:

ug.
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Wasserpest
This is pretty! I wish I could grow something like that. These are short hair algae, can't give you a scientific name or anything. New tanks always go through these algae cycles, and as long as you provide good conditions for your plants (and it seems like you do) they should go away after a while by themselves.

I imagine a bunch of Cherry shrimp or CRS would look really stunning, grazing on the green rock.
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U
Wasserpest said:
This is pretty! I wish I could grow something like that. These are short hair algae, can't give you a scientific name or anything. New tanks always go through these algae cycles, and as long as you provide good conditions for your plants (and it seems like you do) they should go away after a while by themselves.

I imagine a bunch of Cherry shrimp or CRS would look really stunning, grazing on the green rock.
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Lol. :biggrin::biggrin: I'd rather not having these algae on my rocks.

How long usually takes for short hair algae to complete their life cycle?

Thanks.

ug.
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Wasserpest
Generally speaking, it takes between 2 weeks and 2 months for "new tank algae" to appear, explode, and collapse. It all depends on many things, and some algae like GDA might never really go away since they like the existing conditions and can coexist with the higher plants.
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U
Yeah, GDA is real PITB. I use paper towel wipe GDA off the glass every week during the water change and they just keep coming back. I just can't leave my glass untouched for weeks (as per Tom Barr method). Hope the algae I'm having on rocks and GDA will eventually disappeared.

ug.
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gnovince
I have some of this on a new tank also. It now seems to be fading and my tank is about a month old! So, hopefully yours will then too! If your plants are growing well then I would imagine it will run its coarse!
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C
If it isn't on the plants I wouldn't worry about it. Looks kind of nice and it is natural for rocks and wood to have some algae on them. Good source of food and micro-organisms for your fish to graze on. As others have already pointed out it may just be that the tank is new... give it some time.
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U
Thank guys, I will just wait then. :)

ug.
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U
Update:

I found HC are turning brown slowly so I took some pictures. I think I got same/similar algae on HC too. HC are still filling up but growing fine, pearling a lot everyday.

What should I do?

ug.

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boringname
Your tank looks cool like that.
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Wasserpest
ug.mac said:
What should I do?
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Enjoy your tank. Relax. Observe the plants. Like I said earlier, new tanks go through these growing pains, but as long as your plants have the conditions they need to grow, it's just a question of time (patience) before your tank is (almost) algae free.

Give it a few weeks. It might get worse for a while, then better, then you can start to rip out parts of your HC carpet and replant it to replace the browned parts. If your water parameters are stabilized, get some shrimp like Cherries in there, they pick on the algae all day long and help to clean them up and keep them clean.
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mistergreen
Raise the light a foot to slow down the algae. I agree, I like this algae too but it's a problem when algae grows on your plants. It might be a sign that the plants aren't doing too well. Maybe up the ferts a little.

I use the Heavy Duty scrouring pad to clean my rocks. It looks especially good partially covered in algae.

This algae can be controlled with a UV sterilizer I believe.
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