[valen1014]

Hi everyone,

I've been having some algae issues in my tank but recently it's been getting quite out of hand...

So a long time ago, I had my 20 long planted and had issues with blue-green algae. Probably my fault, since I wasn't regular with the fertilizers or light timing. Anyways, I took everything out and actually let everything dry for 3 months or more. I set it up again about 3 months ago as a grow-out tank for my bettas. I put in some mosses, water sprite, and elodea and shortly after the blue-green algae came back! My biggest problem now isn't even the blue-green algae (which is still around but not in high amounts), it's this fuzzy brown thing that grows over everything! My water sprite is trying to grow but every new leaf it makes gets covered by this thing. I had to take out the java moss because it was killing that too. For a while, I had high ammonia levels because I didn't realize my tap water was coming out with a lot of ammonia in it already. I fixed that problem and thought the brown fuzz would disappear but it seems like it came back stronger. I change the water 50% at least every week (usually every 4-5 days) and, no matter how much I remove, it comes back. The brown stuff also sticks to the wall, but I don't know if that is yet another algae. What should I do? Sorry for the long post :help:

 

[Raymond S.]

A picture of the whole tank woud be nice but most algae problems are from either
too much light or for too long a time period or both.
Exactly what light and how far above the sub and on for how long ?

 

[Bryanmc1988]

from the looks of this it looks like what i have ... the algae is called Cladophora, Blanket Weed (http://theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm)

here is a link to my thread here its the same algae but mine is not this bad...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=591633


if i was you i would remove that plant asap and throw it in the trash as this algae is a pain in the butt to get rid off... and it wont die to H2O2... any infected plant get rid of it and what is left just pull out by hand as this will just keep growing like plants will... eats the ferts your plant does... co2 will just boost its growth.... i'm still fighting this algae as we speak -.- although if i see mines even if its 1cm... i try to pull it up and get rid of it...

 

[koiboi]

Amano shrimps? You'd still need to figure out the root cause, however.

 

[valen1014]

Thanks for the replies! Here's a pic of the whole tank. I've been using 2X 24W 6500K for 10 hours. But a few days ago I took one of the bulbs out to see if it would help (so far, it hasn't made a difference...). It's barely planted which I think might be part of the problem, but I don't fertilize at all and change the water frequently because of the fry... so I didn't think excess nutrients would be a problem.

It's not really filamentous like in that link... it's more like... cotton candy?. It sticks to everything, even the sand, and it prefers to grow on non-living things or slow-growing stuff. But the brown stuff on the glass looks like brown algae.

The water parameters, except for the high ammonia for 2-3 weeks due to my tap water, are fine. I always got 0 for the nitrates and nitrites.

When the problem started I had a small sponge filter, I've been using a bigger filter for a while now to increase aeration (I have it partly out so that the water comes out in the air and falls back into the tank). But it hasn't made a difference. You don't see the algae in this picture much because I just did a water change and pulled a lot of it out.

 

[pantherspawn]

My guess, too much light, and not enough plants to compete with the algae. Solution, add some stem plants, reduce lighting to 7 or 8 hours. Once algae is losing the fight, add some root plants, and dose ferts with root tabs.

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Could also add snail or Amano shrimp to help keep some of that algae at bay.

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[valen1014]

from the looks of this it looks like what i have ... the algae is called Cladophora, Blanket Weed (http://theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm)

here is a link to my thread here its the same algae but mine is not this bad...

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=591633


if i was you i would remove that plant asap and throw it in the trash as this algae is a pain in the butt to get rid off... and it wont die to H2O2... any infected plant get rid of it and what is left just pull out by hand as this will just keep growing like plants will... eats the ferts your plant does... co2 will just boost its growth.... i'm still fighting this algae as we speak -.- although if i see mines even if its 1cm... i try to pull it up and get rid of it...

Oh wow, actually that might be it! It doesn't look like the one in the picture from the link you gave me, but when I googled it there are some pics that do look like what I have. The thing is that it is growing on everything >.< Is there anything that'll eat it? Oh I guess only the Amano shrimps =/

Could also add snail or Amano shrimp to help keep some of that algae at bay.

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Thank you! I'll try adding some more stem plants. I don't seem to have any luck with shrimps, but I'll try the snails. Do you recommend any of them in particular?

 

[pantherspawn]

Oh wow, actually that might be it! It doesn't look like the one in the picture from the link you gave me, but when I googled it there are some pics that do look like what I have. The thing is that it is growing on everything >.< Is there anything that'll eat it?

I've always liked nerites, though they can sometimes leave little white specks on your wood which are eggs, but they will not hatch in fresh water. I personally don't mind it because I like a more natural look, but some people find it ugly. If that's an issue, then your standard pond snails or rams horn snails will do the job. They tend to populate quickly and can get high in numbers of you over feed you fish, but they do not harm your plants or tank in any way, again, some people just don't like the look. Amano shrimp are very hardy, and will clean up even the worst types of algae. Sometimes harder to find in a store but worth it if you can get them. One or two should do the trick may need to substitute with wafers if the tank becomes algae free.

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