[Wallywonka]

gang,

in my 60 gallon planted tank, I have three piece of driftwood. all covered in algae. i always have good buildup of algae on my walls and on the leaves of some of my plants.

only about 1 week ago i setup my pressurized co2 system. algae is still present so i dosed my tank with some tetra algae control .. is this okay?

is that stuff safe? are there better algae control methods?

 

[RipariumGuy]

I'd say, yes, the stuff is safe. Worth it? No. Generally I try to stay away from adding chemicals to my tank (other then dechlorinator and fertilizers). I mostly do this because from what I have heard they can mess with the pH of a tanks system, and can harm plants (instead of the algae).

What algae are we talking about here?

 

[jart]

IMO the best control for algae consists of:
1) low to moderate light. See the sticky in the lighting section on PAR.
2) adequate CO2... The higher the light, the higher the demand for CO2.
3) adequate ferts, including NPK and micros.
4) patience, especially with a new tank.

 

[radioman]

I used API algae stuff on a 2.5g for green water with no ill effects. Not sure what inhabitants I had in the tank though, possibly some a ghost shrimp, I would just check if it contains copper for sure.

 

[sp33drhno]

It's better to figure out the root of the algae problem. Using an algae remover will only serve as a temporary fix.

 

[plantbrain]

gang,

in my 60 gallon planted tank, I have three piece of driftwood. all covered in algae. i always have good buildup of algae on my walls and on the leaves of some of my plants.

only about 1 week ago i setup my pressurized co2 system. algae is still present so i dosed my tank with some tetra algae control .. is this okay?

is that stuff safe? are there better algae control methods?

Common question and normal .....however, it is side tracks you from your goal: growing plants. Focus there, then algae are not going to be an issue, folks have given you good advice.

This hobby is about growing plants, and when you fail there, algae is the result, along with dead plants or plants that just sit there and do not grow.........light/CO2 are about 95-99% of it.

Then ferts.......

Read the Tropica Light and CO2 article also(google)