[ringram]

Hey all. I'm having a problem that's been brewing for a few weeks, but is now getting to the point that it can't be ignored. The moss is the worst, with a little growing on the driftwood itself. Is this Clado? If so, can I treat by spot-dosing Excel? Or should I bump up the Co2? The Co2 is already pretty high and as you can see the other plants seem pretty healthy.
I've been removing this stuff manually, but it keeps coming back.

Full tank:

Algae on moss:

Algae on wood:

Any ideas?
Thanks!

-Ryan

 

[ringram]

I guess I should also mention that the lights are on for ~10 hrs/day(4x54w) with all 6 lights on for the last hour or two usually (manual).
I haven't really been dosing since I set it up (~4-5 mo), except on water changes and the occasional shot of Plantex (micro). I do water changes every 4-5 days generally, although its been almost a week now.

 

[epicfish]

Can we get some better close-ups?

Pick it out of the tank...what does it feel like when your rub you fingers together? Rough like a brillo pad? Or soft/smooth/slimy?

 

[retoid]

I can barely see anything that resembles algae in those pics.
But if I had to guess I would say Staghorn.

If it is in fact Staghorn:
Staghorn algae looks like thick strands that may branch once or twice until it ends.
The color is a blue-green-grey and the algae itself feels slimy to the touch.
Usually grows in high-light slow moving areas of the tank.

(this is from rex's guide.)
Cause:
Ammonia + low CO2

Solution:
Remove, WC, protect filter, Excel

 

[ringram]

It's actually pretty soft and falls apart when I take it out.
Sorry, those are the best pictures I was able to get out of about 30. My camera can't do closeups that well.
Thanks for the description though Retoid. I've had that before, its really thick, stringy, dark stuff. This is different. The strands are brownish and rather soft and brittle.

 

[retoid]

Does this look like the same stuff?

 

[retoid]

Man, there is just a terrible source of algae images on the net. I have googled and googled and can't find much for algae pictures other then 100X, 1000X zoomed in with microscopes.

 

[ringram]

Yes Yes! That's it Retoid. Kind of brownish, stringy stuff just like that. It's grown attached to the moss, bolbitus and a little on other things like crypts and HM.
Is it an NH3 issue? Circulation? Co2? I manually removed some of it last night, but its too much to do in one shot.
I have a few cherry shrimps in there, but not even sure if they eat this.

 

[bigstick120]

Clado has a funny smell to it, its kinda hard to describe, very earthy, it looks a little like to from the pics, the clado that I have had is very dark green

 

[Betowess]

That isn't Clado at least. But you could try the Excel spot treatment. Like Jeff said, Clado is dark green and its strands are branched. Count your blessings if it isn't Clado.

BTW, the tank looks great!

 

[retoid]

I found that pic here. Typically it is not identified on the page
http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/showimage.php?i=758&c=9

 

[Naja002]

Its staghorn according to the thread:

Another algea problem, beard?? algea

The pic linked in the thread doesn't work for me, but Location: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/displayimage.php?imageid=758

"teddo10" only has 17 posts, only 2 started by teddo10 and only 1 about algae. They apparently tried to link to the album page instead of just straight to the picture. teddo10 only has 2 pix hosted and only 1 of those is the algae pic.

HTH

 

[ringram]

Ok, maybe it's staghorn then. Thanks for the info!
I removed some of it last night during a 50-60% wc and then I dosed:
~1/2 tsp K2So4
~3/4 tsp KNo3
~1/2 tsp KH2Po4
2 tsp Mg (Epsom Salt)

Epsom salt will increase KH a little, right? I saw something mentioned about staghorn and low KH. I'll watch the N and P levels, as I'm not sure exactly what they are but I didn't want deficiencies. I may bring a few more RCS over from the other tank to help combat.
I'll also keep applying elbow grease to keep it at bay while the chemistry and algae eaters do the rest of the work! ....hopefully

 

[aquaverde]

Count your blessings if it isn't Clado.

That's for sure.

 

[Naja002]

Ok, maybe it's staghorn then. Thanks for the info!
I removed some of it last night during a 50-60% wc and then I dosed:
~1/2 tsp K2So4
~3/4 tsp KNo3
~1/2 tsp KH2Po4
2 tsp Mg (Epsom Salt)

Epsom salt will increase KH a little, right? I saw something mentioned about staghorn and low KH. I'll watch the N and P levels, as I'm not sure exactly what they are but I didn't want deficiencies. I may bring a few more RCS over from the other tank to help combat.
I'll also keep applying elbow grease to keep it at bay while the chemistry and algae eaters do the rest of the work! ....hopefully

Adding the epsom salts will increase Your Gh--AFAIK it doesn't have any effect on Kh. Read TB's comments in that other thread. Increase N03 and possibly C02.

You have Hard Water, right? If so, the Mg may help or it may throw things out-of-wack. If You have Hard Water and are not showing calcium defieciencies--then I wouldn't add the Mg.

HTH

 

[Anthony]

Does it seem to like water flow, and completely grows back after a day or two(at the most) of manual removal?

 

[ringram]

Adding the epsom salts will increase Your Gh--AFAIK it doesn't have any effect on Kh. Read TB's comments in that other thread. Increase N03 and possibly C02.

You have Hard Water, right? If so, the Mg may help or it may throw things out-of-wack. If You have Hard Water and are not showing calcium defieciencies--then I wouldn't add the Mg.

HTH

Nope. My water is actually quite soft... GH / KH ~ 3-4. Maybe not ultra soft, but not hard by any means. I've experienced deficiencies in the past with some plants that people think is Ca.

 

[aquaverde]

IME, staghorn doesn't like water circulation. I'm no expert, though. It's kind of weird stuff, it can drive you crazy and then disappear seemingly almost overnight. I got rid of it by increasing my dosing in a small DIY CO2 tank. For me that was counterintuitive, so it took me a while to get around to it.

For cladophora , I had to resort to a small nuclear device.roud:

 

[ringram]

Hmm, well I guess a few days or a week will tell. I *did* bump up what I'm dosing and tonight I'll look into cleaning out the Rena XP3. It seems like it's been putting out less flow as of late...might be a little clogged. I did the same to the Eheim a couple weeks ago and it improved.

 

[toshi]

Algae on moss:

This algae looks like the same thing I had on my X'mas moss when I had some for my first planted tank. After I got some SAE's, they took care of it within a day or two and kept it in check, never saw it again.