Algae - Plant Troubles

Mike80000 · Posted: Mon Nov 13, 2006 9:03 pm Post subject: Algae - Plant Troubles

Hi,

Relatively new to this and really struggling with this problem. After a lot of trouble with chemical levels etc all has been stable now for about six weeks, tank has been set up for 5 months.

Real problems with algae.....get a lot of build up on glass and also all plants seem to go black after a while which looks like some sort of algae to me.

I currently leave the light on for 10 hours a day and there's not much natural light in the room. I previously tried reducing to 9 but didn't seem to make much difference.

Any advice greatly appreciated, someone suggested getting a catfish (plec) but I was also advised that they eat all the plants!

Any advice please?

Mike

matt · Moderator

Can you tell us more about your setup. Tank size, filter, number of light tubes, are you using CO2 fertilisation for your plants?

If, for example, you were running a high tech planted aquarium, I would be asking about your CO2 levels and perhaps suggesting increasing.

By contrast, if you're running a straightforward community tank, I'd be thinking more along the lines of lots of water changes - 1/3rd of the tank volume, every week.

There are other measures to consider, we just need to know a little more about your tank.

Cheers

Matt
_________________
My Planted Tank Journal

Mike80000 · Posted: Sat Nov 18, 2006 7:42 pm Post subject:

Matt,

Tank size is 4ft with external eheim filter and two light tubes. I'm pretty sure it's all compatible as I bought it as a complete setup type of thing.

I'm not using CO2. It's a straightforward community tank. I reduced the lighting down to 9 hours and within two days most of the sand had a light covering of algae!!

I've now reduce to eight hours, but need to clean up again to see if it is helping!!

I regularly change the water every month (about 25%). I've also got an air pump running all the time.

Cheers

Mike

matt · Moderator

This is a tricky one... If you had a "high tech" planted tank, then there are all manner of variables that you can check and tweak to bring algae under control. The key is to give the plants all the TLC they need to make them out-compete the algae.

With a regular tank with plants it's trickier because you have fewer options and it's harder to really give the plants optimum conditions. You also have the problem that if you dose with algae killer, that affects plants too.

So... I would stick with the 8 hours per day lighting. Step up the water changes to 30%, every two weeks at least (or weekly is much better still). Make sure you're dosing plant food (Leaf Zone is my current preferred choice). Try and remove as much of the algae as possible manually; siphoning off when changing the water, wiping off leaves and ornaments, cutting off leaves that are really badly affected. And, finally, be prepared to keep this up for a while - the good news is that you should start to see results fairly soon.

One last thought... You've not mentioned which plants you're growing. Make sure you've got some tough, fast growers - try to get lots of Hygrophila Polysperma in the tank - it'll grow fast and will take all the nutrients that the algae is currently thriving on. Keep triming it when it reaches the water surface and it will branch out and keep getting stronger and bushier.

Hope this helps. Good luck.
_________________
My Planted Tank Journal

Mike80000 · Posted: Mon Nov 20, 2006 8:23 pm Post subject:

Thanks Matt, I'll give it a try

SNOWKIWI · Posted: Tue Dec 26, 2006 8:02 pm Post subject:

Hi Mike, I had a similar problem, tried all sorts, then after searching through quite a few sites, found that Fishkeepers were recommending "Flourish Excell" and Siamese Algae eaters, as an answer to the problem. Anyway, bought some, as well as a Flying Fox, introduced the fish to the tank, then dosed with the Flourish for a couple of days, algae gone, plants and fish happy! all within a week.