Southerrrngirrl Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 I'm trying to figure out what the deal is with algae. Have been researching but am a bit confused. I have plants in my tank, some that have been growing since the tank was first set up. I don't know what they are, one is small with long leaves and its a creeper type, it has taken over most of the bottom of the tank, then theres a tall growing one with large leaves and I recently added some cabomba. They all appear to be doing well, especially the large leaved one, I have trimmed it several times, and planted the cuttings in other locations in the tank. The old growth on the plant has dark brown/black algae on it. How do I get rid of this, it seems to slowly be rotting the leaves away? My understanding is that algae comes from too many nutrients in the water?? If I had more plants, the algae would struggle to grow as there wasn't enough nutrients for it?? Is that correct? I get green algae on the glass but thats easily scraped off. I just can't seem to get rid of this brown/black algae. Would it help to cut off the affected leaves?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 What lighting are you running? If I run my planted tank (has very heavy lighting) without CO2 the thread algae literally takes over within days. I'm told the idea is you want your plants to eat the nutrients in the water before the algae does. If the plants can't, then the algae will go crazy. Some basic ways of doing this are: - reduce nutrient (increase water changes) - reduce lighting (less CO2 required for growth, balances things better) - increase CO2 (either inject and/or reduce surface disturbance e.g. no air pumps, and only a little vibration on the water surface) - increase predators - (SAE etc that eat it) - add more plants - (more plants means more plant growth!) - use AlgaeFix (I really dont like it but am giving it a second chance at the moment due to forum advice) I got a young SAE to help my problem but he's useless, maybe when he gets bigger. Hopefully the more informed planted guys can add to what I've said or correct me because I'm still learning all this too. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 I understand SAE'S are more effective with algae when young and clown loaches with snails when older. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Yeah I am pretty sure that's how it goes to.. I had SAE's and when they got older, they got lazy, early retirement it seemed... :lol: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 hmm my SAE is useless with algae, and my young clown loaches have destroyed my pond snail population hah Silly fish. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 10, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 Just the standard lights that come with the AR850. The lights are only on for 6 hours a day from 6pm to 12am, is that a bad thing? I have used JBL Algae... something in the past but didn't seem to do any good. Not sure about getting some algae eaters, with 22 fish in the tank already I think i'm just about at my limit. I heard the algae eaters get lazy as they get other though, and don't bother about eating the algae?? Are bristlenoses any good? They stay quite small don't they? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
wagonman Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 i have the same tank and problem as you do, i have been told it is the lights, they need to be 6500k - 8000k daylight bulbs, but the light bulb is an odd lenght so ya can only get them from the fish shop at $30 a pop. lights need to be on for atleast 10hrs a day. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 For planted tank I have Flash Plecos (of which are not plant munchers) I usually by pass the idea of Bristles, been there done that, and my Cobomba never looked the same again, amongst other things :lol: We have 8 Oto Cats, we have these in our planted tank and what awesome little worker bees they are Just have to make sure you have good water quailty for them Often a little cat that gets overlooked, and the thing is, they don't munch your plants Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
quack Posted January 10, 2007 Report Share Posted January 10, 2007 i have a flying fox and hes still quite small and hes usless, the redtailed shark in the tank eats more algae :-? i have an ar980 and have had the same problems, i changed my bulbs to the right K and also add in one extra 30w fluro under the lid bit that you feed from. also i have my pressuirsed co2 system running on there at the moment and the alage in going away pretty fast Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2007 i have the same tank and problem as you do, i have been told it is the lights, they need to be 6500k - 8000k daylight bulbs, but the light bulb is an odd lenght so ya can only get them from the fish shop at $30 a pop. lights need to be on for atleast 10hrs a day. Ouch! It might have to wait a month or two in that case. Has yours cleared up yet? Isn't some algae encouraged by light? If I left my lights on longer wouldn't that be encouraging it? Or is that only natural light that does that? Afrikan, I had looked at Otos in the past, but I think it might be difficult to get from our LFS here.. I've only seen them once and they only had 1-2 that I could see.. and the fact that they need good water quality put me off a bit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted January 11, 2007 Report Share Posted January 11, 2007 I have a bristlenose plec and he is good at eating algae especially off driftwood. I also have a golden algae eater and between them they keep the algae at bay mostly. I do have some brown spots on my java fern but I don't think that is algae, I think they just get like that when the leaves get old, but I don't mind it, it adds character to the tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Afrikan Posted January 11, 2007 Report Share Posted January 11, 2007 They just need good filtration Good luck with your search.. Depending on what sort of price you want to pay.. the smaller Plecs are good (well the ones we have) they don't touch the plants.. do their job on the glass and rocks etc, just not interested in the plants which is a good thing... Flash Plecs and Iquitos we have. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jim r Posted January 11, 2007 Report Share Posted January 11, 2007 My flying foxes are brilliant they never stop and they cleared my tank in less than 2 weeks. My tanks are lit from 6.45am till 11pm and I have no algae probs. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 11, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 11, 2007 OK so I should plant some more plants, get some new light bulbs and leave the lights on longer and that should cure it?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
me love fishy Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 And get some algae eaters Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 What I'm doing for my algae control is: Using Flourish excel at double to quadriple dose (I have very heavily planted tanks, and I have slowly increased the dosage to this level). Regular Water Changes, probably the most important task as it stops build up of excess nutrients. I have aquabasis as a substrate so that provides the micronutrient requirement for the plants. I now avoid any ferts with iron or phosphates, I know what iron deficiency will look like and I won't put any in until I see symptoms. Several blooms that I have had seem to have been linked to one particular fert. I fertilise with either Potassium Sulphate or Potassium Nitrate depending on the nitrate levels. I used to use an off the shelf potassium fert but now I use hydroponic nutrients. I have strong lights with long daylength (probably too long, causing what problems I do have). I have phosphate remover in my canisters, and I prefer to over filter e.g. running a Aqua One Aquis 2200 on a 200L tank. The high filtration allows me to heavily stock my tanks but the down side is that the high food per volume of water leads to high phosphates (the second cause of my problems). Have a species of fish or snail that fills the roll of algae eater, (I also have at least one species fish for snail control in each of my tanks). The theory I have adopted is: to identify the algae, then the cause of the algae outbreak, and then try to get plant growth to outcompete the algae. Trying to find the balance. Have you been able to identify your algae. The colour helps to identify the problem. Brown algae can be diatoms from too much silicates. But it sounds like you might have black beard algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 I'm pretty sure its brown. Black beard is the long fluffy stuff right?? If so then yes there is some of that as well, although only two small patches. Was actually planning on removing that plant that its currently growing on during next water change anyway. How would there come to be too much silicates?? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted January 12, 2007 Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 Hi, I've just found a couple of quotes (it's too humid to sleep, so I thought I'd tidy up some of my fish files) "Brown Algae. Forms in soft brown clumpy patches. In the freshwater aquarium these are usually diatoms. Usually indicates a lack of light or an excess of silicates. Increased light levels will usually make it disappear. Easily removed by wiping glass or siphon vacuuming the affected area" from http:/faq.thekrib.com/algae.html "The brown algae appears when the aquarium is young, is brown in colour, and covers everything from walls to driftwood to leaves like a thin curtain. It is easily dealt with by adding a natural enemy, the best of which is Otocinclus." attributed to Takashi Amano. Sounds like longer daylength will be your answer, start with 8 hours per day but clear as much as possible with a water change. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 12, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 12, 2007 Thanks purplecatfish! Guess it could be the lack of light. Will increase to 8 hours. Will also do a water change today. Might even again consider getting some otos. I've wanted some for a while. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Well I've increased the hours of light to 8 hours a day. Haven't yet sorted the bulbs out (been waiting for pay day), but this algae seems to be getting worse. I've noticed more small bits of blackbeard growing on the gravel, and the brown algae appears to be making holes in the leaves? This is bugging the hell out of me now. I just want a nice clean looking tank with healthy looking plants!! Perhaps I should post a photo of it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Yeah a photo would definitely help. lights need to be on for at least 10hrs a day. You might need to increase the hours even more. (mine are on from 6:30am to 9pm) Have you done a nitrate and/or phosphate tests? How often are your water changes? And how much? What fertilisers are you using? Do you use anything like flourish excell? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SpidersWeb Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Algae grows when resources aren't being used by your plants. Your plants dont use resources when they're missing another resource, you've just gotta find out which Fun fun! Adding DIY CO2 or Flourish Excel will help your existing plants make better use of nitrates etc Increasing the light hours benefits both the plants and the algae, so this isn't really a cure I'm affraid. Increasing water changes will decrease any excess nitrates/phosphates etc which the algae thrives off Adding a trace elements fertiliser will help the plants get one over on the algae Adding fast growing stem plants is another good way to absorb excess nutrients. Using AlgaeFix is temporary fix but its an option too Not an answer there, but hopefully something more for you to think about, so you can work out what to do next Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
purplecatfish Posted January 31, 2007 Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Increasing the light hours benefits both the plants and the algae, so this isn't really a cure I'm affraid. Normally I'd agree, but in this case the algae is brown so it's not a photosynthetic one. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Southerrrngirrl Posted January 31, 2007 Author Report Share Posted January 31, 2007 Ok so I'll increase lights another 2 hours. Water changes I generally do about 3-4 buckets once a week so thats about 40 litres I don't have co2, but have a plant fertiliser. I used to use Leaf Zone, but ran out and the LFS didn't have anymore so I've been using Plant Gro Nitrates are about 10ppm or less and I don't know about phosphates, as I don't have a test kit for that. Yet. Here's some photos: Thanks guys! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
alanmin4304 Posted February 1, 2007 Report Share Posted February 1, 2007 Algae doesn't have to be green to be photosynthetic does it? Any more than blue/green algae has to be blue/green or an algae Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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