Too many algae Problems- Time for a fresh start?

[Dixon1990]

In my 300L 'south american' setup i have had nothing but troubles with algae.

Have had greenspot,brown algae, hair algae.

Currently have Brown algae, Beard algae, and string algae.

And to be honest i have just had enough of it.

What could be causing it?

Im seriously considering putting all the fish and un-algaed plants in a large plastic container and starting over.

But what i need to know is if all the algae could be transfered in the filter(im buying new hoses and filter intake/output.

[Ira]

Too much food, too much light, too little water changes.

There's no point in starting over because unless you fix the cause of the algae you'll just end up right where you are now.

[Dixon1990]

I underfeed if anything, Constantly adding new cold water because the waters 28 and has a open top and looses alot of water and a 20% water change every week aswell as the 2nd daily top ups.

And light is only 2 t8 4foots and 2 t5. Not enough light to grow the plants i want.

I read that the daltons aquatic mix can help the algae grow faster. Is this true?

[supasi]

Hey Dixon

I only ever use Daltons mix, and it never seems to really be a problem for me.

What ferts are you using? Have you been disturbing the substrate recently?

Another thing I find does cause algae probs is drift wood.Especially softwoods such as pine etc.

I assume it has to do with the breaking down of the wood releasing nutrients into the water.

[Dixon1990]

Hey Dixon

I only ever use Daltons mix, and it never seems to really be a problem for me.

What ferts are you using? Have you been disturbing the substrate recently?

Another thing I find does cause algae probs is drift wood.Especially softwoods such as pine etc.

I assume it has to do with the breaking down of the wood releasing nutrients into the water.

No ferts

OK so there is a large amount of wood in the tank,and the wood is where most of the algae is, so when i restart the tank(which i have been wanting to do for a while,not just because of the algae) I will use less and a different type

something more like this

[Adrienne]

I find that this time of the year Feb - March is when I have the greatest problems with algae -black beard and string (I think thats the one, long and bright green). I seem to be able to just keep them under control with flourish excel and a decent sort of current. I have heaps of driftwood in my tank but the only way I can control the black beard algae on that is to squirt the flourish excel directly on it.

[alanmin4304]

That amount of light is above average. You will usually get algae problems with a new tank because it takes a while for the plants to become established and start taking up the nutrient. What you have is strong light and no nutrient take up. Patience grasshopper--use less light and wait until the plants get established, and do bigger water changes more often. Top ups don't help as they don't remove any nutrient. Don't add any ferts and remove the nutrient with water changes.

[Dixon1990]

Thanks for all the advice.

But i dont see the beard algae on the wood going away by itself, Theres so much of it.

And with the light. with only 2 bulbs going, there isnt enough light to reach the plants at the bottom.

Do the tannins from the wood block some light?

When i start over Im not going to let the water get 'tannined'(lol).

[whetu]

I got so frustrated with my BBA last year that I did break down the tank and start again (I was moving house anyway so it had to be done - but I did a much more drastic job than I would have if I was jsut doing it for the move).

Here's what I discovered:

1) The BBA came back, even though I thought I had bean really thorough in my scrubbing, and had even thrown away all my plants and started again.

2) However, it did make it easier for me to manage the algae as it returned - the new growth was smaller and softer, and I was looking for it so I was ready!

3) Psychologically it did make a difference. I was beginning to really resent the way my tank looked, so was not putting as much effort into it as I usually would (so a vicious cycle...) After re-starting it, it lloked nicer so I was committed to keeping it that way.

4) After setting up the tank again, I had all the problems associated with setting up a new tank - including all those algae issues! (brown algae on the glass, green water...) but they were easier to deal with than the BBA and I knew they would go away once I re-established the plants and regained a balanced system.

In conclusion, if you are really at the end of your tether, I would advise you to take the tank to bits and start again. But don't expect it to be a miracle cure! You will still need to work through all the stages systematically and make sure you keep on top of things as each type of algae becomes re-established.

[Dixon1990]

I do realise i will get all the new tank algae problems, But i have been wanting to redo the tank since before the algae got bad, so i thought now would be the best time also while i have the spare tank atm.

This tank breakdown will also give me a chance to get good enough photos to ID my apistos and to count how many of what i have and sort out the corys so i only have 2 species and give away the deformed ones to my friend.

[phoenix44]

could it be the daltons that is causing a problem? i dunno - ive never used or been able to find that stuff so am not sure if it can contribute to this excessive algae. starting may not help, but then again - it just may do the trick. have you tried stuff like phos zorb / nitra or bio chem zorb?

[Dixon1990]

Those 3 things sound just like those horrible chemicals i dont need and dont use :lol:

[phoenix44]

rubbish! lol.

someones gotta keep the corporates happy, ha ha. :bounce:

[Dixon1990]

Nah, i say no to chemical i dont NEED. (except flourish, but thats different :lol:)

[phoenix44]

are you using flourish in that tank?

[Dixon1990]

Not yet :lol:

Im going to use it directly on the algae it kills as they appear(if they do) after the Big tank restart.

[HaNs]

Daltons would be feeding the algae.

Start fresh and use flourish/co2 from the start

[mj]

I had/have a massive algae problem in my african tank - I added 2 golden spot plecos the other day and they a mowing through it! they've removed a good 60 % of it already,plants look great, rocks slowly coming back to normal

I know having 2 they will out grow my tank but I will just offer them to someone down the track

[alanmin4304]

Your algae problems are caused by too much nutrient. CO2 will not help as it is only part of what the plants need to grow. Cut back on the light until the plants are established and using nutrient. Once the nutrient is being taken up you can add CARBON in the form of FLOURISH EXCELL because it has an algacidal effect as well. You can switch to CO2 when everything settles down and gets a balance. It is a bit like adding a heap of fish to a tank that has not cycled. You have to get the plants established before they will do anything and you want a low biological load (only a few fish) and frequent water changes untill the system stabilizes. To have a high light aquarium you need added fertilizers and added carbon from Flourish excell or CO2 as well as good light and lots of plants growing like crazy. Just having part only puts the system out of whack and feeds algae.

[evey71]

I have been battling black beard in one tank and posted on it recently. I tried frequent water changes which I was doing anyway but did more.

Every week I changed half of the tank water and vaccumed the stones.

The water changes did not work.

I then took all the bits out , although no wood, and soaked it in a 1% janola and hot water mix. this cleaned all the bits. I then soaked them in clean water and baking soda until they did not smell anymore. Well they smelt a little bit on janola but it hasn't hurt the fish.

I cleaned the black beard tufts off the glass except for a few area's for a test area on more treatments.

Someone said it was the phosphates.

In the end and I am just now trying I bought two little algae flying foxes also called siamese algae eaters(not chinese as they are aggressive) . They are doing a great job cleaning all the foilage but have not eaten the BB yet but I am thinking they are little and it is a biggish tank.

Another thing to do also is to boil any wood that goes into the aquarium for a good hour. I know some will not fit in the pot but you can turn it around and the steam will steralize as well. I wouldn't put the wood in the janola mix.

I have heard the term 'sick tank' and I wonder if for some reason you are not happy why not start again by cleaning everything. boil your stones etc It wouldn't hurt.

So look at phosphates and maybe the algae eaters.

Hope this helps a little. Evey :lol:

[alanmin4304]

Siamese algae eaters and flying foxes are not the same and they remove algae best when small. Your plants must be established and growing well before they will strip nutrient and starve algae. The system is a living thing and has to obtain a balance. It can take quite some time for the plants to become established and a properly functioning part of the equation. Move slowly and take small steps.

[suphew]

Constantly adding new cold water because the waters 28 and has a open top and looses alot of water and a 20% water change every week aswell as the 2nd daily top ups.

This is likely the cause of the problem. When water evaporates, only pure water evaporates leaving behind any nutrients , heavy metals etc etc, you then add more water with phosphate, nitrate etc, which in turn evaporates leaving behind more. In a nut shell the evaporating water is purer that the water your adding so the 'bad stuff' is slowly building up. This is the reason Marine fish keepers use RO/DI (very pure) water to top up the evaporation from their tanks.

You have a few options to fix the problem:-

Use cleaner topup water, which might be too soft for your fish, plus will cost $$$

Large water changes,

Chemical removal, phosphate resin etc

Accept the high levels and use plant to out compete the algae, plants need 3 things, nutrients (which you have), light, and CO2. You could increase your light which should make the plants grow. If the extra light doesn't help then you might be CO2 limited.

Wow almost reads like lots of conflicting advise but if you read between the lines we are all saying the same thing, that you need to get the tank into balance, light, co2, and nutrients

[VinsonMassif]

IME I found that my algae blooms developed when I had wood in the tank and did not dose enough nitrogen.

Along with too few water changes and not enough carbonate in the tank.

The wood broke down and increased the TDS levels. This breakdown depleted the carbonate otherwise utilized by my plants.

This meant my plants basically stopped growing.

I rectified this by including a decent layer or aragonite sand under my substrate. My pH is stable at 5.8.

My plants out compete the algae when I dose Nitrogen, potassium, magnesium, iron and Fl. Excel daily appropriate for my tank.

I find that to keep the algae at bay I am required to do 4x 40% pwc EVERY week.

Another trick I learned was to keep a number of branches of bogwood and rotate them.

When the wood gets coated in algae take it out, scrub it, bleach it with H2O2, sun bake it, soak it.

Repeat when needed.