Can't get rid of hair algae

[art_b]

I went to Palmers this morning. I saw this Extract of Barley Straw which states eliminate green water and algae on ponds. I think this should also work with fish tank. I've read about barley straw somewhere on the web regarding algae control. Maybe it is a better alternative to algaecide as a last resort.

[art_b]

Further research on barley straw, it does not kill algae but prevent formation of algae cells. So maybe it is not a good idea for fish tank

[DubbieBoy]

Well, seeing as you asked...

For what it's worth, and having been through, and defeated, plagues of hair algae, black beard algae and green water more akin to pea soup than anything else, here's my take on it.

It's all about competition and making sure algae knows it's just not wanted. Algae takes a hold when all is not when with your higher order plants. Fix this first. CO2 to the max and ferts all in good order. You won't get rid of algae by removing ferts, that will just starve everything else and weaken it further allowing algae to really get established. Same goes for blackouts. Dose up. Then dilute, dilute, dilute. Water changes are a good thing. I don't think for one second we are even close to properly understanding the chemistry of the planted tank; over time toxins accumulate and put the brakes on plant growth. Metabolites, hormones, allelopathic compunds, God only knows what else; in the artificial environment of the planted tank these have to be removed through water changes. Then dump those yummy ferts straight back in there.

But my single, greatest weapon in fighting algal growth is humble Riccia. The plant is just great. It's grows exponentially, like bacteria, at such an astonishing rate under good lighting and with CO2. While it's dividing away like mad it's sucking out the bad stuff, outcompeting algae and creating an environment favouring higher order plant growth. And it floats! So when it's gotten to be to much and it's hogging too much light you just stick your hand in there and scoop it out by the handful; makes great compost too. No mess, no fuss. And away it goes again, doing its anti-algal thing. Pretty too. If the Ricca isn't pearling like Perrier then something is obviously very wrong. I've been keeping a planted tank for years and the only time algal meltdowns have occured, and they have, has been when I shirked off keeping the Riccia happy. When the Riccia's going well, I can find ZERO algae in my tank barring maybe some small green spot colonies on the glass. None, diddly squat, nada. I attribute this to the Riccia effect. Try it, I can send you a kilo of the stuff if you like. Would be interested to hear if it helps with your problem...

YMMV

Hey Jen, I still have that fern for you and if things quieten down around here a little bit any time soon I may even get around to sending it up. Haven't forgotten, honest ;-)

[Jennifer]

Hey Jen, I still have that fern for you and if things quieten down around here a little bit any time soon I may even get around to sending it up. Haven't forgotten, honest ;-)

Cheers.

I totally agree with what you have said. As we all have been discussing here on many threads, limiting light, regular fertilising, water changes and fast growing plants are the major controls for most types of algae. I do the same thing using ludwigia repens. It partly blocks the light and soaks up all the excess the nutrients. I can even float extra bits if needed. When it pearls I know everything is in good order and each of the leaves are a good 5 centimetres wide so they must be doing a good job. No algae at all but believe me, I have learned about balance the hard way!

[SamH]

What is the grass on the left? Thanks.

[phoenix44]

subulata.

your plants look very healthy DB

[breakaway]

Hey Guys,

Thanks for the help.

Here's what the tank looks like now:

So far I've been dosing 4mL flourish every 3 days for 200L of water. I've got a lot of ambulia and some indian fern in there that's going absolutely crazy and attempting to take over the tank. Hair algae growth seems to have arrested rather than go down. I hop if I continue this way then it'll be gone in a while.

I've also purchased a new 78W T5HO unit - at this stage do you guys think I'd be better off holding off putting it on or shall I just throw it on and see what happens? I don't want to fuel the algae any further but want to encourage plant growth. Keep in mind my CO² is DIY and my plants are pearling - would it be beneficial to add the 2nd 78W of T5HO at this stage?

[Jennifer]

Good work on getting those other plants to grow well and great that the algae has stopped growing. It will not dissapear right away so you might try manually removing it from surfaces.

If it were me, I would not add additional lighting at this stage, especially if your plants are pearling. Try increasing your CO2 if you can (e.g. another bottle) and continue fertilising and doing regular water changes. Once these things are humming along nicely and there is no additional algae growth, then gradually increase the lighting, and be prepared to add more CO2 and ferts if necessary to keep things in balance as the plants' demands grow.

[breakaway]

The tank seems to be doing better. No new algae is growing, but the existing algae isn't dying either. Some of it has died although. When ran my hand along the plants a lot of it just seemed to 'fall off'. Also removed heaps of Cyano. Tank looks good now, but will look even better when algae dies. Changed a fair amount of water today. Also re-dosed ferts.

[DubbieBoy]

Sounds like you're on the right track; keep on top of things and it'll disappear completely I'll bet. Nice tank! The more you can bump up your CO2 the faster your plants will rob algae of what it needs.

[breakaway]

I'm looking to invest into a quality pressurised CO2 setup. This DIY stuff just isn't cutting it - it seems that the CO2 just fizzles out after a few days but other times the CO2 goes for ~10 days even though I swear I've used the same ratio of ingredients. Any recommendations for places where I can get it from (don't mind importing)

Jennifer, my ambulia has increased its internodal space now. How do I 'fix' this?

[DubbieBoy]

I'm looking to invest into a quality pressurised CO2 setup. This DIY stuff just isn't cutting it

Do it; you'll never look back. DIY is great for just seeing the results and convincing yourself that CO2 supplementation really has an amazing effect on plant life but for the longer term, pressurised is the only way to go.

[phoenix44]

ambulia has increased its internodal space now. How do I 'fix' this?

blue light. powerglo will do the trick.

[Jennifer]

I'm looking to invest into a quality pressurised CO2 setup. This DIY stuff just isn't cutting it - it seems that the CO2 just fizzles out after a few days but other times the CO2 goes for ~10 days even though I swear I've used the same ratio of ingredients. Any recommendations for places where I can get it from (don't mind importing)

Jennifer, my ambulia has increased its internodal space now. How do I 'fix' this?

What is your ppm of CO2? If you have a pH test kit and a kH test kit you can use this chart to figure out the ppm.

aquascapingworld.com

Test your kH first and then test your pH and read across to see if you are reaching ideal CO2 levels for good plant growth. Also, try putting your DIY bottle next to the canister filter so it stays somewhat warm. You can put it in a bucket of warm water to kick start it again. Also, that tank looks big enough that you could use two bottles which are easy to combine with a Y connector.

The ambulia requires quite a lot of CO2, especially with high light. If you see long internodes, it is growing well. I have tried many things to get it to grow compact but what has worked best for me is clipping it back so it is shorter (and not getting as much light). It gets much bushier that way and seems to stay more compact.

[Zev]

The trouble with DIY C02 is that you cannot regulate what goes into the tank, you are relying a system that will fluctuate with age or temperature, so the table is really only applicable when you can accurately regulate the input of C02 into the tank, otherwise the target shifts all of the time and you have no control over it.

I use a similar table, but have a system with a 2.5kg bottle, regulator and needle valve, and it works well to get the right bubble rate for my tank.

[alanmin4304]

What is the foreground plant in the pic? S. subulata or microfolia?

[breakaway]

What is the foreground plant in the pic? S. subulata or microfolia?

It's neither of those (I looked them up in google image search), but here's a better photo. I don't know the common name. I knew the latin name but I forgot it because it was long and a tongue twister

Anyway, the above plant was absolutely covered in hair algae. So I've pulled it out into a bucket and covered the top to put it into a blackout for a couple of nights. Hopefully this will help it get a stronger foothold when I transfer it back into the main tank. Photo of yesterday's 'scape:

Had to remove the ambulia and some other plants because the cyano had ruined their leaves. I saved the tips and re-planted them though.

[Jennifer]

If you have already pulled the plant and put it in a bucket, add a good splash of plain bleach. After 15 minutes I guarantee the algae will be dead and the plant can be rinsed and replanted.

Btw, those blue mystery snails eat hair algae.

[breakaway]

How much bleach Jennifer? 10%? 20%?

Also I don't think we can get blue mystery snails as the puffers might possibly attack them. (Strangely though they leave the loaches alone, but will often attack otocinclus).

[Jennifer]

Usually a 1:20 dilution is fine but it is not so exact that you need to measure it. Most plants can withstand a much higher concentration of bleach without showing any signs. Mosses are the exception, they will die pretty quickly if left in the bleach for more than a few minutes (but they will grow back quite quickly).

[alanmin4304]

Make sure your bleach is just a straight solution of HTH without added other stuff.

[breakaway]

Oh, I don't have "Straight Bleach"; Just some 'concentrated bleach' cleaning that I found under the bathroom sink. So this stuff is bad to use? Or can I just use it, rinse the plants several times and chuck em back in?

[Jennifer]

It is best to just use plain liquid Janola type bleach with no added detergents. It is very inexpensive. Cleaners with bleach can leave residues.

[Joe]

I had really bad cyano once, and gave my tank a 5 day blackout. I have never seen it since. I have never had hair algae before, but I have had a very bad black beard outbreak. I overdosed with API Stress Coat, and used a bit of Wunder Algae Remover in conjunction. I treated my tank for nearly 2 weeks, and it killed all my black beard. I also had some green spot algae on the glass which was killed as well. So in other words, it worked amazingly. Give it a go and see what happens.

[breakaway]

Okay, I recently bleached some of the plants that were badly affected by algae. It killed all the algae, but the plant are now losing their leaves (I read this is to be expected and that they will bounce back shortly).

Algae is still not showing any signs of going away though. I'm looking at adding pressurised CO² shortly.