Black/grey algae

[Ymir]

Heya guys, I have a algae problem on all three java fern types and one of the Anubias species. It looks grey/black in colour and kind of tuffy looking. It seems to grow mainly on the leaf margins on the older leaves but there is some on semi newer growth. I would post pic but got to try and work out how to post. lol

WANT TO KILL THIS!!!!

[phoenix44]

too much light. what lights are you using?

[A-town...]

is it black beared algae?

[Ymir]

no that isn't black beared algae. I will try and sort out the picture crap tonite and post a couple of images.

[A-town...]

sweet

[supasi]

If its not BBA, I would guess it sounds like Staghorn Algae.

[Ymir]

Here is the nasty stuff :evil: I hope someone can help now I have worked out how to post images!!

[alanmin4304]

That is the anchoring mechanism for the plant and the plant mutiplies by producung plantlets on the leaves. They can be seperated off the main plant when big enough.

[DennisP]

I think he's talking about the blurry bits on the edge of the leaves (and on the roots), not the roots themselves. :lol:

[alanmin4304]

Black beard.

[Jennifer]

Looks to me like you could have black beard and staghorn there. Excel easily kills blackbeard. Staghorn is really hard to kill. You will need to sort out an imbalance in the tank to get rid of that. A load of stem plants floating on the top will help a lot, as will removing affected leaves.

[Cricketman]

staghorn is the new BBA :lol: everyone getting it!

[Ymir]

I think he's talking about the blurry bits on the edge of the leaves (and on the roots), not the roots themselves. :lol:

How right you are

[Ymir]

Looks to me like you could have black beard and staghorn there. Excel easily kills blackbeard. Staghorn is really hard to kill. You will need to sort out an imbalance in the tank to get rid of that. A load of stem plants floating on the top will help a lot, as will removing affected leaves.

so I take it, it is not black beard the pirate?? are you are talking about flourish excel?

I have just found this site, seems helpful.

http://mralgae.blogspot.com/2008/01/so-you-have-got-dreaded-weed-in-your.html

Seems I need to check my co2 and a couple of others levels. What is a good level for co2 to be at?? and can I get a test kit from the LFS?? I have seen P44 attempts to kill staghorn and it does not look fun. I will work on the black beard first as that seems more manageable. Will a weak solution of chlorine kill the nasty pirate or shall I use flourish excell for the time being?

[Jennifer]

Finding the right balance is a challenge. The light, nutrients and CO2 need to change at the same rate or algae will take over. It is good to get the plants going strong so that they outcompete the algae. They can best do this when the above are unlimiting however the plants will take longer to adjust to changing levels of light/CO2 and nutrients so it can take 2 to 3 weeks before they really start to grow fast enough to take over from the algae. In the mean time you can take the plants out and bleach dip them (1:20 plain bleach for 10 minutes, rinse very well and then plant them again) however the severely algae-affected leaves will be permanently damaged so it is best to remove them.

Some of the very best running planted tanks have a lot of light and a LOT of plants that are well established. There also should be a lot of fish in there to provide all the nutrients and few water changes or filter cleans. The anaerobic areas of the filter will produce CO2, as will the fish. With occasional trace supplementation, these types of tanks can run well with no algae for years. The key is balance. Once we start adding extra CO2, the plants have an increased nutrient requirement, and vice versa. The more we add, the higher the maintenance requirements become. Once we start adding artificial fertilisers, we need to increase water changes in order to keep the tank in balance and prevent algae issues.

[Ymir]

I currently have what I believe to be an overstocked tank, so nutrients are not a problem (I am currently doing two water changes per week, due to the poo levels) . The are only babies for the most part (couple of centimeters long) besides the L204.

8 golden bristle nose

12 Pseudotropheus demasoni

3 Julidochromis marlieri

5 Altolamprologus calvus

3 blacks whiptails

3 Panaque sp, L204

8 Aulonocara baenschi

(I am waiting on 9 electric yellows and some more Julidochromis marlieri. If you read this Ryan, tell your fish to hurry up and get funky with it!!! )

in a 320 liter tank. With rock work, wood and plants. I have three java fern types and two Anubias species. Plus I am experimenting due to the pH with a crypt specie and two foreground plants and a feathery looking common tall thing (highly technical language). If the foreground plants continue to grow well, I will get more. What are the good nutrient levels to achieve to get this balance?

I am relatively new to planted tanks and have been told several times that plants and cichlids don't mix. I have seen pic's of oversea tanks where they work perfectly well and want to achieve that as well.

I will try the bleach thing this weekend coming. If anyone could list the ideal nutrient levels that would be great. It will give me something to work towards.

[Jennifer]

Those plants are slower growing so they will not be using much of the available nutrients. You might need to cut back on feeding, do small frequent water changes and lower the lighting/decrease the photoperiod. It would also be helpful to temporarily add some fast growing stem plants until the algae issue is over.

Occasional supplementation with trace nutrients (like Flourish Comprehensive) will keep that Java fern looking fantastic.

[Ymir]

the feathery plant I believe is Cabomba caroliniana. Should I get more aggressive with plant and split it up more I wont to but am worried about killing it.

Here are the two foreground plants. I don't know what they are called but and id would be greatly appreciated. The sword shapped leaf one, I like particularly. If anyone has an idea of the crypt that would be great too.