Snowman Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 I have 3 tanks and have this black furry , looks like hair growing on my ornaments and plants and its starting to strangle the plants , leaves falling off & dont look well at all . Any suggestions appreciated ;-) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
herefishiefishie Posted February 6, 2005 Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Remove the ornaments & scrub the algae off. It is caused by an excessive nutrients in the water, do water changes, to save time read this, Here are some important tips to remember for effective algae control: Keep Nitrates as low as possible. Shoot for 10ppm or less if the fish load is not too high (25ppm and under is probably more realistic with heavier fish loads). Increase the frequency of water changes and cut back on feeding to achieve the desired results. Keep the lights on for no more than 12 hours a day. If it's a fish only tank use the light as sparingly as possible until the algae is under control. A typical light cycle should be 12 hours on and 12 hours off. Cut back on feeding. Maybe skip a day once a week to help improve water quality. Feed no more than your fish can eat in a few short minutes. Many more fish die due to overfeeding than those that actually starve to death. Discontinue any plant fertilizers. Often times the use of a new fertilizer will kick algae into high gear. Don't use water conditioners that contain plant extracts. Discontinue the use of cycling helper products, their effectiveness is questionable at best and they may even add nitrates that will feed your algae. Consider the use of phosphate absorbing beads if the previous things aren't helping much. Even a slightly elevated phosphate level can tip the scale in favor of algae. Watch out for pH buffers, many contain extra phosphates that may be feeding your algae as well. Add fast growing plants like Water Sprite to gobble up the excess nutrients and out compete the algae for food. Do not use algaecides. These can be harmful to plants & fish and do not address the cause of algae; excess nutrients. Use bulbs with a color spectrum between 5000K to 6500K. This will help your plants get the type of light they need to out compete algae. Pick up some algae eaters: try siamese algae eaters frenchy Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 Hi , one tank has a male adult bristlenose in it & 2 otocinclus & another tank is one im using to breed gold blackeye ancistrus , thats got 2 adults and about 20-30 young ones from 15-45mm , my last tank has heaps of guppies & swordtails & is no where near as bad , all tanks get a weekly 20% water change . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted February 6, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 6, 2005 The worst tank is an Aqua One 850 , the lights in it are 10000 & 15000k will that promote algae growth ? Thanks for your help Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I have identified it as blackbeard algae , found out floursih excel double dosed will kill it , thank you for your advice herefishiefishie , bit of a waste of time posting it in here as no one answered as to what it was or how to get rid of it , dissapointed in this site . Waste of time . Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Caryl Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 No one answered?? herefishiefishie gave a very comprehensive reply. Sorry we have wasted your precious time. :roll: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pegasus Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Hey there Snowman... Don't melt and disappear in the summer heat Your initial post... (which was in the wrong section) was answered within an hour, and you also began to become involved in a topic in the Catfish section... so I really can't understand why you made such a remark... however, if you continue to keep fish with the same amount of impatience, then there is little hope of your fishkeeping experiences becoming pleasurable ones. Bill. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Snowman Posted February 7, 2005 Author Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 Well im sorry but i dont like watching my plants die , this is what it said under disease , "A place to ask for help, offer remedies and talk about sick fishies in general." I was asking for help , i apologise for not knowing everything about your site & not knowing what section to put it under , as i said no one told me what it was or that flourish excel would clear it up . As i have heard water conditions is responsible for most things , i have a kit that tests Ammonia , Nitrate , Nitrite & P.H. and they are all good i probably need a phosphate test kit but im on a sickness benefit & got a 4 mth old son so hes gotta come first . Sorry if i upset you guys but after several hours of checking old forums and finding out it was bb algae & that flourish excel would sort it out i was frustrated no one had told me this . Would like to thank Frenchy for a prompt reply & trying to help a beginner . Sorry Caryl & Pegasus :oops: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HummingBird Posted February 7, 2005 Report Share Posted February 7, 2005 I've got a bit of this stuff too, good to know that Flourish Excel gets rid of it. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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