SamH Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Hey guys, My aquarium has now been set up for just over a month and has been hit with all kinds of algae, most of which originated from a piece of wood I had in the tank. I've since removed the wood, but have been left with brown hair algae on almost all my plants. My tank is 75x35x35cm(100L) and I'm running 2x T5HO 24w tubes for 6hrs a day. So far I've increased CO2 to as much as the fish can handle, reduced the photoperiod down to 6hrs and added two wavemakers to increase flow. What can I do to get rid of this algae? Do I need to do a blackout on the tank? I'll do whatever it takes. Thanks! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Otocinclus LOVE it or they were my cure anyways, plus one small black line flying fox (SAE imo) more they knock it out of place so it can't grow properly can't reccomend a school of them enough Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 I know they love brown diatoms but do they love hair algae too? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Oto's knocked it back heaps, IMO it more from knocking it around before it got a chance, plus live bacteria solution overdose (I get it for free) also maybe find some freshwater shrimp (they munch it like there's no tomorrow) increasing CO2 and decreasing light doesn't sound like a good idea..... had a similar problem with a Cichlid tank, used Bioballs (Concentrated live bacteria) (love it when testing a new product actually works) cleaned it up in 1 month, in 2 months the brown stuff covering all flat surfaces had all but disappeared. now have only one or 2 puffs of BBA every now and then Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 increasing CO2 and decreasing light doesn't sound like a good idea..... Every article I've read on the matter says that it thrives in high light conditions with too little CO2. I know my limit, I'm pushing it to the edge but not beyond. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 add some alopecia to the tank Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
blueether Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 LA should have some of that going spare :digH: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 did you use too much LA??? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 now now gentlemen Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Just the answer I was looking for :roll: Does anyone have any helpful ideas? I think I might just go with a blackout. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 go blackout something is feeding it so it is a process of elimination Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 Awesome, I'll go get the dark sheets and air pump now. Three days? More? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
livingart Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 as long as the other plants and fish can handle it Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 1, 2012 Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 personally i'd avoid blackout and deal with potential nutrient overdosing... blackout will slow the plants too much which will eventually outcompete the algae... btw how old is this tank????? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 1, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 1, 2012 My aquarium has now been set up for just over a month I'm dosing EI on the safe side, initially the algae was only on the wood nearest the light but soon spread throughout the tank. Ideally I'd run 1 tube and make light the limiting factor but that just isn't possible with this ballast. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
phoenix44 Posted November 2, 2012 Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Don't do a black out - just leave it and let your aquarium establish. Once it has you'll just have to tweak the nutrient levels to suit. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 2, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 2, 2012 Yeah the advice on ASW forums was to sit tight, keep doing what I'm doing and increase water changes. It's in my room so there's no escaping it :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 This is the algae as of today.. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Joe Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Maybe you could turn the temperature of your tank down a little and introduce some glass shrimp to eat the algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 It's at 26 right now, would I want it any lower than 24 with a Betta and Embers in there? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
F15hguy Posted November 3, 2012 Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 Shrimp handle 26 ok ime (although it is near their maximum) dunno about the embers but siamese don't really like much below 24 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 3, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 3, 2012 So today I found my old water change tube and decided to give siphoning out leaves, algae, dirt, etc from the tank. It turns out this algae is REALLY easily sucked into the tube so I removed a whole heap of it in just a couple of buckets. Sam 1, retarded algae 0. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jennifer Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 Good one. Do you have any ferts in the substrate? You will benefit from dosing both water and substrate if you are doing everything else right. Even fert balls will help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
SamH Posted November 6, 2012 Author Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 I'd still like some ottos! Water change after lights out tonight me thinks. The substrate is a mix of fluorite, aquabasis and manado I believe. Plants are doing well, so is the algae :nilly: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
superico Posted November 6, 2012 Report Share Posted November 6, 2012 I'm so relieved to see that others are having algae problems too Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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