how to get rid of algaes on the leafs?

[sammo]

just wondering, how do you guys get rid of algaes on the leafs? my chinese algae eater doesnt seem to eat off the algaes. any suggestions?

[jmhart]

A few ideas

1)Chiense Alage Eater(CAE) isn't going to help much. Siamese Alage Eater(SAE) is the proper choice for this but very hard to find. Other fish such as Otocinclus Catfish(usually about $2.99) or American Flag Fish(hard to find the farther away from the southeast U.S. you are) are good algae fish. Additionally, certain types of shrimp can help as well. I don't know that much about shrimp, so I can't suggest what types. I think Amano is a good choice.

2)If you have live plants, you likely are putting too much "something" into the tank. Possibly too many fertilizers, too much light, too much food. Something. I'm assuming you aren't adding ferts. You can either A)Start adding CO2 which will help the plants remove those nutrients(ferts, food, etc...) before the algae have the oportunity to use them or B) cut back the number of hours you have the lights on per day by ~25%. You may need to reduce the number of hours further depending on how many hours you have them on per day now. Option B is the cheapest, easiest, quickiest, perhaps recommended.

3) You can attempt a three day black out. Do a 50% water change, then cover your tank completely, without disturbance, for 3 days, and then do another 50% water change. In most cases, the lack of light will kill all of your algae and only temporarily slow the growth of your plants.

Option #2 is by far the recommended. This option will help you determine why you have algae growing. The other too can kill/manage the algae, but only option #2 can completely irradiate it. For me, I use all three. I have CO2 pumping into my tank(and will be adding more in two days), I have three otocinclus catfish, I dose with Flourish Excel(soluble carbon for the plants) during algae outbreaks, and currently I'm in the middle of a three day blackout.

For something more detailed, provide some more info on your tank setup.

[sammo]

THANKS, that's helpful. CO2 is coming.

[jmhart]

THANKS, that's helpful. CO2 is coming.

CO2 will mostly likely solve your problem. Flourish Excel is a good way to add carbon if you don't to add a pressurized system or yeast colony. I use a yeast colony. It's cheap, way cheaper than the other options, but is only viable for tanks less than 40 gallons, and really should be used for tanks 30 gallons or less. Flourish Excel is a convinient, if not pricey in the long run, way to go.

In case you need help with CO2, this forum and the DIY forum are great resources.

[loaches r cool]

Well, for one thing, it depends on the algae. More often then not once algae is on a leaf it will not come off without damaging the leaf. GSA, GDA, BBA... etc, etc. will not easily come off without damaging the leaf. Even many of the good algae eaters will only eat certain types of alage, and even algae they do it wont necessarily be 100%. If you have pics or better descriptions someone may have a more specific idea for you.

[CBWMN]

I've also got algae on my Crypt leaves. I think I've been leaving the lights on too long. Now I've got the tanks on timers.
I use DIY CO2, and flourish. Can you OD on Flourish?

Regards,
Charles (CBWMN)