Staghorn Algae problems- HELP

[davidru]

Some weeks ago i had some fuzz algae problems, probably caused by excessive nutrients, but it stopped when my plants started really growing.

The problem is that just when i had overcome fuzz algae staghorn algae started growing really fast. This is very ugly and it already is present in 50% of the leaves of my plants and growing fast. It tends to grow on the leaf edges mainly (initially).

Does anyone know what specific nutrients this algae thrives on? Also is this a red algae? My otos don't seem to like it, what fish would eat this?

My tank is a 40 gallon, I add trace elements twice a week, Potassium once a week and Epson Salt on water changes. The substrate is plain gravel, I dose Co2 and have 1.7 watts per gallon of fluorecent T8 light.

Ive got lots of fish so i don't dose nitrates. I also noticed there was a potassium deficiency in my plants and I started dosing the potassium 2 weeks ago. The plants are growing great but this algae is terrible.

[djlen]

http://faq.thekrib.com/algae.html
Check this article for descriptions and antidotes.
N and P should be tested for content.
Here is a good site for all ferts, IF they will ship to S. America:
http://www.gregwatson.com/
Write Greg an e-mail and ask. He can supply all the nutrients that you'll need if he'll ship to you.
Please let us know if you can get them from him for future referrals.
Do you know your CO2ppm? Here's another site with a bunch of good articles and a calculator for measuring CO2ppm:
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm

Len

[plantbrain]

Compsopogon is a red alga.
It's not what you might have right niow in the tank, it's likely what you had. It's inducible with NH4, like green water but tends to need more organic matter tossed in, like disturbing the substrate good, moving plants around, too many fiish, uneaten food etc.

Once it appears it'll hang on for dear life. But correcting it is a bit of work and requires trimming etc and good nutrients there after.

Good CO2 is the key, then good NO3, K, GH, PO4 and traces.

Now it's an issue of removal and upkeep.
Trimming all of it off might not leave you with much as far as plants, so trim the worst off now, save the rest and pick on it during the week while new growth from the plants occurs.

You can search a few comments I've made about it over the years here, the APD, or other forums.

Regards,
Tom Barr

[GregWatson]

Here is a good site for all ferts, IF they will ship to S. America:
http://www.gregwatson.com/
Write Greg an e-mail and ask. He can supply all the nutrients that you'll need if he'll ship to you.
Please let us know if you can get them from him for future referrals.


<GRIN> ... In almost all cases, I cannot ship KNO3 overseas ... however, I often ship Plantex CSM world wide. However, the entire order process essentially has to be handled manually in order to find/use a cost effective shipping solution ...

The primary difficulty is in finding a payment solution. For those that have a PayPal account, it's easy ...

Not counting Canada, I typically ship 2-3 orders internationally each month ...

Greg

[davidru]

Thanks for your help but i can get the chemicals here, I might have problems with test kits though. Maybe the trace element mix could be usefull too some day.