Beard and Hair Algae everywhere!!

[palmaceae]

I have a 72 gallon heavily planted tank, with rainbows, rams, neons, gourami, gold barbs, corys and Chinese algae eaters, etc... I have a lot of light, 4-65 watt 6700k PC's and one 175 watt Metal Halide, I was running the PC's 12 hours a day, I have cut that down to 8 hours, I only run the Metal Halide 5 hours. I also run DIY C02. Just a couple weeks ago almost over night the hair algae appeared, and soon overtook the tank. I know have string, beard and hair algae all over the plants and driftwood. I use RO water, but I have not yet tested for phosphates, I will get a test kit today. I have some Algone in my sump and some PhosoX, thinking phosphates might be the issue. I also cut down on the feeding of the fish, but was not feeding them much in the beginning, just once a day. What would be my best solution to get rid of the algae, I really do not want to have to dip the plants (bleach solution) if at all possible, as I said it is a heavily planted tank. I am looking for some Florida Flag Fish and some Siamese Algae eaters, but no luck yet. What I really want to do is take care of what is causing it, any ideas??
Thank you and everyone have a Merry Christmas!

[John N.]

I think the abundance of light is the issue here. Cut back your lighting to 4 65 watt only, with an 8 hour photo period.

-John N.

[palmaceae]

I think the abundance of light is the issue here. Cut back your lighting to 4 65 watt only, with an 8 hour photo period.

-John N.

This is what I was thinking also, this used to be a reef tank, hence the metal halide. Now why do LFS recommend very high light with a planted tank, I have asked several people there, is the metal halide too much, they say no?
Now will the algae slowly disappear with less light, or will I need to clean it up somehow?

[John N.]

The metal halide alone would maybe surfice, but in tandem with your CF lighting, it's not completely necessary and is too much, especially since your running DIY CO2.

The algae will go away on its own, but you can encourage it to disappear faster if you clean it up with your water changes. Be sure to continue to add your fertilizers (NPKs and traces) and good CO2 production from your DIY system. You may also want to grab a bottle of Seachem Excel, and double dose the amount for your tank. Excel will help your plants in the CO2 department, and also will kill your algae. I would give the tank 1 month to recover using these methods.

-John N.

[djlen]

IME amount and/or duration of lighting has very, very little to do with beard algae. You need to clean it up as much as possible and find a way to get 30 - 35 ppm/CO2 into your water table. This in conjunction with dosing Seachem's excel, and you should start to see a lessening and eventual discontinuation of the beard algae.
It's not an easy process and takes patience and perseverance, but it will work.

Len

[palmaceae]

Thanks everyone,
I am having a big problem finding Seachem Florish Excel, seems none of the LFS carries it?? Currently I just have one 2 litre Pepsi bottle suppling the Co2, is that enough for a 72 gallon?

[djlen]

Not even close unless you've got some sort of super yeast working and that still wouldn't get you over 30 ppm.
You can buy Excel at www.bigalsonline.com at a much better price than what it would cost in any LFS. I would get the 4 liter bottle because it will be necessary for dosing your tank to use a lot of it.
You really need pressurized CO2 for that size tank. I know people who have battled it out with 3 or 4 2-liter bottles daisy chained together and pumping into a good reactor, in conjunction with excel. But that is a big tank for DIY/CO2.
If you can afford it, look for a pressurized system. You won't regret it.

Len

[slowlyburn]

1 two liter??? I'm using 3 of them for a ten gallon tank!!!

[palmaceae]

I guess I will get a pressurized C02 system. Another question, I heard that squirting H202 on the algae kills it, does that work? If so how much would you use and can you squirt it on the plants without hurting them?
Thanks again!

[joelfish]

I recently used H202 to get rid of cyanobacteria. I removed all of the fish first and turned off the filter so there was no current - left the sponge media in a bucket of water.

I squirted h202 onto the algae with a turkey baster. I let it sit for 12 hrs. I figured as long as it was bubbling, it was still working. Then I did a water change (remove all of the dead stuff) and started the filter back up. In my case, the cyano dissappeared almost immediately and there was still some hair algae left. But after 2-3 more days after treatment, the hair algae dissappeared too.

Worked really well, and I may do it again if I ever have a problem. However, the cyano and algae came back in a few weeks because I really didn't change anything with my dosing and light which were the problems in the first place. Once I got the dosing and lighting figured out, the cyano and algae stayed away.

joelfish

[djlen]

I have never used the H2O2 treatment because of the potential danger to the tank's inhabitants, but have heard from others that they've achieved good success with it.

I don't know how effective or time consuming it would be for a large out-break due to the fact that it is generally used in small amounts at a time due to the toxicity of the chemical.
I'm more from the old school approach of constant cleaning it up and getting the plants growing with CO2 in combination with Excel.

Len

[palmaceae]

I wanted to thank everyone for their help. I upped the CO2, cut the lights to 8 hours and dosed with Excel, and all the BBA is dying and not growing back! I will have to get a KH test kit to see where I am with CO2, I also started fertilizing with Seachem Iron and Flourish. I would like to turn the metal halide back on, at least for a few hours a day, but will have to monitor the C02 readings.
My readings for everything else are:
PH 7.5
Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 5

Thanks again.

[fresh_newby]

CO2 ...or lack therof, is the root to all BBA problems. Be vigilant in cleaning it out, sopt treat with excel simultaneously <get a large syringe> and watch it die. Do water changes and keep it clean of die-off. Prune aggressively as well.

[palmaceae]

The only other issue is the Vals, as expected with the double dosing of Excel made them melt. Do they usually come back?

[fresh_newby]

Vals definitely melt with excel double/triple dosing. If the root ball is still in tact, they will come back. Leave them undisturbed.