I currently have some black beard algae on one of my fake silk plants. It has not appeared anywhere else. This tank is also not planted. My water parameters are 0 ammonia and nitrite and never more than 10 nitrate. Light is a regular t8 and is on from 3pm-9pm. From some research, BBA is caused due to a CO2 imbalance. Since this is not a planted tank, could that still be the case for me? What else would cause it to grow?
Black beard algae in a non planted tank.
- Thread starter dom89
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I get the same thing in my non-planted 20 long. The silk leaves closest to the cheap Top-Fin LED hood form some BB algae. You said it yourself. It's due to a lighting to carbon source imbalance. Given you only run a T8 for 6hrs, I'd just remove and clean (or replace) the silk plant when it gets too ugly for you, provided the BBA isn't taking over everywhere. I know my fake plants are a good 1.5-2yrs old and is getting pretty ratty looking.
Whats feeding it is too much light and fish waste. Turn off the light and it will go away. Washing the fake plant in a hydrogen peroxide solution will also kill it.
Agreed. 6hrs/day with a T8 certainly isn't excessive light, but it will be in a shallow 20L with plant leaves real close to it. Given it's a non-planted tank, I mess with trying to correct the situation with CO2 or ferts. I'd toss or clean the plant and maybe try a 4-5hr light cycle. After all, the lights are pretty much there for our enjoyment only (non-planted tanks that is).
It's a 29g tank and I am using a 20" fixture meant for a 10g so I don't think too much light is the issue.
While looking for a solution, many people mentioned that turning off the lights did not help because it is such a tough algae that it survived the black outs.
I will try some spot treating with Flourish Excel. Maybe if it kills it, it never comes back.
While looking for a solution, many people mentioned that turning off the lights did not help because it is such a tough algae that it survived the black outs.
I will try some spot treating with Flourish Excel. Maybe if it kills it, it never comes back.
Sounds like you're set on a plan, but how old is the T8 lamp? If it's quite old, it could have changed to a color/temp range that supports BBA nicely.
Algae is going to be present in any aquarium. It is part of the natural aquatic environment. When live plants are present you want to keep algae under control as it can increase to the point where it kills the plants. But without live plants, algae is really doing you a service. It takes up nutrients and produces oxygen, though in lesser degrees than live plants would do.
In other words, without plants, algae is beneficial. And as to its cause, as someone said, it is simply nutrients and light. And you can't avoid nutrients in a tank with fish that are being fed. And whatever the light, some form of algae will appear.
I wouldn't worry about light spectrum and age, since this only matters with live plants. Algae is very good at taking advantage of any situation, so long as "food" is present.
Byron.
In other words, without plants, algae is beneficial. And as to its cause, as someone said, it is simply nutrients and light. And you can't avoid nutrients in a tank with fish that are being fed. And whatever the light, some form of algae will appear.
I wouldn't worry about light spectrum and age, since this only matters with live plants. Algae is very good at taking advantage of any situation, so long as "food" is present.
Byron.
