What on Earth is this and how do I get rid of it?
- Thread starter Marinemom
- Start date
sorry to say, but nothing I have tried over the years works.
I do religous water changes, I have tried algaecides etc.
meds don't kill it.
the only thing I have not tried is a UV sterilizer.
I have basically accepted it as part of my tanks now...
sorry.
maybe someone can help.
I do religous water changes, I have tried algaecides etc.
meds don't kill it.
the only thing I have not tried is a UV sterilizer.
I have basically accepted it as part of my tanks now...
sorry.
maybe someone can help.
I have sort of been trying off and on for a few years now.
I have never done anything drastic because I don't want to harm the fish.
I figure if the fish are all healthy I try not to worry about the unsightly brush algae
I have never done anything drastic because I don't want to harm the fish.
I figure if the fish are all healthy I try not to worry about the unsightly brush algae
ps I should add that it does not grow in my planted tanks.
presumably the plants out compete the algae.
but in my non-planted tanks, it is a pain.
if you do have live plants in that tank, add some fast growing ones like hygrophilia or even hornwort if you can find it.
that will help the problem.
the big issue I have is that in my non planted tanks, even with normal (not intense) lighting, it grows.
I scrape it off the glass with an old credit card
presumably the plants out compete the algae.
but in my non-planted tanks, it is a pain.
if you do have live plants in that tank, add some fast growing ones like hygrophilia or even hornwort if you can find it.
that will help the problem.
the big issue I have is that in my non planted tanks, even with normal (not intense) lighting, it grows.
I scrape it off the glass with an old credit card
So if I add some more fast growing plants to the system this should help it? I put more fake plants in today instead of real plants because I wanted to get rid of this problem before risking it destroying more live plants. If adding fast growers will help out compete this algae then maybe I will try it. Looks like I am going to go shopping for live plants tomorrow.
Marinemom
Marinemom
Ok that looks like what I had and let me tell you what I have done to try to get rid of it. I could not starve it out as suggested on this forum so the first time, I took everything out of the tank except for the gravel and bleached it. I took out the return tubes, suction tubes, driftwood (it ruined a beautiful piece of driftwood), real and fake plants, the only thing I didn't take out and bleach was the gravel and the eheim filter (only the intake and return tubes were bleached). Well this took care of the problem for like 2 days. I noticed a small amount on a few pieces of gravel so I tried to get them out...too late. That stuff started spreading again. I tried a 3 day blackout but it still continued to spread. It got on my new piece of driftwood so I took EVERYTHING out of the tank and bleached it this time...including the gravel. The only thing I did not bleach was again the eheim. If this stuff comes back this time then I am going to have to break down the eheim and completely re-cycle my tank. Most of my live plants did not survive the bleaching this time. I was much more aggressive about bleaching everything. I just did this second breakdown and bleaching this past weekend and so far, nothing is in the tank. I am keeping my fingers crossed.
I have read that you only get it by having an "infected" (meaning a piece that has been exposed to it) piece of decor or plant. In my case, it was just starting on a piece of driftwood that I bought from a store that was using it in their display tank.
I have read that you only get it by having an "infected" (meaning a piece that has been exposed to it) piece of decor or plant. In my case, it was just starting on a piece of driftwood that I bought from a store that was using it in their display tank.
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I am hoping to add some hornwort and possibly sword plants to the tank tomorrow so they can out compete this gunk for the nutrients. Maybe some cabomba too. I hope this works because I have already thought about tearing the tank down and bleaching everything and of course re-cycling the tank. I am keeping my fingers crossed that this will not be necessary. What I do not understand is why all of a sudden after ten or eleven years I have this problem? Where did it come from and why? I don't get it especially since there have been no additions of fish or live plants in several months.
Marinemom
Marinemom
