algae!

[RockabillyChick]

to remind everyone.....

20g long tank
med-heavy planting
sand substrait
40% TWICE a week water changes
hard water from an aquifer
dose half a capful flourish excel twice a week, no other ferts
2.5wpg light

one red honey gourami
6 glowlight tetras,
5 blue tetras,
3 otos,
MTS

tank has been running for about 6 months, but i tore all the plants up to rearange them about a month ago.

well, for the past few weeks, everything has been getting covered with green hair algae. i also have a small amount of staghorn algae around the roots of my java fern (i think that's where it came from in the first place)

i have tried scrubbing it off, and i get it off the glass, but its impossible to get it off the plants because i have a lot of plants with small, delicate leaves (wisteria, myrio, rotalia indica, etc.) the otos don't seem to be doing much for it either, since they only eat softer algaes. the fish nibble at it, but they don't make a dent

what can i do to balance out the nutrients so the plants can out-compete the algae? i have very nutrient rich water with a lot of trace minerals in it, including iron and calcium, which is why i haven't been dosing other ferts. i was thinking of doing a blackout, but i want to try other methods first

 

[IceH2O]

what can i do to balance out the nutrients so the plants can out-compete the algae? i have very nutrient rich water with a lot of trace minerals in it, including iron and calcium, which is why i haven't been dosing other ferts. i was thinking of doing a blackout, but i want to try other methods first

With 2.5 wpg and no injection I'd dose the Excel daily. I don't carry as much light but dose Excel daily at double the recommend dose. (Be careful,if you have a 2 L bottle the directions are wrong and 1 capful is a double dose.) I don't dose the initial dose they call for after a water change as I think this is the reason for my biocrash and the death of the Vals.But then again I went by the directions before knowing they were wrong so that was a double dose also.

Also you say you don't dose any other Macros. Whats the NO3 readings? What about K? A micro rich enviroment only handles one aspect. If the plants don't receive enough Macros they won't grow to their potential, opening the door for algae to outcompete them and grow.

 

[raymond_h2002]

I agree with the given advice; check to make sure that NO3 levels are sufficient, and dose excel every day.

For problematic algae, squirt the excel directly onto the algae patches and they'll wither away sooner. One of the main components of excel happens to be a low-concentration algaecide.

 

[RockabillyChick]

NO3 is nitrAte, right?

there is at LEAST 20ppm in there already just from fish waste. my tap has 7ppm in it already. i don't know about potassium.

 

[RockabillyChick]

so what kind of ferts should i be dosing? where can i get potassium?

 

[ghetzel]

I use Seachem Flourish Potassium. On another site a fella suggested using KCL from your grocer shelf (salt substitute).

 

[reiverix]

One of the best places for potassium (or any other fert) is gregwatson.com. K2SO4 will provide plenty K, but since you mention you have nutrient rich water maybe that is not the problem. A K deficiency is easy to spot with small pinholes forming on plants. Anubias is a good indicator in my tank. It's unlikely you will overdose K, within reason, but I've found that a wide range of potassium will not cause algae.

Look more at PO4/NO3 balance plus the addition of CO2 or Excel.

 

[grch36]

If you have a heavily planted tank I would recommend testing for nitrAte just to be sure. My nitrates can drop from 15-18ppm to 0 in a matter of days.

You can try doing a DIY co2 system which should do OK in a 20 gallon tank.
Also, limit the light exposure time to 8 hours a day. You can also add a power head to keep a current. I noticed most of my algea problems went away when I added some water movement over the affected area.