Algae

RockabillyChick

RockabillyChick

Kilt-lifter
Nov 5, 2005
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Washington state
well, it seems like i'm just trading one type of algae for another.

the blue green algae is almost gone, but today i noticed some long black threads on my crypts, sunset hygro, and dwarf sag. the threads are about a quarter inch long and coarse, crinkly. what kind of algae is this, and how do i get rid of it??? i pulled off all the leaves i could find with this stuff on it, but i'm sure that won't stop it.

the other kind of algae i've found is like pale green polyester stuffing growing around the base of my java fern plants and now its spread into my hairgrass and microsword. i'm thinking either staghorn or some kind of hair algae.

what's the best way to get rid of these two algaes. i just got DIY CO2 setup a couple weeks ago and started EI fert dosing with Greg Watson dry ferts. 2.5wpg T8 6000k light.
 
Is the algae forming in areas with little to no current? That seems to be a common problem I've encountered personally. Good waterflow keeps quite a few species of algae at bay, unfortunately not all of them. If the black algae is BBA, it is almost certainly due to inadequate flow (the CO2 would have dealt with it otherwise). As for green "fuzzy" algae, I don't exactly know what causes that.
 
actually, the affected plants were right below the outlet of the HOB, but i am getting a powerhead sometime next week that i'm going to use to diffuse my CO2 and that will pick up the current a LOT. its a 175gph powerhead that i'm going to put close to the bottom of the tank with the CO2 hose stuck into it, angle the outlet down so it shoots the CO2 bubbles all over the tank. the two HOB's i have in the tank right now do have really weak currents. only 90gph each.
 
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50% water change weekly, 12 hours light a day, yes its by a window, but the window doesn't get any light. its east facing, with a 2 story building about 4 feet away, miniblinds, and curtains over it.
 
If you're going to run your co2 into a powerhead intake I would suggest a drier bottle between your yeast mixture and the powerhead. This is just an empty bottle plumbed in series with your co2 line so that if the vaccuum from the powerhead sucks your yeast mixture out of it's bottle, it deposits in the empty bottle and not into your tank. Just make sure the co2 tubing to the powerhead is near the top of the drier bottle and the tubing from the yeast bottle is near the bottom of the drier bottle.

Mark
 
one step ahead of you wesley, already got an overflow bottle :)

also, i forgot to mention that the window near the tank is covered in climbing vines on the outside, and has miniblinds and curtains drawn over it, with a building blocking the light.
 
wow 50% water changes weekly is pretty hardcore :P your fishies probably love you! Maybe try reducing the # hours of light per day to 10 for a while, remove and algae, and then see if that helps.. then you can increase to 11, etc.. For me having anything over 11 hours per day generally tends to lead to some algae growing.

how well-planted is the tank btw?
 
every inch of substrate has plants in it.

i am doing EI fertilizer dosing, which requires a 50% water change weekly.
 
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