ARRRG!!!! Algee Me maties!!!!!

[Walker_]

ARRRG!!!! Hair Algae Me maties!!!!!

Hey,
So is this hair algae or something else? Its in a heavily lit tank (~9 wpg), CO2 from a tank, and a heavy fert regime (EI)… with weekly 80% water changes
Any clues as how to get rid of the stuff, it hasn’t QUITE gotten to plague proportions but im worried if left unchecked it will…
Ideas/Suggestions?

 

[Onikun]

Uh it might be the 9wpg of lighting you have. Perhaps don't light it so heavily...And maybe too many ferts? I really don't know. theres probrably a nutrient imbalance. If you have so much fertilizing and so much lighting you should expect more maintenance as the platns willl grow faster. Also I noticed you have some SAE's in there... i dont know how you manage to grow algea faster than they can eat it. I have 2 rather large SAE"s and they eat it faster than it can grow...

 

[budrecki]

9wpg? :duh:

Try cutting back the lights and ferts....

 

[reiverix]

How big is the tank?

Looks like staghorn. In fact it looks like my 75g after I first set it up. You need to get it all out because it will just keep growing and spreading. What is NO3, PO4 and your CO2 levels?

 

[Walker_]

Hey guys thanks!
Ya I have confirmation of it being staghorn from AquaticPlantCentral;

Its a 90 gal and iv been using the “Estimative Index” for fertilization, Iv been dosing with Greg Watsons stuff because I was getting fed up paying the LFS for good ferts:

Sun, Tues,Thurs: 1.5 tsp KNO3 0.5 tsp KH2PO4 0.5 tsp K2SO4
Mon,Wen,Fri: Trace 0.5 Plantex CSM+B

Major water change Sundays

As for my CO2, im up in to 30ppm range; I haven’t been testing other parameters, namely because it seems the consensus is these days is testing levels is a waste of time, and the accuracy of some of the kits out there are somewhat dubious…


As for the light, that was a result of me clicking “buy” before I finished doing my research! So as a result I ended up with 2x400W metalhalides which I guess is technically 8.8 wpg but still very high by any means… I v been keeping them on for 12 hrs a day simply because of the AMAZING growth these plants are putting out; at this rate I think I may even be able to MAKE some $$ back growing for the LFS, im averaging 2” a day on almost everything in there….

Would a 3 day blackout help the situation?

 

[reiverix]

Man that is a lot of light even for the depth of a 90g tank. Since you already have the lights and they are halides, you may consider raising them a bit more from the surface. It's fine to have very high light. The plants can surely make use of it but you are getting into the realm of a fine line between balance and chaos.

Blackout won't have an effect on this algae. Work on a section of the tank at a time. Remove all algae from substrate, glass, wood, etc. Bleach them if necessary. Infested leaves should be cut off even if it's only a few strands. Throw away plants that are doing nothing but providing a foothold for the algae. Replace the plants with fast growers. Lots of plants mass.

My staghorn problem looked exactly like yours. I spent a month just kind of picking away at the stuff before finally deciding enough was enough. I divided the tank into three sections and worked on a section each day. It was a lot of work but I knew I had to get it all in one go or else it would come back. Of course, when all was done there was a few stragglers I'd missed so for a few days I'd be vigilant in attacking any algae I saw.