co2 and algae bloom..

boofish2

boofish2

show me your fish
Aug 5, 2006
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I'm having a little struggle with an algae bloom in my tank. I have reduced the lighting and been doing more frequent water changes but the situation isn't dramatically improving. I'm using ferts but no co2. I'm wondering, will adding co2 have any impact on reducing the algae bloom or is it completely unrelated. I'm sort of thinking co2=greater plant growth=more competition for the algae=reduction of bloom? Any thoughts on this?
 
WeeNe858 said:
turn your lights back on to induce your other plants to grow.. and start small with the co2 dosing if you plan too and lower your fert doses



what type of algae are you getting?
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Y'know, green water. That single cell floating stuff...
 
If it's truely green water (tank water in white bowl gives off a green hue) then the proven option is a UV sterilizer to get rid of it, or have a 3 day complete blackout of the tank. The blackout means to cover the tank for 3-4 complete days, and do not allow any light enter the tank. Trash bags and blankets work well.

C02 addition can only help plant growth. I do agree in most cases when plants are growing well, algae seems to take a back seat. Good luck!

-John N.
 
Green water is most closely associated in the aquarium with excess ammonia and excess light. I believe most new tanks, (tanks under a year old) go through this to one extent another at some point. Given proper levels of nutrients and light they also will "grow" out of it in a few weeks, as the levels of bacteria stabilize and plant growth reaches the point where free ammonia is eliminated. A black out or UV sterilizer will fix things quickly, but the underlying problem will need to be rectified. Watch out for plant spikes, the source of nitrogen in these is usually ammonia. I'd be careful how much light you add back, (how much did you cut it back?). Adding CO2 NEVER hurts, make sure you have adequate levels of traces, N, P and K. Light is the easiest nutrient to control, and would always be my starting point for controlling algae. Next step is always to make sure the other nutrients are in adequate supplies.

HTH

Dave
 
Mgamer20o0 said:
well its worth a shot. maybe get some more plants.

what size tank? how long are your lights on? direct sunlight? what kind and how much lighting?
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First off, I wanna say great advice from everyone, thank you. Gamer, I have a 37 but its a high and two 65w cf bulbs that are on at this point about 8 hours a day no direct sun. The ammonia level is 0 so not sure if that's the issue... the rest of the plants would fare ok w/a three day black out? I ask this because I'd rather spend my money on co2 injection then a uv sterilizer.. Should I do the blackout before the c02?
thanks again guys!
 
2x 65W is a ton of light (assuming it's in the 6500-6700K range) for a 37h tank.
I would strongly suggest adding a CO2 system (long term help) and a 3-4 day blackout to help kill off the volvox/euglenoid/whatever algae it is. As long as no sunlight hits the tank directly (or via windows), just unplug the lights for a few days, then do a PWC.

If it's a newer tank, it's a good idea to have at least 1 quick growing species in there (Elodea, duckweed, jungle val - anything rated as a very fast grower).

Another thing I found is adding a linen handkercheif/dishtowel/diaper - whatever, so it's finely woven cotton - to the top of my canister stack helped yank lots of the green out of the water column. Remember to pull it back out after a week ot two, or it may start to disintigrate in there (not good).
 
I'll second Squawkbert's advice. Just to be clear, you can have fluctuating levels of ammonia below the level which will show up on a hobbyists test kit. Fast growing stems can easily eliminate this problem. CO2 needn't be put in place until after the black out period as no photosynthesis will take place in the dark.
 
Gotcha! Thanks guys! :)
 
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