Green Killing Machine..

[dundadundun]

Well I have really bright green and slimy algae growing on my substrate now.. i have the rounded small pebble subtrate and hate how algae seems to cover it within days of cleaning the tank.. i also have algae growing on my plants.. im just not sure if a GKM would help with this issue.

It seems like i clean and clean my tank and rid of the algae only for it to come back 3-4 days later. I have a dual T5 GLO unit with a 10k and 6700k bulbs in it.. my plants are growing super nicely.. but i am getting a little too much algae than I would like to see in there.. i have begun doing 10g water changes daily, and stopped feeding as much.. hopefully this may help.

Id like to get a GKM just to try it out and see what happens..

get yourself a roll of window replacement screen (like $5 found any where with a hardware section) and cut 2 layers to put under your lights for a couple weeks. see if that doesn't make a difference. i say that because i don't think your fixture can run with one bulb and your light is probably too intense for your setup.

you can adjust with more or less layers until you find a happy medium or you can raise your lights till they're not overpowering.

the gkm will only kill what's suspended in the water column... not what's on the surface.

i think your real solution would be co2, ferts and water params.

 

[sundevil88]

get yourself a roll of window replacement screen (like $5 found any where with a hardware section) and cut 2 layers to put under your lights for a couple weeks. see if that doesn't make a difference. i say that because i don't think your fixture can run with one bulb and your light is probably too intense for your setup.

you can adjust with more or less layers until you find a happy medium or you can raise your lights till they're not overpowering.

the gkm will only kill what's suspended in the water column... not what's on the surface.

i think your real solution would be co2, ferts and water params.

Id like to go pressurized co2 but its expensive to get the parts at first.. i need to find the moolah to do so.

 

[dundadundun]

i'm right with ya...

 

[coach_z]

Id like to go pressurized co2 but its expensive to get the parts at first.. i need to find the moolah to do so.

how much is the green killing machine going to cost that you want to buy, run, and maintain?

It sounds like your setup is designed to grow algae. lots of light, not a lot of nutrients. no co2.

can you limit the amount of light on your tank? its a 55gallon right?

 

[sundevil88]

how much is the green killing machine going to cost that you want to buy, run, and maintain?

It sounds like your setup is designed to grow algae. lots of light, not a lot of nutrients. no co2.

can you limit the amount of light on your tank? its a 55gallon right?

I can get it for roughly $38 + tax at Petsmart with my friends employee discount, and the box is a bit tattered so I asked and the manager said he could also do another percentage off the retail price. To run and maintain, I dont know.. I guess buy a new bulb every 9-12months when it burns out I suppose.. dont know exactly how to answer that question.

I do dose liquid ferts.. but I dont have co2 yet because im saving to go pressurized.

I have limited my photoperiod from 10-11hrs down to about 7-8 hrs to see if that helps.. iv also begun 5-10gallon water changes per day to help minimize the nutrients that the algae needs to grow.. we'll see if any of this helps in the coming weeks.

I dont want to clear out ALL the algae because i have about 14 otos in my 55 g and a rubber lip pleco who loves grazing on the algae. My otos are huuuge and chubby which Im sure is from the readily available algae that they eat. :dance:

So yeah, im kinda torn.. lol. I dont know if its worth the money.. and I have fish that need the algae.. sooo yeah... what to do! what to do! :headshake2:

 

[coach_z]

10-11 hours to 7-8 is going to help your problems immensely!!!!! even go down to 6 if you need to. how many hours are you home and around your tank a day?

i would monitor algae issues for several weeks with the new photoperiod before you decide on the GKM.

 

[dundadundun]

i would spend the money on dry ferts instead, resume regular weekly w/c's so you don't bottom out on ferts and create more algae and see how that goes.

once you have your co2 setup you'll appreciate the ease, price and results from dry ferts.

the gkm should not affect the grazing algae... just the water born (green water) algae.

window screen (like i mentioned) should really help to cut down on light intensity also.

i agree with coach too. in your case less hours might be highly beneficial.

maybe give mgamer20o0 a pm with a link to this thread and see if he can sell you something to help with your issues (most likely ferts).

a quick check on your gh also might help. if it's too low you'll be dumping money into gadgets and ferts with no results. if it's low you'll need a gh booster, if not at least you'll know what you're working with.

with your lighting it should be beneficial to look into excel or gluteraldehyde for carbon supplementing for the time being until you can go pressurized.

 

[coach_z]

i agree about the non-effect the gkm will have on that type of algae.

also, i would suggest the 'one step at a time' approach so that you can really pinpoint whats going on in the tank and what is making the most difference. I would do the lights first.

 

[dundadundun]

good point, coach.