Hairy algae, what to do? Can't ID

captmicha

captmicha

Le tired.
Dec 6, 2006
2,052
0
36
40
Maryland, USA
I can't tell if it's Audouinella or Rhodophyta. They both look the same to me. If it's growing on the airstone of my CO2 reactor, does that mean it's Audouinella? If it's Audouinella due to unstable CO2, I have no idea what to do about it because I have DIY CO2.

Either way, if it's Audouinella or Rhodophyta, I don't know what to do about it. I've had just about every kind of algae in my aquariums except for this kind.

I don't really want to add more livestock to get it eaten, and this tank is planted so I can't use algae killing chemicals... I don't think?

Advice please?
 
15 gallon. I have two reactors. The algae is only growing on one of the airstones.
 
It's a mess. Now I have two other types of algal blooms. Green spot or green dust and cyanobacteria again. I don't know what's going on. The only two new variables is that I've started dosing API Leaf Zone (in addition to Seachem Flourish) because my plants were showing a potassium deficiency, and I changed out my light bulbs for fresh ones.

Algae (and cyanobacteria) is everywhere. Particularly on my plants in the corners of my tank and under the filter flow.
 
you're providing the first and second "feeding" priorities (co2 and light), yet i see no mention of the next one or two. without sufficient nitrogen and phosphorous, you have a bottleneck. that bottleneck limits health. bottoming out on nitrates can also contribute immensely to a cyano out break since it can fixate nitrogen.

think of light as your driving force and co2 as your growth multiplier. light determines how much of everything you need to feed your plants to sustain their growth. co2 fortifies this growth making better use of the plants resources. then the plants "eat" that much more... and without that food, they don't quit growing, they grow themselves weak and sick... then degrade the water quality in your tank.

so get the pieces of the puzzle you're missing,
establish a routine of feeding the entire diet (perfect routine or not) and stick with it for a few weeks at a time before you make any changes to get a feel of what changes are from each thing you did different.
stay vigilant on W/C's and maintenance until things perk up.
 
Thanks guys!!!!!!!!!!!! I have a fair amount of fish in there, I thought that they might be providing the phosphates and nitrates and nitrogen. I'll have to order better fertilizers. I was hoping to use up what I had first but it's not worth the algal outbreaks.
 
this is a good starter pack... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/15-csmb-nkp-combo-pack.html

you can make bottle after bottle of the liquid stuff out of that. figure @ ~$8 a bottle... you need 2 supplements already... that's $16. for all 4, that's ~$30. it's been a long time since i ran numbers to see how many bottles could theoretically be made out of each substance, but it's a painfully significant savings going dry ferted.

these are priced well, too if you need root ferts... http://www.bobstropicalplants.com/shop/en/fertilizers/12-10-bobstropicalplants-root-tabs.html

up to 5 per square foot, monthly or bi-monthly for densely packed areas should suffice. or 1-3 per each large root feeder.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
AquariaCentral.com
Top Bottom