I've got a 128 g planted aquarium that contains mostly large swordplants. Metal halide bulbs provide the lighting, flourite is the substrate, Eheim canister filter and additional hanging filter, mixed bag of community fish. Lighting set for 12 hours a day. The aquarium has been up an running for about 5 years. I normally change out about a third of the water every other week, using a python to vacumn the bottom of the tank. After changing out the water, I generally add 3 capfuls of iron. For a number of years, the plants thrived and I had very little algae growth, just a small amount of the green stuff that builds up on the glass. Throughout that time, I was simply feeing the fish a pinch or two of flake food twice a day. However, I found that I was losing fish pretty regularly and decided that the food was the issue. I changed to feeding the fish frozen brine shrimp once per day. I defrosted the brine shrimp in a net held under the tap. Shortly after starting this feeding regime, all the plants in my tank became covered with a dark, green-brown course hair algae that grows at an amazing rate. It is very hard to completely remove from the leaves and very quickly grows back. I inquired at a local aquarium shop about this problem. They told me that the cause of this outbreak was the feeding of the brine shrimp and that I needed to cut back on the number of days I feed this to the fish and stop using the liquid iron. I only feed the brine shrimp about 2-3 times/week and have stopped using the iron but the algae problem persists. The shop then told me that if I use a u.v. sterlizer, this will guarantee the eventual elimination of the hair algae. I've read that u.v. sterilizer is only good on green water, but the shop claims that the hair algae replaces itself through spores or something similar and the spores get killed off by the u.v. sterilizer, thus eventually leading to the elimination of the hair algae. Is the u.v. sterilizer the solution and if so, what size is recommended for a 128 g aquarium? Thanks!
Will u.v. sterlizer eliminate hair algae?
- Thread starter silversalmon
- Start date
I have what sounds like the same algae in my tank... I set up the tank without UV then added one then I broke it. There has been no appreciable difference in the algae in those three phases of the tanks existence (I did get it down with some flourish excel but its still around).
That is just my experience but I would guess that the UV wouldn't do a whole lot for the algae.
That is just my experience but I would guess that the UV wouldn't do a whole lot for the algae.
UV sterilizer will only get rid of free floating organisms, it will not affect any algae already anchored to a surface.
How many wattages are those metal halide bulbs? Are you adding CO2 or other carbon alternatives? Are you adding any other fertilizer besides iron?
How many wattages are those metal halide bulbs? Are you adding CO2 or other carbon alternatives? Are you adding any other fertilizer besides iron?
I'm not sure about the wattage of the metal halide bulbs - I've been ordering them through the local aquarium shop and even they had trouble figuring out the wattage and brand when I brought the original bulbs in for replacement. I don't use CO2 since the plants have grown quite well to the point of almost outgrowing the tank - a tank that is 3 feet deep! I also wasn't too enthused about cost and additional worries involved with using inject CO2. For a number of years I regularly added the Flourish Excel along with the Flourish Iron after doing the water changes, but then the shop stopped carrying the Excel. I haven't been using any other fertilizers beside the iron. I've been reading that adding Excel might be a solution to getting rid of the hair algae. I'm starting to wonder if the hair algae appeared partly because I had stopped using the Excel.
In a recent conversation I had with another guy at the aquarium shop about the use of the u.v. sterilizer, he also was very enthusiastic about its use in planted tanks. He said that the sterilizer will kill the spores of the hair algae and keep it from spreading. He acknowledged it wouldn't do anthing about the already established hair algae, but said that by removing the leaves that are covered with algae the u.v. sterilizer would help keep the algae from getting reestablished. He also discussed how the use of the u.v. sterlizer would kill the pathogens that cause fish diseases and how it would create crystal clear water conditions condusive to plant growth. I'm planning on dosing the tank with Excel but I'm still not sure the u.v. sterilizer is the way to go since the hair algae is covering all the plants and is probably infesting the rocks as well.
In a recent conversation I had with another guy at the aquarium shop about the use of the u.v. sterilizer, he also was very enthusiastic about its use in planted tanks. He said that the sterilizer will kill the spores of the hair algae and keep it from spreading. He acknowledged it wouldn't do anthing about the already established hair algae, but said that by removing the leaves that are covered with algae the u.v. sterilizer would help keep the algae from getting reestablished. He also discussed how the use of the u.v. sterlizer would kill the pathogens that cause fish diseases and how it would create crystal clear water conditions condusive to plant growth. I'm planning on dosing the tank with Excel but I'm still not sure the u.v. sterilizer is the way to go since the hair algae is covering all the plants and is probably infesting the rocks as well.
Excel does act as a mild algaecide, but more importantly it is a source of carbon. Hard to tell what kind of problem you're having without knowing the amount of light you're working with but I believe it's some kind of nutrient deficiency, whether it's CO2 or nitrates, etc.
UV sterilizers have their uses and may slow down future algae growth but it won't completely prevent algae from growing. I've ran a UV sterilizer for a couple of months and still noticed green spot algae and red algae.
UV sterilizers have their uses and may slow down future algae growth but it won't completely prevent algae from growing. I've ran a UV sterilizer for a couple of months and still noticed green spot algae and red algae.
I checked with the aquarium shop and they said that the two metal halide bulbs they ordered were Iwasaki 250 Watt. I have wondered if the light levels are high enough toward the bottom of the tank given that it is a high tank with nearly 3 feet of depth at the top of the Flourite gravel. However, given that I never had any problem with the hair algae for several years until I started feeding the frozen brine, I'm wondering if its just a matter of the increased nutrient load. If that's the case, if I stop feeding the brine shrimp, I still need to find a food source for the fish other than flake food to keep them healthy that won't over nutrient the tank. I tried a granular style (tiny balls) food that the aquarium shop said was the food they fed all their fish, but only the gold barbs will eat it.
That's quite a bit of light, alot actually, and I'm kind of surprised you hadn't had problems earlier.
What I think is happening is:
The light amount of food you fed before generated little ammonia which your plants were able to absorb even though they are CO2 and nutrient limited. Negative effect is starving fishes. You also stopped using Excel, which supplies carbon.
You increased the amount of food and you increase the amount of ammonia being generated. This pushes the ammonia level higher than what your plants can absorb, so algae takes over. Using different kinds of food won't help, they'll all generate more ammonia.
So you need to increase the growth of the plants so they can outcompete the algae for the excess ammonia. Best way to do that is to add CO2 and additional ferts and just not iron.
What I think is happening is:
The light amount of food you fed before generated little ammonia which your plants were able to absorb even though they are CO2 and nutrient limited. Negative effect is starving fishes. You also stopped using Excel, which supplies carbon.
You increased the amount of food and you increase the amount of ammonia being generated. This pushes the ammonia level higher than what your plants can absorb, so algae takes over. Using different kinds of food won't help, they'll all generate more ammonia.
So you need to increase the growth of the plants so they can outcompete the algae for the excess ammonia. Best way to do that is to add CO2 and additional ferts and just not iron.
Thanks for the thoughtful analysis and suggestions. I've considered the possibility of adding CO2 but I've been quoted a cost of about $400 to add a system that would use compressed CO2 from a cylinder. I originally used a compact flourescent light canopy for the tank but the plants did poorly and a reddish-purple algae or blue-green algae was constantly a problem - plus, several times a fire nearly caught in the wood canopy from the bulb connections! The aquarium shop recommended the metal halides - which cost about $900 including the custom wood canopy for the aquarium. This tank has turned into something of a money pit and I'm starting to have thoughts about getting rid of it considering the money and hassle involved with maintaining a healthy plant tank. The idea of throwing down another $400 to get the plants to grow properly without algae while also trying to figure out the proper amounts of additional ferts is a little daunting for me. Do you think that perhaps returning to adding Excel and the ferts would do the trick or is the CO2 really the only solution to getting rid of the hair algae? What ferts (and brands) and amounts/day would you recommend for a 128 g tank? Thanks again for your help!
It's possible to set up a pressurized CO2 system for under $300 or even $200, depending on how much it costs to buy a CO2 tank in your area. In fact, one of the forum goers sells both the CO2 equipment and ferts, check out his website at www.rexgrigg.com which is also a great resource for information on what you need as fertilizers.
mellowvision
Seafood Lover
I found that using a UV sterilizer actually led to a hair algae problem in my 10 gallon tank... not to say it wasn't on the way anyway, but I used the UV for a week, to clear greenwater, and during that time also oxidized all the nutrients in the water... and over the same week the first hair algae occured and quickly started to take over. I used flourish excel for about a week or two now and have not a spec of hair algae left... but in the last 4 days have developed a cloudy water issue. it's white cloudy, but I fear it is leading to green water... my last green water outbreak was right after a white cloudy water period... feels like a vicious cycle.