Algae

[Biulu]

Hello,

It has been a while I was on the forum. I have kept a low profile as I was forced to almost give up the hobby due to sickness and work schedules. I am now down to one tank with 1 male betta and some cherry shrimp.

This tank is a heavily planted tank (amazon swords, tiger lotus, rotala, anubias, sagittaria platophylla, cryptocoryne wendtti, microsorum) of 80 litres with a 15 Watts Azoo plants light.The light is on a timer to give 10 hours of light divided in 2 blocks of 5 hours with 1 hour pause.
The substrate consists of Sera floredepot covered with small inert gravel. I dose Seachem once a week. I have a box filter for 55 gallons which I clean every 3 months as prescribed (rinsing in aquarium water). The aquarium has the light of a window on one sight, but this window is always covered with curtains. So far for the stats.

The algae I get are green and stick to either the glass or the filter pipes and a more dark green (alsmost black) which stick to the plants. Of course the plants are being damaged by the algae. The green algae are kind of woolly and long hairy while the plant algae have a much finer texture.

Is it possible that the minerals in my water cause the algae (I have hard mineral rich water)or is there anything else that I am doing wrong? How could I get rid of these algae?

Thanks in advance, Eleonore

 

[Duff83]

im in the same boat. heavy hair algae and some black dark algae... i also get round spots of algae on my glass that is very difficult to remove w/ a algae scraper...

 

[lljdma06]

Welcome Back, Eleonore!

First, consider reducing your photo period to between 6-8 hours if this is an established tank and letting go of the siesta concept. Lean more toward 6 because you are having some algae issues. Any CO2 injection? The lighting level doesn't bother me, just the length of your photoperiod. What is your waterchanging regimen? With the low-lights with no CO2, it is better to let sleeping dogs lie and not change the water as often. The watechanges can trigger variances in CO2 levels and the algae benefits from the instability. In my 36G with .77WPG, I'll go almost 4 weeks without a waterchange. I'm sure I could go longer, but there is always that little fear in the back of my head.

Which Seachem product do you dose? There are quite a few.

What is the gph of your filter? Aim for about 10x turnover in an hour. So maybe for you like 220-230 gallons per hour?

These are just things off the top of my head. Did you ever do a journal here? I'd love to see an updated tank picture. I am down to one tank now too, but only because I'm going to Italy and am waiting to rescape the 8g until I return.

llj

 

[Biulu]

Welcome Back, Eleonore!

First, consider reducing your photo period to between 6-8 hours if this is an established tank and letting go of the siesta concept. Lean more toward 6 because you are having some algae issues. Any CO2 injection? The lighting level doesn't bother me, just the length of your photoperiod. What is your waterchanging regimen? With the low-lights with no CO2, it is better to let sleeping dogs lie and not change the water as often. The watechanges can trigger variances in CO2 levels and the algae benefits from the instability. In my 36G with .77WPG, I'll go almost 4 weeks without a waterchange. I'm sure I could go longer, but there is always that little fear in the back of my head.

Which Seachem product do you dose? There are quite a few.

What is the gph of your filter? Aim for about 10x turnover in an hour. So maybe for you like 220-230 gallons per hour?

These are just things off the top of my head. Did you ever do a journal here? I'd love to see an updated tank picture. I am down to one tank now too, but only because I'm going to Italy and am waiting to rescape the 8g until I return.

llj

Thank you llj!

I am using Seachem Flourish. The gph of my filter is 220 as you already thought. It should be heavily overfiltered as this filter was recommended for a 55 gallon and mine is only 70 litres (20 something gallons)
Due to work travel my last water change was today after an absence of about 7 weeks. When I am around I do a small waterchange every week.

I will lower the photoperiod and no siesta (which is a bit against our nature here in Mexico, but well !)

I have been doing a journal once on a 180 litre bowfront, but the tank broke down twice. I lately found out that it was due to my flooring which is not even, so all the weight came down on the bow which consequentely cracked. I am now going to talk to my carpenter to see if he can do something about it, and then order a new tank.

Lucky you to go to Italy! Must be great for an opera singer like you! Don't forget to try some good wine; montepulciano and brunello are my favourite.

 

[Biulu]

Welcome Back, Eleonore!

These are just things off the top of my head. Did you ever do a journal here? I'd love to see an updated tank picture. I am down to one tank now too, but only because I'm going to Italy and am waiting to rescape the 8g until I return.

llj

My current tank is just 'let everything grow'. It is not a real scape. The platophylla is invading, but I want to let it be for the moment, as I am considering to buy another bowfront for my stand. That is, after the carpenter has done something to level out the floor so the tank doesn't break again. Since it is hard to get plants here and to prepare for that new tank, I just let everything grow so I have enough plants to fill the (much) bigger tank. I would be going from 70 to 180 litres so that is definitively an upgrade!