Bad Algae Problem

[TipTop]

Cant seem to get rid of this algae shown in picture and its getting worse, is there a chemical i can put in that wont harm my fish that will kill or slowly remove it as it's getting out of control or should i just bin all the sand, plants and water and just scrubb and boil everything as i can get enough water from a friend to start fresh again.

 

[JamesC]

That is Black Brush Algae or more commonly know as BBA. CO2 is the over riding issue here. Need to know more on tank setup to help like tank size, amount of light and do you have CO2?

 

[TipTop]

Tank is a rio 180, i have nutrafin co2 setup with ladder but not using atm, running 2 power-glo 30w tubes and temp is around 28.
Have more pics of the scale of it.
Will do a ph , nitrate/nitrite cant remember which one i have and ammonia tests and will post results tomorrow.

BTW greeny color is from some general tonic i put in other day for my sick ram

 

[chibi]

I would look for a plant-safe algae remover chemical. I had some (I'm sorry, but I forget what it was called but I know the company 'Jungle' makes some) that killed the algae on my plants without killing the plants themselves. Be sure it's plant-safe, though!! If not, it will kill them! If you have algae along your sides, go to a LFS and get a scraper. A razorblade works too, just be careful!

If that does not work, I would buy new plants.

 

[joloco]

i have black brush algae too! but no co2 setup - what could the problem be?

its 100 litres
ammonia 0
nitrite 0
nitrate 30mg/litre
ph 8.5

 

[JamesC]

I'm not a fan of adding algaecides because unless you fix the underlying problem the algae will only come back again. I'm not too experienced with low light tanks but I can give you some pointers. CO2 is your problem so get your CO2 setup going or keep it off. Starting and stopping it will cause problems. With low light tanks keeping the CO2 level constant is very important as plants can't adjust as quick as algae to fluctuating levels. Even water changes can make the levels go up and down. Three times overdosing Seachem Flourish Excel can be effective, but is done at your own risk. Scrub off and syphon out as much as you can be. Cut off any infested leaves. Adding more plants will also help.

 

[plantbrain]

Look at James' sig tank there, and now look at your two plant tank.
You barerly have anything in there.

If you do plants, go all the way or else plan on lowing the light and adding CO2.
In general, more plants=> less algae.

You have very little biomass.
Stay away from algicides, they are terrible for your plants.

You might try SeaChem Excel, it'll kill the algae relatively slowly and help the swords grow faster/better.
That's an alternative.

But it cost $ as well.

Regards,
Tom Barr