Black Hairs Coming Off My Plants?

[Ethan040]

Hi, ive got black hairs coming off my vallis and crypt plants ive had them for a while but now ive started using TPN+ they have gotten quite big and im fed up of cutting the worst leaves of and cutting the hairs down can anyoen give me any advice to get rid of it? both plants have just started getting nice and big now so i don't really want to throw them away.

Thanks, Ethan

 

[mattlee]

Hi, ive got black hairs coming off my vallis and crypt plants ive had them for a while but now ive started using TPN+ they have gotten quite big and im fed up of cutting the worst leaves of and cutting the hairs down can anyoen give me any advice to get rid of it? both plants have just started getting nice and big now so i don't really want to throw them away.

Thanks, Ethan

sounds like bba. check out this link mate it should help.....


http/www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

 

[nmonks]

This is usually some type of Rhodophyta (also known as red algae, despite the colour). Generally grows in tanks with poor water flow and not enough light for the species being grown to do well. Manually remove infected leaves, fix the lighting/circulation problems, add some fast-growing floating plants, and problem solved.

Cheers, Neale

Hi, ive got black hairs coming off my vallis and crypt plants ive had them for a while but now ive started using TPN+ they have gotten quite big and im fed up of cutting the worst leaves of and cutting the hairs down can anyoen give me any advice to get rid of it? both plants have just started getting nice and big now so i don't really want to throw them away.

Thanks, Ethan

 

[chipsncheese]

I've got this problem too but am confused as to how it can be related to flow rate as this stuff seems to be growing most on the plants directly in front of the filter outlet pipe. Weird?

 

[nmonks]

No, not weird at all. What's the overall circulation of the aquarium? Look at the filter pump, and there'll be a gallons/hour or litres/hour quote. Compare that to the volume of your aquarium. Things like Vallisneria prefer quite brisk water turnover rates, and if they're kept in still water tend to get covered with gunk.

In any case, review generally aquarium conditions. Look at the light intensity. For most plants you want something around two watts per gallon, a little more if you have "light hungry" plants, maybe a bit less if you have plants that are shade-tolerant (like Anubias spp.). But if you have shade-tolerant plants only, these become real algae magnets, and you actually want quite bright light when you're growing them, plus some fast-growing floating plants to filter the light. Sounds paradoxical I know, but the bright light supports the growth of the fast-growing floating plants, and these in turn (for reasons not altogether clear) prevent the growth of algae. The floating plants filter out some of the light, and this keeps the Anubias and Java ferns happy.

Mostly, plants become algae magnets only if conditions don't suit them; fix the tank, and the algae goes away. Seriously. I clean algae from my tanks maybe once every three months, and even then, all I'm doing is wiping the front glass.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Ethan040]

My filter is a 1000lph fluval 305 and my lighting is 60w T8 and my tank is 40 gallon and im dosing with TPN+ my circulation seems fine my vallis is moving about all the time so is my crypt plant and i have a fair amount of amazon frogbit all this seems to be what you say i need to stop it? do you think my lights need to be brighter maybe?

Thanks

 

[nmonks]

Yep; 60 watts of standard fluorescent tube across a 40 gallon tank isn't a huge amount, and best results for a tank this size would be around 80 watts or even higher. Adding reflectors might help too.

Alternatively, simply rip out the Vallisneria, and stick with plants that don't get covered with red algae! I'd add a clump of floating Indian fern if you can gets some: it's tolerant of a broad range of light intensities and is an algae-buster without equal.

Cheers, Neale

do you think my lights need to be brighter maybe?

 

[Ethan040]

There is some of the Indian fern on ebay il get some now.

So some of the indian fern some reflectors and bin the vallis and i should be sorted? what about the crypt? should i just nip off the leaves with it on?~

Thanks

 

[nmonks]

Slow-growing plants will usually end up getting covered with algae if they're under direct light. In the wild things like Cryptocoryne wendtii and Anubias barteri are growing in shady areas of rainforests, where they receive only indirect light filtered through the leaves above them. In the aquarium the art to keeping these plants the easy way is to combine them with a canopy of greenery, such as Indian fern, that blocks direct light.

For now, try removing infected Vallisneria leaves (rather than the whole plant), add the Indian fern, add some more light, install some reflectors, and see what happens. You do need fairly good light for the Indian fern (or any other fast-growing plant) to do its magic; if the "algae busting" plants are struggling to grow, you'll never get the results you're after. It sounds counterintuitive I know, but more light usually means less algae, provided you have some fast-growing plants in the tank.

Nothing beats adding another tube to the hood; reflectors ensure you're getting all the wattage from any given tube, but they don't mean a 10 W tube works as well as a 20 W tube. Rather, adding a reflector means the 10 W tube directs all 10 of its watts down into the tank, as opposed to a tube without a reflector that sends half its light sideways or towards the hood. So look at your plants, think about how much light they need, and act accordingly.

Cheers, Neale

 

[Dave Spencer]

A picture would be great, but it sounds like BBA or staghorn to me. This makes it a CO2 issue. It could be that adding the TPN+ has stimulated sufficient growth for the now increased demand in carbon to outstrip that which is occuring naturally in your tank (assuming you don`t add additional carbon in any form). Your light levels will be fine for now, but too much light will increase the carbon demand further, and make the algae worse. if you want to make the situation in a tank with algae worse, just add more light.

You need to target the carbon deficiency, with the most viable answer for now being Seachem Excel or Easycarbo. They will add the extra carbon needed, and the Gluteraldehyde (nasty stuff, so handle it with respect)will actively kill off the current algae bloom. especially if you are able to spot dose the affected areas.

Do not increase lighting in your current situation unless you are happy to go with pressurised CO2.

Dave.

 

[nmonks]

Dave,

I've not found this to be the case. When I kept tanks with mediocre lighting, i.e., 1 watt per gallon or less, algae was a constant problem, especially that long blue slightly coiled stuff that grows from the edges of plant leaves. But once I started using moderate lighting, 1.5-2 watts per gallon, and added floating Indian fern [or similar] I've never had algae problems of any kind whatsoever. I don't bother with CO2 and my tanks all have rich substrates based in part on pond soil. I barely ever use plant fertilisers. These may be factors.

My honest belief is that once you add enough lighting for fast-growing plants, you tip things against undesirable algae. At worst you get diatoms and green algae, but these are both trivially easy to fix with a few nerite snails. I cannot stress too strongly how well floating plants help here; they seem to be the silver bullet in my tanks at least. I know the Amano brigade aren't into floating plants, but if all you want is greenery that keeps your fish happy, floating plants are the best!

Cheers, Neale

if you want to make the situation in a tank with algae worse, just add more light.

 

[lljdma06]

Dave,

I've not found this to be the case. When I kept tanks with mediocre lighting, i.e., 1 watt per gallon or less, algae was a constant problem, especially that long blue slightly coiled stuff that grows from the edges of plant leaves. But once I started using moderate lighting, 1.5-2 watts per gallon, and added floating Indian fern [or similar] I've never had algae problems of any kind whatsoever. I don't bother with CO2 and my tanks all have rich substrates based in part on pond soil. I barely ever use plant fertilisers. These may be factors.

My honest belief is that once you add enough lighting for fast-growing plants, you tip things against undesirable algae. At worst you get diatoms and green algae, but these are both trivially easy to fix with a few nerite snails. I cannot stress too strongly how well floating plants help here; they seem to be the silver bullet in my tanks at least. I know the Amano brigade aren't into floating plants, but if all you want is greenery that keeps your fish happy, floating plants are the best!

Cheers, Neale

if you want to make the situation in a tank with algae worse, just add more light.

It is good that this has worked for you, Neale. It might not work for others. Like what I do may not work for them either, or what Dave does. Depends on the situation.

I am not overun with algae either (nerite snails are not needed), and yet I have a tank with .77WPG, pretty mediocre lighting. No CO2, I dose TPN+, have predominantly an inert substrate, and grow mostly slow-growers (no floating plants or stems). That being said, I have used pothos sprigs and frogbit in the past on a few occasions in other systems, but that was because I liked the look of the roots or I wanted to remove ammonia from betta bowls (yep, still will keep a betta in a bowl). Definitely not a member of the Amano brigade.

I have also had a system with 3WPG without CO2 and no dosing, but that system is quite small and the lighting is not as good as one would think. That one did not have floaters, but it was a Dutch style of predominantly stems.

I'm curious though, how often do you change the water? I will go a month between waterchanges in the current non CO2 system.

I'm surprised no one has asked about the photoperiod? Ethan040, what is your photoperiod?

 

[Ethan040]

I do weekly 30% water changes and my lights are on 8 hours a day from 11am to 7pm its like that because i work until 6pm and would never get to see the fish.

Ive only just started 8 hours on a timer (around 2 weeks) before they where on from 7am to 8-9pm totally messed up because of my worktimes.

 

[Bobtastic]

It's quite interesting to see the differing opinions, especially after Waterdrops recent post about light requirements/intensity.

However, I wonder how increasing the light levels and addition of floating plants work? Surely, floating plants lower the over all lighting level by blocking light from getting to the substrate at the same strength?

Ethan, I would argue that you could put the lights on from whatever to which ever time you like. You could start the lights 2hrs later and turn them off 2hrs later. It doesn't make much of a different to the plants and no difference to the fish.

 

[nmonks]

I think the issue here isn't light intensity but allelopathy.

Under dim lighting, there's nothing to slow down the growth of shade-tolerant algae. But under bright lighting plus floating plants, the shady conditions may suit shade-tolerant algae, but the fast-growing floating plants are producing chemicals that inhibit the growth of algae. So while the amount of light reaching the substrate may be the same in either case, under bright light/floating plant conditions, there's also an allelopathic effect as well.

Cheers, Neale

However, I wonder how increasing the light levels and addition of floating plants work? Surely, floating plants lower the over all lighting level by blocking light from getting to the substrate at the same strength?