Hi all!
I am sort of new, meaning I'm a new member but I have been visiting this site for years.
I have a serious carpet algae problem that I am afraid will require stripping the tank entirely. I would like to avoid that at all costs. It is a 55 gallon fresh, fully planted. CO2 injection with 3 bps. Bubble checker is green so I know my saturation is good. PH hovers around 7.0 +/-. I do 25% water changes about every 4-6 weeks, the lights are on for 10 hrs per day and I use a automatic feeder. The tank has been very stable for years. The pants are healthy and the fish are happy.
About 6 weeks ago I started seeing more algae than usual then I went away for 2 weeks. And, when I came back the tank was covered in carpet algae. Ok, I cleaned it up and did a 50% water change. I went away for 2 weeks and the tank was literally covered again. I travel over 200 days a year.
I did another 50% water change and cleaned the gravel again. I also changed the filters including the bio wheels this time. I had to take a tooth brush to the rocks, and decorations in the tank to clean it all. I could peel the algae of the leaves of the plants. I went away for another 10 days and as you can see from the photos below, It is covered again. Yes, this is 10 days algae growth.
I'm sure it's a nutrient imbalance of some sort but I don't know how to check for that or correct it at this point. Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated.
I am sort of new, meaning I'm a new member but I have been visiting this site for years.
I have a serious carpet algae problem that I am afraid will require stripping the tank entirely. I would like to avoid that at all costs. It is a 55 gallon fresh, fully planted. CO2 injection with 3 bps. Bubble checker is green so I know my saturation is good. PH hovers around 7.0 +/-. I do 25% water changes about every 4-6 weeks, the lights are on for 10 hrs per day and I use a automatic feeder. The tank has been very stable for years. The pants are healthy and the fish are happy.
About 6 weeks ago I started seeing more algae than usual then I went away for 2 weeks. And, when I came back the tank was covered in carpet algae. Ok, I cleaned it up and did a 50% water change. I went away for 2 weeks and the tank was literally covered again. I travel over 200 days a year.
I did another 50% water change and cleaned the gravel again. I also changed the filters including the bio wheels this time. I had to take a tooth brush to the rocks, and decorations in the tank to clean it all. I could peel the algae of the leaves of the plants. I went away for another 10 days and as you can see from the photos below, It is covered again. Yes, this is 10 days algae growth.
I'm sure it's a nutrient imbalance of some sort but I don't know how to check for that or correct it at this point. Any advice I can get would be greatly appreciated.