How to remove stubborn brush algae from sponge filter?

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AdoraBelle Dearheart

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Frustrated with the look of these sponges. Some green algae, not sure type, it's a soft, green fuzzy algae that also likes to coat my sword leaves, and is very difficult to remove. Feels sort of like velvet. It's coated the tops of my sponges, so makes the tank look neglected and gross, plus I don't want it spreading to my plants.

I don't really want to replace them if I can help it since while it's an established filter used for a long time, I only switched it to this tank recently and got nitrite levels back under control, so rather not switch them out one at a time for new ones if I can avoid it. But when I try brushing or plucking the algae off, most remains, or I end up plucking tiny bits of the sponge away. Are these saveable, or should I just suck it up and replace one, then the other later?
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Seems ok to me from the blurry pic. Just squeeze them out in tank water and if the still work as filter sponges , then it's ok. I don't like to see them on show anyway, so would hide them if it was me. No problem exists as far as I can see.
 
Seems ok to me from the blurry pic. Just squeeze them out in tank water and if the still work as filter sponges , then it's ok. I don't like to see them on show anyway, so would hide them if it was me. No problem exists as far as I can see.
Yeah, sorry about that! I thought I had a better photo of them on here where you can see the algae on top, but can't find that pic now and the tank has been put to bed. Will try to get a better snap tomorrow :D

It's the soft, velvet like algae, it coats the top of the sponges, and I can't seem to remove all of it, so in between cleanings it takes over. I left it to grow once, and it looked like the top of each sponge had a grass or moss top almost. Mainly, I don't want the algae to spread around the tank and end up on the plants, like the same algae grew and covered my amazon sword leaves in the previous tank.

Going to try to hide the filter more, tank is newly set up so I'm still messing with hardscape and planting to hide it more. Might be bothering me more just because it's so much more visible than it was in the last tank. Also a blurry photo I'm sorry, but those sword leaves you can see were absolutely coated in this same algae, making them soft and fuzzy, but obviously not good for the plant to be covered in this algae that won't come off. I had to cut those leaves off. This is the tank the sponge filter came from, I think it's the same algae, but new tank plants are all in-vitro grown and algae free right now.
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Ah, found the pics. Still not brilliantly clear, but you can see a bit better how messy they look even right after they'd been cleaned. It's just a fuzzy algae that doesn't come off unless I pinch at it and pull away at it, and doing that ends up pulling bits off of the sponges themselves. I might just replace them once the tank has stabilised a bit more.
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I see what you mean now better. I suppose you already are reducing the light time ? It's growing well in the light and nutrients so cutting these down must help ? I have a similar problem, my plants didn't do well at all so I bought a new light ( only £18 strip bar off eBay ) but bright as hell, and now I have blanket weed !
 
There always seems to be a battle against algae in the early stages of a planted tank. Usually because the plants we add are juvenile and whilst we're providing plenty of resources to encourage the plants to grow, there's just not enough plant mass to compete with algae for the available resources.
 
I see what you mean now better. I suppose you already are reducing the light time ? It's growing well in the light and nutrients so cutting these down must help ? I have a similar problem, my plants didn't do well at all so I bought a new light ( only £18 strip bar off eBay ) but bright as hell, and now I have blanket weed !
Ah thank you! blanket weed sucks, I used to leave the lights on too long in the first tank, like 14-15 hours a day.. whoops! And got all sorts of algae, but hated the hair algae/blanket weed. Was forever twirling it around a bottle brush to remove it, but when it's entangled around a plant like hornwort, it's still hard to remove it all.

Do you have any floating plants? I understand they'll help shade the other plants from a bright light and reduce algae :)
There always seems to be a battle against algae in the early stages of a planted tank. Usually because the plants we add are juvenile and whilst we're providing plenty of resources to encourage the plants to grow, there's just not enough plant mass to compete with algae for the available resources.
Thank you mate! Noo, the in-vitro plants are so nice and new and clean! I don't want algae growing in there :-(

I suppose I should do some reading and watching some youtube vids about how to balance a new tank and reduce algae as it starts to pop up, but before it takes over and becomes a real problem.

I am a bit concerned that these sponges will spread the algae they've bought over from the old tank, it's a nightmare algae to remove, it really attaches itself to the surface of the leaf and coats it, and there's no taking it off. What would you do with them? Would you replace them one by one? I could also spent an hour or so plucking every trace of algae off, and not worry about the look of the sponge. Surely a slightly uneven, ragged looking sponge is still better than algae growing and propagating in there, and I can replace them one at a time later to try to minimise mini cycle issues?
 
It’s always annoying getting algae in any tank old or new.

But it does happen more frequently in newly set up tanks, normally down to a number of factors mainly young plants not established which leaves too much nutrients in the water column.

This is when algae takes advantage as plenty of nutrients with little or no competition from any plants, sometimes as well as too much light or lights on for too long.

So not a great deal you can do for the moment, try and take off as much algae as you can, reduce light hours (between 7.5 to 8.5 hours is the usual numbers for UK) and urge your plants to grow faster! Perhaps adding a root tab for your sword might help a bit to establish this plant.

The addition of floating plants or fast growing plantswill help a lot as they suck up the nutrients therefore starving the algae and then the plants should take taking over.

Little by little you’ll get there.
 
It’s always annoying getting algae in any tank old or new.

But it does happen more frequently in newly set up tanks, normally down to a number of factors mainly young plants not established which leaves too much nutrients in the water column.

This is when algae takes advantage as plenty of nutrients with little or no competition from any plants, sometimes as well as too much light or lights on for too long.

So not a great deal you can do for the moment, try and take off as much algae as you can, reduce light hours (between 7.5 to 8.5 hours is the usual numbers for UK) and urge your plants to grow faster! Perhaps adding a root tab for your sword might help a bit to establish this plant.

The addition of floating plants or fast growing plantswill help a lot as they suck up the nutrients therefore starving the algae and then the plants should take taking over.

Little by little you’ll get there.
Ah, thank you! Yes, I think the sword is ready for a root tab. Most still looks bright and green and perhaps taller (I'd need to take a photo to compare, I think it's grown, but it's hard to tell when you see it daily ain't it?) but one of the newest, smallest leaves has turned brown and died. I'm talking to the tank daily and urging them to grow! Sessiliflora is definitely growing, not doing too badly for a weeks growth, and frogbit is doing brilliantly, some nice long roots developing, and there's a lot more of it than when I first put in.

My first time around with a planted tank I didn't have many fast growing plants, or floaters. Or shrimp, for that matter. Had mostly slow growing stuff like java fern and moss. Hopefully this time with a sword, sessiliflora and frogbit, and a normal light period and not a crazy 15 hours, the algae won't be so bad!

Now the algae in the other tank, and some new black brush algae that has appeared in the 57 gallon on the other hand... those will require a stronger stance I think and more work.

Thank you kindly! I'll work on removing as much of the algae as I can from the sponges later. Will also try to get update photos on the plant growth, plus new cories :D
 
I think a good handful of unsightly anacharis floating around the top would help!
Hahaha, you know how much I dislike anacharis! Where would I get shrimp safe stuff from though?
 
Leaves turning brown and falling off is pretty normal, does happen so not to worry about as long as main plant is nice and healthy which it sound like it’s pretty happy so far in your tank.


As a side note, amano shrimps are pretty good for helping a little with algae, they are real little workhorses as CUC.
 
I think a good handful of unsightly anacharis floating around the top would help!
I could pinch a load from the pond- think there's a mix of elodea and hornwort in there. on one hand, pesticide free! On the other - hydra, dragon and damselfly nymphs, etc etc. I'd bleach dip to kill nasty critters, but apparently elodea doesn't like bleach dipping and will shed all its leaves.

EDIT: plus grown outdoors in cold water, then being added to a tropical tank. They don't like that either.

But I don't know where to buy shrimp safe anacharis or hornwort from.
 
Leaves turning brown and falling off is pretty normal, does happen so not to worry about as long as main plant is nice and healthy which it sound like it’s pretty happy so far in your tank.


As a side note, amano shrimps are pretty good for helping a little with algae, they are real little workhorses as CUC.
I've pondered whether to get amanos! Need to learn some more about them. LFS didn't have any yesterday for sure, only bamboos and crystals. But true amanos won't eat shrimp or fry, will they? That thread about them eating them/the mix up with a more predatory shrimp made me nervous. I also have a hard time telling amanos and ghosts apart. Maybe when pro-shrimp start selling livestock again, that would be a safer source?
 
I could pinch a load from the pond- think there's a mix of elodea and hornwort in there. on one hand, pesticide free! On the other - hydra, dragon and damselfly nymphs, etc etc. I'd bleach dip to kill nasty critters, but apparently elodea doesn't like bleach dipping and will shed all its leaves.

EDIT: plus grown outdoors in cold water, then being added to a tropical tank. They don't like that either.

But I don't know where to buy shrimp safe anacharis or hornwort from.
I think it'd be worth trying some from the pond. I've still got a bucket of the stuff that i ripped out if my tank that is somehow still going strong.. maybe its ok going from warm to cold but not vice-versa?
 

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