I Have An Algae Problem

[ThatGuyMike]

i have of course the diatom brown algae im also having green hair algae and a purple hair algae. i have 5 Otos in there and 3 shrimp. what can i do to get rid of this hair algae. the tank is planted. i tried a pleco for a few days, and i had to pull that lawn mower out. (haha) i was hoping that he may put a lil dent in this issue. but i took a chance, and almost lost the plants, haha, but the plants are doing quite well and grew back and looking well. so is the algae which is aweful. im thinkin about just discarding all plants and sand, and starting over. im not afraid to do so, but before i do that,


what can i do that will get rid of the algae, yet not hurt the plants. should in increase the Oto population?

 

[Renate]

Here is some info on algae that I have collected.

I battled with it for the longest time until I target dosed it with Excel. Turned off the filter and blew Excel right on the algae with a dosing syringe. Turned the filter back on after half a minute. After doing this daily for a few days the algae turned gray and died off.
IbnOzn http/www.aquaticplantcentral.com

Bleach
1 part bleach to 19
soak for 2 min.
Have another bucket ready with water the same temp and with declor added to stop the the bleach action.
gently rub the leaves(anubias) to get rid of any dead algae before you place them in your tank.
http/www.plantedtank.net/forums/plants/6...l-bba-do-i.html
Complexity
Bruce Watts pt

 

[MHunt]

All my planted tanks have gone through a hair algae stage, the only real solution was to keep pulling it out to stop it from taking over, and eventually when a balance is reached in th tank it should eventually go away. I know it's not pretty but unless there is a more direct way of treating it that's my best solution.

 

[aaronnorth]

purple hair algae

purple

Hair algae is a sign of low/ fluctuating CO2 and/ or an ammonia spike (not always detectable on a test kit) the best way is to up the CO2 if possible, otherwise get some seachem excel, and overdose it by 3x daily, a more effective way is to squirt it directly on to the leaves (while filter is turned off for a few minutes). do this underwater otherwise you will burn holes in your leaves!

Please can you list:

Tank size
Lighting
Ferts
CO2 or other source of carbon.
Filtration or any pther powerheads?

 

[lljdma06]

purple hair algae

purple

Could be black beard algae. Sometimes it turns purpleish when it is dying, which is good sign. I have seen this before. Kind of cool actually. I was in the process of killing some with Excel about 3 years ago, and saw the color change. Then it becomes a light brownish, then almost whitish.

Is the purple algae kind of bushy and spiky?

 

[aaronnorth]

i have seen/ heard of black, green, red & white