Is This A Good Idea?

fishy55599 · Dec 11, 2010

to get rid of the black hair algae on my stuff in the tank i think i am going to change everything and get them new, so that i dont have it anymore.
I have finally got some money to do this now. i got the tank free but it had lots of this hair algae.

So does this sound like a good idea??

Monty-2010 · Dec 11, 2010

Have you tried giving the tank a good scrub down? i'd get some plants like moss, or indian fern that compete for the same nutrients as the algae

karin · Dec 11, 2010

This is what www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm says about hair algae:

Description These are very general names for a wide variety of filamentous algae. Generally green and varying in length. I have listed some of the more popular filamentous algae under their own section on this page.
Cause A range of causes including low CO2, low nutrient levels and ammonia spikes. Nothing to do with excess iron as commonly thought.
Removal Can be very difficult to eradicate at times. A high plant mass with good CO2 and a good supply of nutrients along with constantly hassling the algae seems to pay off after a while. Removal by twisting around a toothbrush or similar. Overdosing Flourish Excel can help. Amano shrimps, Rosy barbs and mollies will often eat it.

Replacing everthing might help but if you don't deal with the root cause it may just come back on your new stuff. I would go for a really good scrubbing of everything, watch your water stats like a hawk, if possible invest in an "eater" of the algae, and maybe try the overdosing of liquid CO2 first before you buy a bunch of new stuff.

fishy55599 · Dec 11, 2010

karin said:
This is what www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm says about hair algae:

Description These are very general names for a wide variety of filamentous algae. Generally green and varying in length. I have listed some of the more popular filamentous algae under their own section on this page.
Cause A range of causes including low CO2, low nutrient levels and ammonia spikes. Nothing to do with excess iron as commonly thought.
Removal Can be very difficult to eradicate at times. A high plant mass with good CO2 and a good supply of nutrients along with constantly hassling the algae seems to pay off after a while. Removal by twisting around a toothbrush or similar. Overdosing Flourish Excel can help. Amano shrimps, Rosy barbs and mollies will often eat it.

Replacing everthing might help but if you don't deal with the root cause it may just come back on your new stuff. I would go for a really good scrubbing of everything, watch your water stats like a hawk, if possible invest in an "eater" of the algae, and maybe try the overdosing of liquid CO2 first before you buy a bunch of new stuff.

i have gave it all a good scrub.
I have also got this removal stuff.
but i wanna get new stuff anyway .
i doubt it will come back because it was everywhere when i got it. there was lots of it as they never changed filter, scrubbed sides and rarely did w/c so i think it will ot be back.
i also got a albino bn plec and 1 mollie.

Goldana · Dec 11, 2010

I also had a black hair algae problem in my tank. It seemed to cover everything including rooted plants, floating plants, the back wall of the aquarium, the filter, etc. I tried to scrub it all off, but it would keep coming back.
Also none of my catfish (Bristlenoses, Cories, Pitbulls, etc.) could remove it. They would try to graze on it, but it was stuck on too firmly for them to get it off. I eventually managed to eliminate the black hair algae though!
I tried 3 things and I'm not sure if only 1 worked or if it was the combination of all 3. I installed a CO2 system, I put my aquarium lights on a timer for 8 hours of lighting a day and I got a handful of Amano Shrimp. It took a little bit of time, but now my aquarium is black hair free!
You could try buying all new equipment for your aquarium, but if I were you then I would be a little bit hesitant to do that. All it takes is a tiny little spot of black hair algae on the aquarium glass that you might have missed when scrubbing and the problem will be back. I personally think it is better to try and nip the problem in the bud.
Good luck! :good: