Need Some Help Please - Again!

[katykaye]

Water stats

PH 7.8
NitrAte 20ppm
Amonia 0
NitrIte 0
Temp 27/80

Tank and stocking as in my sig


I posted a couple of weeks ago about hair algea and red gills. I put all my fish into the hopsital tank and treated them with melafix which cleared the gill problem.

I removed everything from the main tank, washed all the gravel, replaced (with new) all the plants and ornaments, cleaned the filter and cleaned the tank thoroughly. 48 hours later I returned the fish to the main tank.

Now, a week later, all my gravel is again covered in hair algae and the water is looking decidedly grubby despite having done a normal water change. None of the new stuff is affected and the fish are just fine but its horrible and is driving me mad.

Where is it coming from? I don't overlight my tank, the lights are on for approx 5-6 hours a day. Its not in direct sunlight and I have never had this problem before in any of my tanks.

Any help gratefully recieved.

 

[smegforbrains]

ANY tank with real plants will get a growth of algae to some extent.


It's possible that the minerals in your water are particularly good for the plants and algae - that's life TBH.


After a rough calculation (my brain is tired), you should have room to add a couple of BN Plecs (if you wish). They solved my algae problems within a week!

 

[katykaye]

Well

its now 2 days later and the hair algea has completely taken over again the whole of my gravel is covered in it and its now beginning to bloom on my plants and new ornaments. The water is a murky colour and the whole thing is just awful. Thankfully my poor fish dont seem to be too bothered

Since the only things remaining in the tank from the previous outbreak are the gravel and the filter media could it be either of these things that is causing it?

I am at a complete loss now and am tempted to ditch the whole thing and start again from scratch

advice please?
Thanks

 

[ccskitten]

You could add some marimo moss balls. They feed on all of the nutrients that feed the algea. You can get them on ebay. I have just ordered some to sort out my hair algea problem.

 

[katykaye]

Water stats this morning

PH 7.8
NitrAte 10ppm
Amonia 0
NitrIte 0
Temp 26/78

Tank and stocking as in my sig

So basically there is little I can do? I am sorry to be whining on about it but after 5 years of keeping tropicals and never having had an algea problem before this is really irritating

What about if I replaced the gravel with sand? and do I need plants or could I have a rock/slate arrangement instead?

 

[waterdrop]

You can also start a small thread over in the planted section as they are much better and more specific on algae topics than many of us over here. Sometimes there are specific approaches to specific algae problems.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[katykaye]

Thank you waterdrop

 

[Athena]

Found this article on how to deal with hair algae:

http/aquamaniacs.net/forum/cms_view_article.php?aid=138

(copy and paste if link doesn't work)

It seems from other articles I've read on it that it can often be caused by too much iron in your tap water, or high level of phosphates.

Regards - Athena

 

[katykaye]

Thanks Athena

Actually I spoke to a LFS today (one I know is ok) and he also said about their being a high level of phosphates in the water - I am going over to see him on saturday.

But thanks for the link

 

[waterdrop]

Phosphates were once widely thought to be the culprit for all algae problems but have been somewhat absolved from that I believe. That's not to say there could not be a particular problem with phosphorus substances like phosphate in a particular geographical location, but the general notion that phosphate is the cause of algae problems is a bit out of date if I recall.

When someone says they have an algae problem, the first thing I think of is that dealing with algae in aquariums is a skill set. Its a skill set that has the prerequisites of understanding the more basic skill sets of lighting, plant nutrients and CO2, each of which is a bit of a topic unto itself.

There are sometimes very specific actions that can have a decided effect on a particular species of algae, but those instances are probably more rare than the times when all the different things happening in the tank have some bearing on the possibility of a particular species of algae finding a niche and blossoming. Algae are opportunists. There are hundreds of types, each with slightly different needs from the other and just waiting for their opportunity, for the right tank conditions so that they can take off.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[JustKia]

I'm not sure on the different types of algae but I started to get green water (I know some will be jealous lol) and I found a product by Hagen called Green-X - it looks like a giant teabag! But it did the job and it lasts for about 2 months (well, it's supposed to - I haven't had it that long yet).
I know they also do one called Phos-X, but I don't know much about the product or how it affects other plants (the green-x hasn't affected my plants at all).
All I'm suggesting is it might be worth a look at the products/range to see if there is anything that can help you.

 

[Dave Spencer]

I would love to know how people that blame excess iron are measuring it. Testing in the lab is difficult enough.

No offence Athena, but I don`t think that the article you linked to was written by anybody that had put any work or thought in to the causes of algae. Try the Barr Report or UKAPS for a more advanced thought process.

Dave.

 

[Athena]

Sorry, but not everyone who keeps fish wants to get into the nitty-gritty, scientific reports of it all LOL (most of us don't have the time - and even if we did I bet half of us wouldn't understand them anyway) - and quite often there is a very simple solution to a problem (like the poster above who added a Green-X t-bag to her tank to get rid of green water and it worked, without the need to study the scientific reasonings behind the causes of green water LOL) and it's not necessary to make a mountain out of a molehill, so to speak. Of course, if some people are really into studying the scientific reports then all's good - they can hopefully pass on any useful tips to others in a way that is easily understood.

I'm definitely no expert on algae. I've had a couple of types of algae in various tanks in the past, asked for advice on here or my LFS, tried a few things suggested and managed to get rid of it. Job done.

I thought the article I linked to was straightforward, easy to understand information and if I had a problem with hair algae I would have tried those tips myself - and I posted it for that reason - I found it an uncomplicated, informative article. I was trying to help the poster find a solution to the problem.

Oh, and no offence taken, Dave (I understand your point, too) - but maybe it would have been helpful if you had given the OP a few tips based on your knowledge of the scientific reports. The OP is obviously distressed about the level of algae and looking for a way to clear it asap and I bet they'd have been really grateful for advice from someone with in-depth knowledge on the subject and the ability to put it into layman's terms without getting too technical.

Katykaye - hope you manage to sort your algae problem out soon.

Regards - Athena