Pesky Blue/green Algae

[Malfie]

Hi there guys.
Hope that someone could advise me on my little problem.

I have a Juwel Rekord 120 that was fantastic for the first 6 months or so.but then I got a BIG case of the blue/green algae.I blacked out the tank several times over the next few months in the hope of clearing the stuff,but it just kept coming back.

In the end I had to give away all my fish,throw away my plants and gravel and give the wood and tank a good clean out.I then left the tank for three or four weeks to dry out completely - in the hope it would kill off any algae (or should I say bacteria ?) left.

I was just checking the tank over the other day when I realised that there is a gap between the glass and the internal filter housing which is covered in algae and other debris ! I can't easily clean the space as there is only about a 2mm gap.I read up on how to remove the housing on another thread,but then I would have to stick it back with the aid of a silicone seal,but is there another way 'round my problem ? Will all the spores now be dead as the tank has been dry for over a month ?

Any help would be great.

Thank you.
Malfie

 

[Malfie]

Oh,please guys - surely someone has an idea ?

I'm so keen to start up the tank again,but I don't want the 'goo' to make another appearance.

Please ................................... HELP

Malfie

 

[Declan]

I have a juwel also, but I dont have that problem sorry..

Anywho, you could try pipe cleaners?

D.

 

[drobbyb]

Bluegreen algae (cyanobacteria) is often times brought about by bad water quality and an excess of nutrients IIRC. I had it once a long time ago and all I did was cut back on feeding and performed a few large water changes. I have heard that some antibacterial meds will kill the bacteria, however the original problem may still exist.

 

[RadaR]

In a planted tank?
Main causes are low circulation/flow, low nitrates and a build of organic waste.
Therefore, clean part of your filter, get rid of the mulm that will be leaching ammonia. Any debris in the tank should be siphoned out too.
Add a powerhead for extra flow or just de-clog the filter.
Water changes will help reduce any potential ammonia that is feeding the cyanobacteria.
Get rid of as much cyanobacteria as you can by siphoning it out.
You can then proceed to do a 3 day black out. Turn all the lights off, add an airstone and cover the tank with black bin liners (if they are too thin then double wrap the tank).
After 3 days, take off the cover and do a 50% water change. Dose up the nitrates and keep ontop of maintenance to ensure it doesn't come back.
A few people will tell you to use antibiotics. However this isn't treating the cause, which means it would potentially come back.

 

[SuperColey1]

Radars answer is the correct one above. The previous one is wrong. It is not cause by excess nutrients. In fact one of the causes as Radar states is low nitrates so the cause could be exactly the opposite to excess nutrients in that it is either poor circulation, poor tank maintenance, poor filter maintenance, low nitrates or any combination of these.

I would suggest 4 days though for the blackout with no peeking and not feeding at all. i.e. 4 days without even thinking about it then return to what should hopefully be a cyno free area. After which you will need to sort out what caused it in the first place or it will return.

AC

 

[drobbyb]

Radars answer is the correct one above. The previous one is wrong. It is not cause by excess nutrients. In fact one of the causes as Radar states is low nitrates so the cause could be exactly the opposite to excess nutrients in that it is either poor circulation, poor tank maintenance, poor filter maintenance, low nitrates or any combination of these.

I would suggest 4 days though for the blackout with no peeking and not feeding at all. i.e. 4 days without even thinking about it then return to what should hopefully be a cyno free area. After which you will need to sort out what caused it in the first place or it will return.

AC

Hrmmm. That's not what I have been told or read about but that was a long time ago. Thanks for correcting.

 

[SuperColey1]

drobby no probs. In a way it could be said that your theory and Radr's is correct because you could argue that a dirty substrate/filter would mean excess organic nutrient. However in reality the same amount of organic nutrient with high flow would keep this suspended in the water and therefore the filter would remove it.

What we try to do these days in a planted tank is remove ALL organic waste from plants and fish via higher filtration etc and the add back in inorganic nutrient so we remove the organic sources of nitrogen (ammonia) and then replace with Potassium Nitrate etc.

Organic waste is the trigger for algae whereas inorganic sources are not. The algae will feed on inorganic but won't be caused by it.

The double bonus is that higher filtration improves circulation and means you are more likely to have good flow and that in turn will be more likely to transport the nutrients and CO2 all the way around the tank rather than have deadspots.

No brainer really to stay low in filtration these days with the amount of research that is proving high filtration can remove a lot of the headaches. Most fish enjoy a variation in flow around the tank too. Even fish that are supposed not to like it will intentionally veer into the flow occasionally (for a bit of fun I suppose. lol)

AC

 

[Malfie]

Thank you again for all your input,but you haven't really answered my question yet.

My tank in empty and has been dry for about 4 weeks,but algae and debris are still between the glass and the filter housing.What I really need to know before I make a new start is will the algae be dead after such a period ?

Malfie

p.s. I think I know how I got the problem in the first place.I used water from my waterbutt as I wanted to have acid pH species of fish and I live in a very hard-water area.I empty the butt at the end of each summer and give it a thorough clean and this year it was full of thick really slimy layers of algae.Whoops