Plant Problem

[CHASP]

Hey
I have a 560L Tropical Tank with appox 30 different types of fish inc Angles.

The top tank holds 400L with the below tank holding 160 which has 3 chambers with different filters.

The tank has been up and running for appox 3 years. It has a pebble base with 3 logs with plants attached to them. I have no idea what type of plants these are.

I am also running 1 white light and 1 blue which was supplied by fish place.

My problem is black fuzzy algea on the most of the leaves, and its getting worse. I prefer not to use any chemicals to fix this problem as I do not want to harm my fish. The readings in the tank are fine and are checked on a 2 times a week. I do partial water changes every 2 weeks.

I also get some algea on the tank walls itself.

I have included 4 photos with this post to discribe my tank and problem. See link below

If anyone out there can help with my problem ASAP as this is really concerning me and does not look the best at all.

Thanks
CHASP

My Tank Photos

 

[houndour]

Hiya,

I also have this black furry algae. It's known as Black beard algae or black brush algae.

It's really difficult getting the balance right in a tank so that you don't get algae. The reason for the algae can be lots of things...
too much light
wrong type of light
too much of a certain nutrient
...probably more but can't think right now. And it could be a combination of all these too.

I'm guessing the plants you have a quite slow growing. they dont look like java fern (Which would have been my first guess before seeing the pics). Anyway, slow growing plants just have more risk of having algae cos they're around for a long time to allow the algae to grow.

Solutions? I'd love to help you here but I'm still trying to get rid of the stuff myself.

Maybe if you provide some info...someone else might be able to help.
What lights do you have (how many watts)? How long are they on for? Is your tank in contact with direct sunlight?
What levels are your nitrates?

 

[jimbooo]

am also running 1 white light and 1 blue which was supplied by fish place.

blue light promotes algae and is used very little by plants. this is certainly not helping matters. theyre may also be other factors but personally i'd change the bulb for something more usefull to the plants.

check out the pinned article on lighting for further info

 

[zig]

Id say its definatly bba, id remove the blue lamp maybe the tank was a marine setup before, very difficult to get rid of, id remove any infected leaves and if its on the bogwood id remove that as well.

 

[George Farmer]

Welcome to the Forums CHASP.

I'm afraid I agree generally with what the other guys say - you have BBA, one of the hardest form of algae to get rid of. Personally I would remove all plants and decor with the slightest trace of the algae, throw away the plants and bleach the decor. It sounds very harsh but it will be the quickest and easiest solution.

It is quite common for mature tanks such as yours to experience such algae. It's nearly always a combination of factors, not just one i.e. lighting. Your lighting will have no doubt contributed (high blue content = lots of algae growth). You say your parameters are fine, do you know your nitrate and phosphate levels. If these are above 20ppm for nitrate and 0.5ppm for phosphate with this will have contributed to your problems. Only in high growth tanks with lots of good light, CO2 and nutrients can higher nitrate and phosphate levels be tolerated (in fact are necessary). I assume you don't have CO2 injection or use many liquid fertilisers.

Algae is a complex issue, many things can cause it, too many nutrients, too little nutrients, too much light, too little light, incorrect light, too little plant density, wrong choice of plants etc. etc. - the goal is to find a balance that suits your own set-up and needs. The most important thing though to remember where algae is concerned and that is it cannot stand a tank with lots of plant growth. Acheiving this plant growth the trick.

If you have the time then read through my algae and lighting articles pinned at the top of this forum, these will go into a bit more depth if you are serious about a successful planted tank that can be free from algae long-term.

Good luck with it all.

 

[CHASP]

Thanks for the reply's

I have some details about my tank below as you have all requested.
(Please Note - I have be running my tank for 3 years but I am still only a novice at it. I dont quite understand what somethings are etc.)

Lighting -

1 x Blue Light F30T8/BL-BIO (30W) Thats the only details I have on the blue light, as thats all it says on the box and the tube itself.

1 x White Light F30W/174-T8 10000K

I run these lights for about 10-12 hours a day and both are 90cm long.

Fish -

Angles
Mollies
Clown Loaches
Kissing Gourami
Peal Gourami
Platies
Corydoras

I have about a total of 30 fish in the tank atm.

The answer to the question "Do you use a co2 Injection?" - NO (I dont know what it is)

The answer to the question "What Ferts do I use?" - Dont know the brand anymore, but I have not used them for atleast 12 months.

I only have a PH reading kit, I normaly take my water sample into the fish shop to get it checked for other readings.

Hoping there is some help out there.
Thanks once again
CHASP B)

 

[zig]

Bleach can be effective in killing bba, you normally use a solution of 1 part bleach to 20 parts water, and would dip any affected decor in the solution for about 5 minutes and obviously rinse thoroughly afterwards, your nose is a good indicator here as to how much you should rinse, but bba can be persistant and new growth can form even on pieces that have been removed from an aquarium for many months.

Like gf said algae can have many causes it can be very hard to pinpoint exactly where or how it occured, i would browse the internet and try find as much information as you can on bba and then try and remove it, i have no doubt that it is bba.

Anyway best of luck with it.

 

[CHASP]

Thanks for that guys.

Could someone let me know what lights I should be running in my 400L tank?

I have been told 2 x 6500K T8s - This correct?

And what colour should these lights both be?

Thanks again

CHASP

 

[zig]

Thanks for that guys.

Could someone let me know what lights I should be running in my 400L tank?

I have been told 2 x 6500K T8s - This correct?

And what colour should these lights both be?

Thanks again

CHASP

[snapback]853370[/snapback]​

Have a look at gf225s pinned article on lighting at the top of this section of the forum, this is presuming you want tubes for plants, in the article he gives a very good rundown on what you need to work out, and gives good tips on what tubes to choose.

Good luck with it

 

[CHASP]

Just read through it, very helpful
Have came up with the following -

I have a 400L Tank which is appox 105.6 Gallons, which would would out to be a 35Watt lamp (3 WPG), give or take as I will be using 30Watt ones.

And will be trying to find light tubes with a 6500-6700K T8 so that this will give more of an nature lighting for viewing and the right lighting that simulates daylight for the plants.

Cheers

CHASP B)

 

[zig]

With a 105 gallon tank you would need over 300 watts to get 3 WPG, a 30 watt lamp is not very much, 4x 30 watts lamps would get you just over 1 WPG, you could consider T5 lighting these tubes are generally stronger than T8s but are a bit more expensive, you could do some research on them and make a decision.

 

[CHASP]

Whoops I did it back the front.

My Light Tubes I have been using are always 30W, I use 2 lights.
I have never seen any that are higher then 35W

Will 2 x 30W 6500K T8s do the job?

The lights I am running atm 1 white 1 blue are both 10000K 30W and I have read and been told blue lights are not good to use, and it seems 10000k ant the best either. So what do you think of the above?

CHASP

 

[zig]

Well a 105 gallon is a large tank and i dont think 60 watts in total is going to do a whole heap, but if thats all you got thats all you got, just grow low light plants, java ferns, java mosses and some anubias species might do ok.

 

[qwikimpss]

It's expensive and i dont know how much money you have but you can buy sone 96 watt power compact strip lights. I myself just bought a 30" 55 watt one for 60 bucks.