Sick of algae

[Brendanpat]

Hi . Could I have some advice on algae treatment products ? Is this tetra one any good and safe for my fish . Really sick looking at algae now . Have cleaned parts of my tank a couple of times this week .it grows over night . And my swordtail and guppies must be eating it non stop because they are constantly pooping . Tank is planted .plants and ornaments, glass and everything is covered with it . I have tried cutting down lighting time and fertiliser. But it's not helping. Really thinking about ripping plants out and going back to fake ones ...

 

[Ch4rlie]

Oh dear, never nice to have stubborn algae.

Can you possibly post a photo of your tank with close up of algae so that we could possibly identify it?

I’ve never used any algae treatments, ever, so I cannot comment on those sort of things tbh.

Might help if you can give more details, tank size, what plants, type of light unit and duration of lights on daily, addition of ferts, which ferts and how often etc.


It’s normally down to lights, duration and how intense or lack of intensity.

Ferts, overdosing or underdosing can cause algae issues .
Co2/oxygen exchange, lack of oxygen exchange is common for BBA for example.

I only ever use ferts once weekly and roots tabs once every 2 or 3months and lights for 7.5 hours every day on a timer.

I did have a high tech co2 set up once or twice but failed miserably but that’s another story for another time!

 

[Brendanpat]

Oh dear, never nice to have stubborn algae.

Can you possibly post a photo of your tank with close up of algae so that we could possibly identify it?

I’ve never used any algae treatments, ever, so I cannot comment on those sort of things tbh.

Might help if you can give more details, tank size, what plants, type of light unit and duration of lights on daily, addition of ferts, which ferts and how often etc.


It’s normally down to lights, duration and how intense or lack of intensity.

Ferts, overdosing or underdosing can cause algae issues .
Co2/oxygen exchange, lack of oxygen exchange is common for BBA for example.

I only ever use ferts once weekly and roots tabs once every 2 or 3months and lights for 7.5 hours every day on a timer.

I did have a high tech co2 set up once or twice but failed miserably but that’s another story for another time!

Tank is 28 gallon . Lights on 8 hours a day on timer. Plants are cryptocoryne x willisii and bacopa caroliniana. Have root tabs in . Haven't used any liquid fertiliser in over a week and a half . Led lights that came with tank..

 

[Ch4rlie]

Ok, how long has this tank been running for?

Is it in any direct or indirect sunlight?

The LED lights, any information on that at all?

 

[Brendanpat]

Ok, how long has this tank been running for?

Is it in any direct or indirect sunlight?

The LED lights, any information on that at all?

It's an 18 watt leddy 80 sunny lighting module. Yes it gets indirect sunlight most of the day barely any direct sunlight. Maybe a half an hour in the morning. The tank is only running about 3 weeks . I moved filter media and ornaments from my old smaller tank .... added new plants and substrate too . The plants havnt done much yet apart from grow algae on them

 

[Ch4rlie]

It looks like the start of BBA on the edge of the plants and decor.

BBA is particularly stubborn and hard to get rid of.

That all sounds like perfect breeding ground for BBA to be honest! Too much light by led and indirect sunlight, BBA loves slow growing plants like anubias and in newly set up tanks as live plants not fully established yet etc.

Am going I link a article about BBA written by Jeremy Gay, guy knows his stuff and has been around for years, written for many famous fishkeeping magizines including Practical Fishkeeping etc so I’d have read of this and follow his advice.

How to get rid of Black Beard Algae (BBA)

Black beard algae is a horrible, tenacious algae that is unsightly and hard to get rid of.

www.swelluk.com

Hope that helps. Good luck!

 

[seangee]

That is black beard algae (BBA). You need to fix the cause. Using an algaecide only means it will come back. The cause is an imbalance of light and nutrients as has already been suggested. I battled this in one of my tanks and the only way I got rid of it was by reducing the intensity of the light by installing a dimmer. Can't say for sure that's your problem but I would start with a dimmer or a good covering of floating plants. In my case reducing the light period made no difference.

 

[Brendanpat]

It looks like the start of BBA on the edge of the plants and decor.

BBA is particularly stubborn and hard to get rid of.

That all sounds like perfect breeding ground for BBA to be honest! Too much light by led and indirect sunlight, BBA loves slow growing plants like anubias and in newly set up tanks as live plants not fully established yet etc.

Am going I link a article about BBA written by Jeremy Gay, guy knows his stuff and has been around for years, written for many famous fishkeeping magizines including Practical Fishkeeping etc so I’d have read of this and follow his advice.

How to get rid of Black Beard Algae (BBA)

Black beard algae is a horrible, tenacious algae that is unsightly and hard to get rid of.

www.swelluk.com

Hope that helps. Good luck!

Read that . Thanks for you time .

 

[Brendanpat]

That is black beard algae (BBA). You need to fix the cause. Using an algaecide only means it will come back. The cause is an imbalance of light and nutrients as has already been suggested. I battled this in one of my tanks and the only way I got rid of it was by reducing the intensity of the light by installing a dimmer. Can't say for sure that's your problem but I would start with a dimmer or a good covering of floating plants. In my case reducing the light period made no difference.

Thanks . But could I use the algaecide safely to kill it off my plants and all which is impossible to clean off by hand . And then concentrate on keeping it from coming back ?

 

[seangee]

Don't use algaecide. If you remove the plants from the tank you can use a very dilute solution of H2O2 (hydrogen peroxide). Soak the plants in the solution for about 10 minutes and then wipe off whatever you can using a coarse cloth or sponge. Soak the plants in fresh water for about an hour to make sure all the H2O2 oxidises. Any BBA that is left will be dead or die.

Personally I just cut off all the affected leaves and left the plants to grow back, which they did. I only used H2O2 on my anubias (and still cut off the worst affected leaves).

 

[Ch4rlie]

A sign of dead or dying BBA if successfully treated with hydrogen peroxide is that the bba will turn pink or red and easily wipes off.

 

[Brendanpat]

A sign of dead or dying BBA if successfully treated with hydrogen peroxide is that the bba will turn pink or red and easily wipes off.

I've decided to do a clean sweep. As my plants haven't established yet anyway. I'm going to pull all out . Scrub the tank and all ornaments clean and have ordered new fast growing low light plants .and some moss balls . Also ordered seachem flourish excel . Should this help and do I need any other fertiliser along with seachem? Also do I really need to change my 18 watt light ? It says on plant info that they require 0.25 watt per litre . So my tank has around 100 litres which is a 25 watt light . So my light is low if anything?