What Is This?

[Arktica]

http/images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...sa%3DN%26um%3D1

i have what seems to be the early growths of the above appearing on the bog-wood of my tank, any ideas on what it is and what i should do?

i have seen it referred too as black beard algea, but ive also seen totally dif stuff reffered too as the same name.

 

[Davo86]

Its black brush algae,

What are your current water stats?
BBA thrives in tanks that have a low ph and high nitrate and phosphates,

 

[Arktica]

no 3 mg/l = 50
no 2 mg/l = 0
gh = 8
kh = 6
ph = 7.6 - 8.0
cl2 mg/l = 0

temp 23.5 c

edit:
Sorry about that i was just in th middle of getting the table ready for guests, thanks for getting back to me, does the water parameters suggest your right?
This tank is only a few months old but the only change is a reduction of the water temp by 3 degrees C. Is this a likely cause?

edit 2 :
the filter medium is very well established as the new aquarium was an upgrade as the old tank was over stocked

 

[Davo86]

do you have a test for NH3 (ammonia) ?
Your nitrate level is too high really and although it doesn't present a problem for the fish at this level, the algae will be using this as a source of food

How often do you do water changes and what percentage do you change?

BBA is caused by a combination of the following
1. Not enough light. try upping the lights to 10-12 hours a day.
2. Too much iron in the water.
3. Excessive phosphates and nitrates in the water.

 

[Arktica]

do you have a test for NH3 (ammonia) ?
Your nitrate level is too high really and although it doesn't present a problem for the fish at this level, the algae will be using this as a source of food

How often do you do water changes and what percentage do you change?

BBA is caused by a combination of the following
1. Not enough light. try upping the lights to 10-12 hours a day.
2. Too much iron in the water.
3. Excessive phosphates and nitrates in the water.

that explains we've reduced the lighting levels recently as some of the fish are scared by the light, ill in crewase it uo agian

 

[Arktica]

BBA is caused by a combination of the following
1. Not enough light. try upping the lights to 10-12 hours a day.
2. Too much iron in the water.
3. Excessive phosphates and nitrates in the water.[/quote]


just had some family over for dinner so was vefy brief before, thanks agian for the reply, i will definately up the lighting more, whilst creating a suitable hiding place for the fish that require the darker environment.

with regards to the water changes, i change 40/200 ltr every friday but the results from earlier were on the aquarium b4 the water has been changed as we had guests and i didnt make time after work to change the water.

should upping the lighting alter the environment enough so that the algea dies off?

 

[Davo86]

upping the light will help but you will also need to check that your ammonia level is exactly 0
Also try to get the nitrate level down to around 20 at most,

Just to check something else,
What is the stocking in the tank and how often are you feeding them?

 

[doktor doris]

I had black beard algae in my main fry tank.

It was a nightmare.

I tried proprietary soloutions, manual removing, cleaning the filter and tank contents, keeping the tank in darkness for a week.
Several times I thought I had got it, but it always came back.
In the end I had to take all the rocks/decorations out, and I dunked them in 50%bleach soloution for half an hour.
I threw the gravel, plants and filter away.

Bought a new filter, which I seeded from my other tanks.
Bought new gravel, so basicaly I started again.

It was then that I was thankful that I use seperate nets for each of my tanks.
If it had got into my display tanks, that would have been a real nightmare!

doris