What to do?

[purple_drazi]

I've got that nasty black, hairy algae on some of my plants and I've been combatting it by removing the plant leaves that look the worst. I don't want to keep doing that because, well, it's only a temporary fix and my plants are getting smaller - not bigger!

I did some research and found that siamese algea eaters will get rid of it but they'll get way too big for my little 12g tank (5-6 inch each)! Two of those and that's the bio load of my tank!

any ideas anyone?

 

[kenneth_kpe]

try balancing your tank nitrates keep em low or get plants that use up your nitrates well im currently trying to lower the nitrates in my tank and in the process (of constantly changing the water) im starting to notice s drop in algae blooms, i am yet to go around and purchase fast growing plants nitrates is not the only factor

http/www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/articles.htm
here is a good site that talks about algae control there are a lot of sites that would give you valuable information on combating algae

 

[Stryker]

I think sulphate causes algae blooms too. You'll need to test your tap water.

 

[purple_drazi]

excellent, thanks!

 

[Yenko]

Phosphate also causes alage blooms. I think that is my problem; my nitrates are FAR too low to be causing the alage problems I'm getting. I have <10 ppm nitrates due to plants and low fish stocking. No water changes in months, but when I did try intensive water changes the alage just kept going.