Why Are My Plants Suffering?!

[juhason]

I have a 55 gallon tank with a dual strip 4ft light. One strip is daylight the other strip is actinic light (I think it is meant for corals though so it is pretty powerful). I do not dose nutrients or CO2 and I have the lights on a timer for 10 hours a day.
 
I was told before that my lighting is good, but my lighting schedule was wacky, so I got the timer. Well it has been on a timer for over 3 months now and still algae is a problem! The plants are not thriving. I even ditched all my old algae covered plants and got new ones, and they still just sit and get covered in algae. They are not dying, but they are not thriving either and it doesn't look very attractive.
 
In the tank I have plenty of fish to provide nutrients, so this is why I do not dose.
 
What can I do to fix this?

 

[Byron]

Lighting is the most significant issue when it comes to planted tanks, but the nutrients have to be available to balance.  So let's look at both factors.
 
Actinic light is not a good idea for planted tanks.  It will encourage algae, and while this is or can be somewhat got around by having the second tube, it is still going to be "negative" in the long term, so I would replace this tube.  The "daylight" I assume will have a Kelvin around 6500K, correct?  If yes, then you could add a tube with 5000K.  I find this a good balance over my three dual-tube tanks.  If you really like the cooler light (more blue, less red), another 6500K will work.
 
At this point, I need to know if you have T8 or T5 fluorescent.  The T5 are significantly more intense light than the T8.
 
To the nutrients, with two tubes over a 55g you are likely going to have to use a comprehensive supplement.  There likely won't be sufficient nutrients to balance this much light if it is T8; if it is T5, then absolutely this will not be balanced.  Though this does depend somewhat on the plant species, and fish load, and water changes.  Knowing more data on the fish load will help; also, what is the GH of the source water?
 
The duration is another factor, once we have the light intensity/spectrum and nutrients balanced.  I found that 8 hours daily (one of my tanks only gets 7 hours) prevented algae issues, but the other factors need to be considered too.  Also, ambient light in the room can affect algae; I used to find that brush algae increased during the summer months when the daylight entering the room was longer and brighter than during winter.
 
Last issue is...what type of algae?
 
Byron.

 

[juhason]

Lighting is the most significant issue when it comes to planted tanks, but the nutrients have to be available to balance.  So let's look at both factors.
 
Actinic light is not a good idea for planted tanks.  It will encourage algae, and while this is or can be somewhat got around by having the second tube, it is still going to be "negative" in the long term, so I would replace this tube.  The "daylight" I assume will have a Kelvin around 6500K, correct?  If yes, then you could add a tube with 5000K.  I find this a good balance over my three dual-tube tanks.  If you really like the cooler light (more blue, less red), another 6500K will work.
 
At this point, I need to know if you have T8 or T5 fluorescent.  The T5 are significantly more intense light than the T8.
 
To the nutrients, with two tubes over a 55g you are likely going to have to use a comprehensive supplement.  There likely won't be sufficient nutrients to balance this much light if it is T8; if it is T5, then absolutely this will not be balanced.  Though this does depend somewhat on the plant species, and fish load, and water changes.  Knowing more data on the fish load will help; also, what is the GH of the source water?
 
The duration is another factor, once we have the light intensity/spectrum and nutrients balanced.  I found that 8 hours daily (one of my tanks only gets 7 hours) prevented algae issues, but the other factors need to be considered too.  Also, ambient light in the room can affect algae; I used to find that brush algae increased during the summer months when the daylight entering the room was longer and brighter than during winter.
 
Last issue is...what type of algae?
 
Byron.

I believe they are T5's. I got it at Home Depot and I'm pretty sure they don't have T8's. I actaully recently (1-2 weeks ago) changed it to the blue light. The fish I have are six 1-2" sunfish (dollar, northern longear, and banded). I got the blue light cause it helps their colors pop, but before I had two 6500K daylight tubes, and I can switch back. Bioload is similar to cichlids. Also I have 5 minnows and a chub. One minnow is about 2" the rest are just under an inch and the chub is 3". Then I have 3 full grown giant danios and 3 2" rosy barbs (they are temporarily in there though).
 
I used to dose but I had an even worse algae problem then. I still have all the nutrients I can start it up again if you think it will help. I have the Aqueon "Plant Food" and Envy and Propel by Aquavitro.
 
The plants are Bacopa, red ludwigia, green crypts, a small amount of surviving chain sword, and some tall, thin, grass-like plant that I can't remember the name of (however this plant it the only one that is thriving). The algae on the back wall is green spot algae and the one on the plants I think is brown alage. It makes it look like the plants are covered in dirt.
oh and one more thing I forgot to mention is that my light fixture is rasied up about and inch or two.

 

[Byron]

 

Lighting is the most significant issue when it comes to planted tanks, but the nutrients have to be available to balance.  So let's look at both factors.
 
Actinic light is not a good idea for planted tanks.  It will encourage algae, and while this is or can be somewhat got around by having the second tube, it is still going to be "negative" in the long term, so I would replace this tube.  The "daylight" I assume will have a Kelvin around 6500K, correct?  If yes, then you could add a tube with 5000K.  I find this a good balance over my three dual-tube tanks.  If you really like the cooler light (more blue, less red), another 6500K will work.
 
At this point, I need to know if you have T8 or T5 fluorescent.  The T5 are significantly more intense light than the T8.
 
To the nutrients, with two tubes over a 55g you are likely going to have to use a comprehensive supplement.  There likely won't be sufficient nutrients to balance this much light if it is T8; if it is T5, then absolutely this will not be balanced.  Though this does depend somewhat on the plant species, and fish load, and water changes.  Knowing more data on the fish load will help; also, what is the GH of the source water?
 
The duration is another factor, once we have the light intensity/spectrum and nutrients balanced.  I found that 8 hours daily (one of my tanks only gets 7 hours) prevented algae issues, but the other factors need to be considered too.  Also, ambient light in the room can affect algae; I used to find that brush algae increased during the summer months when the daylight entering the room was longer and brighter than during winter.
 
Last issue is...what type of algae?
 
Byron.

I believe they are T5's. I got it at Home Depot and I'm pretty sure they don't have T8's. I actaully recently (1-2 weeks ago) changed it to the blue light. The fish I have are six 1-2" sunfish (dollar, northern longear, and banded). I got the blue light cause it helps their colors pop, but before I had two 6500K daylight tubes, and I can switch back. Bioload is similar to cichlids. Also I have 5 minnows and a chub. One minnow is about 2" the rest are just under an inch and the chub is 3". Then I have 3 full grown giant danios and 3 2" rosy barbs (they are temporarily in there though).
 
I used to dose but I had an even worse algae problem then. I still have all the nutrients I can start it up again if you think it will help. I have the Aqueon "Plant Food" and Envy and Propel by Aquavitro.
 
The plants are Bacopa, red ludwigia, green crypts, a small amount of surviving chain sword, and some tall, thin, grass-like plant that I can't remember the name of (however this plant it the only one that is thriving). The algae on the back wall is green spot algae and the one on the plants I think is brown alage. It makes it look like the plants are covered in dirt.
oh and one more thing I forgot to mention is that my light fixture is rasied up about and inch or two.
 

 
The T5 or T8 issue is very important...have a look at the tubers, at one end there will be some data and it should say which.
 
I'll hold off further specific comments until I know for certain, as the resolution will be very different depending.  But on the algae, the green dot is something you have to deal with manually, although once we have the balance it should not be problematic.  The "brown" I will suspect is a form of brush algae.  This is technical,ly a red algae, but it usually appears anywhere from dark green through brown to black.  It is solely caused by the imbalance, usually too much light, though I have had it occur with two much fertilization as well.  But whichever, it is the balance.
 
I'm attaching a photo of two forms of the brush algae, perhaps you could confirm this is what you have.  It will be impossible to remove this from plant leaves, as opposed to diatoms which is also brown, more like a film, and comes off easily with your fingertips.

 

[juhason]

 
The T5 or T8 issue is very important...have a look at the tubers, at one end there will be some data and it should say which.
 
I'll hold off further specific comments until I know for certain, as the resolution will be very different depending.  But on the algae, the green dot is something you have to deal with manually, although once we have the balance it should not be problematic.  The "brown" I will suspect is a form of brush algae.  This is technical,ly a red algae, but it usually appears anywhere from dark green through brown to black.  It is solely caused by the imbalance, usually too much light, though I have had it occur with two much fertilization as well.  But whichever, it is the balance.
 
I'm attaching a photo of two forms of the brush algae, perhaps you could confirm this is what you have.  It will be impossible to remove this from plant leaves, as opposed to diatoms which is also brown, more like a film, and comes off easily with your fingertips.
 

It is 100% the first picture you showed me. That's exactly what it looks like! I'll check the tubes when I get home from work in about an hour. Also the plant in the first picture is the grass-like plant I was referring to.

 

[juhason]

The T5 or T8 issue is very important...have a look at the tubers, at one end there will be some data and it should say which.
 

Ok so I went to Home Depot after work since I had to return something and I bought a 5000k T8 bulb, and I checked the bulb I have, it is a 6500k T8.
I'll admit the fish do not look as beautiful without the blue light.... but I'm willing to compromise because the plants are important to me too. Plus my sunfish are young so they don't have much color yet anyways. Once they reach about 3" they'll have better colors that probably won't require such colors to still look nice.
 
So both bulbs are T8... what now?

 

[Byron]

 

The T5 or T8 issue is very important...have a look at the tubers, at one end there will be some data and it should say which.
 

Ok so I went to Home Depot after work since I had to return something and I bought a 5000k T8 bulb, and I checked the bulb I have, it is a 6500k T8.
I'll admit the fish do not look as beautiful without the blue light.... but I'm willing to compromise because the plants are important to me too. Plus my sunfish are young so they don't have much color yet anyways. Once they reach about 3" they'll have better colors that probably won't require such colors to still look nice.
 
So both bulbs are T8... what now?

 

 
Good, this will be very much easier to manage.  T5 is very bright and without diffused CO2 and daily fertilizer, two of them over a 55g would be problematic if not impossible, just so you know should you ever decide perhaps to "upgrade" or something.
 
First, on the Kelvin.  Once you get used to this, I think you will like it.  I used to be a "cool" white aquarist, and although I did not use actinic as my second tube I did have a higher blue tube, around 10,000 and 11,000K.  Combined with a 6500K.  These tubes needed replacement  [the light intensity lessens with all fluorescent tubes as they burn, quite rapidly actually, and the tubes need replacing regularly; I do mine every 12 months, and leaving them longer invariably causes algae to increase] and I could no longer get the high blue locally, so I went with two 6500K, then next year to the present combo of 6500K and 5000K.  Looking back over this period, which is now about five years, I can say that algae was more of a nuisance when I had the blue than it has been since using 6500K or 6500K/5000K.  This is really not surprising, given the requirement for red and blue by aquatic plants to photosynthesize, and red penetrates water minimally compared to blue light, but it is always instructive to actually see the ramifications.
 
So, to getting the balance.  First, I would lessen the duration to eight hours daily.  You have a timer, and that is very good, as light periods are very significant to fish as well as plants and a regular period of light/dark (and in between at either end) will benefit both.  I am suggesting this reduction because it will be easier to work out the balance; two tubes is still significant light intensity but certainly manageable.  I mentioned earlier that my 70g runs on 7 hours, compared to 8 for the 90g and 115g, and this is solely due to algae.  Algae is always waiting to take the advantage, as it can manage with less specific light than higher plants.
 
Second, I recommend regular fertilization with a comprehensive liquid supplement.  I have not myself used the Aqueon Plant Food nor the Seachem AquaVitro products, but I think either will work here.  The Aqueon is (in its mineral ingredients) much the same as the AV Envy, so I would certainly not use both.  If you were, this may have been cause for the algae issues, coupled with less than adequate light.  The AV Propel is iron, and I would not use this at present until we get the re-balance with the improved lighting and the Aqueon or Envy.  There is iron in both the other products, and while one frequently reads about adding iron, it is in fact often sufficient.  And, not surprising, iron can cause brush algae to increase if the iron added is not being utilized by the plants.  There is a proportional balance among the 17 essential nutrients that aquatic plants require, and if one increases certain nutrients, it can cause the plants to literally shut down assimilation of some other nutrients.  This is why I recommend comprehensive supplements in low-tech (natural) planted tanks; it should avoid these pitfalls which are not always easy to ascertain when plants are struggling.
 
I would use whichever product you decide to use, as suggested on the label.  With the AV Envy, they suggest one capful per 40 gallons, three times weekly.  Your 55g will not hold much over 40g taking into account the substrate and decor, so one capful should work fine.  The day following the water change, then twice more on alternate days.  I say the day following the water change because if you use a conditioner that detoxifies heavy metals, it might cancel out the "heavy metal" minerals in fertilizers (iron, copper, zinc, magnesium).  I had a discussion with Seachem about this, and they advised to wait 24-36 hours, so it may help.
 
The Aqueon suggest 2 tsp per 10g once a week, so here I would suggest 8 tsp in total, but divide it out over the week, say 4 tsp the day after the water change, and 4 tsp three days after that, or something similar.  I used to dose everything the same day, and a few months back I started dividing the dose up over several days.  It certainly has not been detrimental, and I think I can honestly say there seems to have been an improvement.  When you are using these comprehensive-type products, that contain everything, it is probably an advantage to spread them out.
 
The above changes will take a few weeks to show results.  Normally, it is best to make changes individually, but here we are dealing with an algae issue, plus plants not at their best, so the changes in lighting and fertilizers together may be better.  But once this has worked out for 2-3 weeks, any further changes will be best done individually so you have a better opportunity to fine-tune the balance.  And, the present algae will not go away; the aim here is to prevent it from increasing further, and that will be the proof that things are balancing.  Though some tweaking may be needed.  I've done a lot of experimenting with the older Seachem line, Flourish, and the improvements are not always easy to spot but over time they do become obvious.
 
Byron.

 

[juhason]

 

 


The T5 or T8 issue is very important...have a look at the tubers, at one end there will be some data and it should say which.
 

Ok so I went to Home Depot after work since I had to return something and I bought a 5000k T8 bulb, and I checked the bulb I have, it is a 6500k T8.
I'll admit the fish do not look as beautiful without the blue light.... but I'm willing to compromise because the plants are important to me too. Plus my sunfish are young so they don't have much color yet anyways. Once they reach about 3" they'll have better colors that probably won't require such colors to still look nice.
 
So both bulbs are T8... what now?

 

 
Good, this will be very much easier to manage.  T5 is very bright and without diffused CO2 and daily fertilizer, two of them over a 55g would be problematic if not impossible, just so you know should you ever decide perhaps to "upgrade" or something.
 
First, on the Kelvin.  Once you get used to this, I think you will like it.  I used to be a "cool" white aquarist, and although I did not use actinic as my second tube I did have a higher blue tube, around 10,000 and 11,000K.  Combined with a 6500K.  These tubes needed replacement  [the light intensity lessens with all fluorescent tubes as they burn, quite rapidly actually, and the tubes need replacing regularly; I do mine every 12 months, and leaving them longer invariably causes algae to increase] and I could no longer get the high blue locally, so I went with two 6500K, then next year to the present combo of 6500K and 5000K.  Looking back over this period, which is now about five years, I can say that algae was more of a nuisance when I had the blue than it has been since using 6500K or 6500K/5000K.  This is really not surprising, given the requirement for red and blue by aquatic plants to photosynthesize, and red penetrates water minimally compared to blue light, but it is always instructive to actually see the ramifications.
 
So, to getting the balance.  First, I would lessen the duration to eight hours daily.  You have a timer, and that is very good, as light periods are very significant to fish as well as plants and a regular period of light/dark (and in between at either end) will benefit both.  I am suggesting this reduction because it will be easier to work out the balance; two tubes is still significant light intensity but certainly manageable.  I mentioned earlier that my 70g runs on 7 hours, compared to 8 for the 90g and 115g, and this is solely due to algae.  Algae is always waiting to take the advantage, as it can manage with less specific light than higher plants.
 
Second, I recommend regular fertilization with a comprehensive liquid supplement.  I have not myself used the Aqueon Plant Food nor the Seachem AquaVitro products, but I think either will work here.  The Aqueon is (in its mineral ingredients) much the same as the AV Envy, so I would certainly not use both.  If you were, this may have been cause for the algae issues, coupled with less than adequate light.  The AV Propel is iron, and I would not use this at present until we get the re-balance with the improved lighting and the Aqueon or Envy.  There is iron in both the other products, and while one frequently reads about adding iron, it is in fact often sufficient.  And, not surprising, iron can cause brush algae to increase if the iron added is not being utilized by the plants.  There is a proportional balance among the 17 essential nutrients that aquatic plants require, and if one increases certain nutrients, it can cause the plants to literally shut down assimilation of some other nutrients.  This is why I recommend comprehensive supplements in low-tech (natural) planted tanks; it should avoid these pitfalls which are not always easy to ascertain when plants are struggling.
 
I would use whichever product you decide to use, as suggested on the label.  With the AV Envy, they suggest one capful per 40 gallons, three times weekly.  Your 55g will not hold much over 40g taking into account the substrate and decor, so one capful should work fine.  The day following the water change, then twice more on alternate days.  I say the day following the water change because if you use a conditioner that detoxifies heavy metals, it might cancel out the "heavy metal" minerals in fertilizers (iron, copper, zinc, magnesium).  I had a discussion with Seachem about this, and they advised to wait 24-36 hours, so it may help.
 
The Aqueon suggest 2 tsp per 10g once a week, so here I would suggest 8 tsp in total, but divide it out over the week, say 4 tsp the day after the water change, and 4 tsp three days after that, or something similar.  I used to dose everything the same day, and a few months back I started dividing the dose up over several days.  It certainly has not been detrimental, and I think I can honestly say there seems to have been an improvement.  When you are using these comprehensive-type products, that contain everything, it is probably an advantage to spread them out.
 
The above changes will take a few weeks to show results.  Normally, it is best to make changes individually, but here we are dealing with an algae issue, plus plants not at their best, so the changes in lighting and fertilizers together may be better.  But once this has worked out for 2-3 weeks, any further changes will be best done individually so you have a better opportunity to fine-tune the balance.  And, the present algae will not go away; the aim here is to prevent it from increasing further, and that will be the proof that things are balancing.  Though some tweaking may be needed.  I've done a lot of experimenting with the older Seachem line, Flourish, and the improvements are not always easy to spot but over time they do become obvious.
 
Byron.
 


Awesome!!! Seriously thank you so much you are very helpful! I can't wait to see my plants thrive. Thanks again!

 

[Byron]

You're very welcome.  Keep us posted.  As I say, some tweaking is likely along the way.  It comes with experience, but observing the response of the plants is the best way to know you're on the right track, or not of course.  B.

 

[StevenF]

To determine how much light you need you need to determine the surface area of your tank   (length times width) and then determine the lumen out put of each of your 2 tubes.  And the light requirements of your plants.  Then divide the lumen output of your bulbs by the surface area of the tank.  4 foot T8 according to a google search put out about 2000 lumens per bulb. 
 
Very low light 7 - 11 
Low light 12 - 17 
Medium light 20 - 25 
High light 28 - 32 
 
Different plants will have different lighting requirements  with high almost all plants will grow.  Now I don't know the size of your tank other than its a 55 gallon.  Assuming it is 4 feet long and Guessing on the surface area of a 55 gallon tank I cannot see how you could get more than very low light levels from two T8s.  To me it is doubt full you have enough light to meet your plants need.  You need more light.
 
 Based on my google search T5 produce about twice the light compared to T8.   You might need 3 or 4 T5 to get good plant growth.  Note in comparison the sun at noon on a clear day will produce about 20,000 lumens.
 

plants are Bacopa, red ludwigia, green crypts
 

 
The green Crypts are listed as low to medium,  The others are medium to bright.  If you reduce your light to less than what your are doing now your plants will likely slowly die.   More hours of light can help compensate for your lack of light but  ti will also help the algae grow even more.  Algae has a limited ability to store energy.  Plants have potentially a greater ability to store energy.   so if you had enough light you could go down to 7 or 8 hours of light and the algae would probably not do well while the plants probably would. 
 

In the tank I have plenty of fish to provide nutrients, so this is why I do not dose.
 

 
That may be true however the amount of fertilizer produced by the fish may not be at the most favorable mix for good plant growth.  With the plants currently struggling much of the nutrients maybe staying  in the water or building up in the substrate..   It's probably a good idea to to do more water changes until you have he light situation corrected..  

 

[Byron]

StevenF has raised a point I didn't mention because we were dealing with getting things balanced "as is," and that has to do with the varying light requirements of different plant species.  And of course, keeping the balance in mind, the nutrient requirements will vary with the lighting.
 
In low-tech or natural method planted tanks, meaning those not utilizing diffused CO2 with higher lighting, not all plants will work.  Over the years I have tried many species, and I have tended to stay with those that will do well or at least stay relatively healthy with my lighting.  Those that have repeatedly failed I forget about.
 
However, I do disagree with Steven's assessment of your T8 dual tubes.  When I had my 55g, it had one T12 over it, and I managed certain plants fine.  However, this was certainly very limiting.  Presently I have slightly larger tanks (the 70g is the same length but six inches wider front to back) and this has two T8 tubes.  I have the light set for seven hours, and it is the only tank where I have to keep vigilant respecting algae.  But it is fairly heavily planted, and it has a good covering of floating plants which can help to reduce the light reaching the lower levels though floating plants covered in algae are no fun, so again one has to balance the nutrients with the light and select suitable floating plants.
 
If you had dual T5 tubes, I can assure you that you would have to add diffused CO2 in order to balance or you would have even worse algae issues than at present.  I tried a dual T5 fixture over my largest tank, a 5-foot 115g, and after two weeks took it back for a dual T8 (both using 4-foot tubes) simply because it was way too much light, both for my fish and the plants.  I have never found it necessary to add CO2, and after 20+ years of thriving planted tanks I'm not about to get into this game now.  CO2 occurs primarily from the breakdown of organics in the substrate by various bacteria (small snails are useful to get this going faster) and there is more than one might think, but it is usually the limiting factor.
 
Stem plants are fast growers, so they need higher light and nutrients.  I tend to avoid these as they do not fare that well, with a few exceptions.  However, your algae problems need to be brought under control, and once that is done, we can consider the plant options, which is part of that tweaking I referenced previously.
 
Just to prove that dual T8 tubes of the spectrum we have discussed do work, here are photos of my three largest tanks which all have the same lighting, two 48-inch T8 tubes, one 6500K and one 5000K.  The first photo is the 90g, the second the 70g, and the third the 115g.
 
Byron.

 

[juhason]

StevenF has raised a point I didn't mention because we were dealing with getting things balanced "as is," and that has to do with the varying light requirements of different plant species.  And of course, keeping the balance in mind, the nutrient requirements will vary with the lighting.
 
In low-tech or natural method planted tanks, meaning those not utilizing diffused CO2 with higher lighting, not all plants will work.  Over the years I have tried many species, and I have tended to stay with those that will do well or at least stay relatively healthy with my lighting.  Those that have repeatedly failed I forget about.
 
However, I do disagree with Steven's assessment of your T8 dual tubes.  When I had my 55g, it had one T12 over it, and I managed certain plants fine.  However, this was certainly very limiting.  Presently I have slightly larger tanks (the 70g is the same length but six inches wider front to back) and this has two T8 tubes.  I have the light set for seven hours, and it is the only tank where I have to keep vigilant respecting algae.  But it is fairly heavily planted, and it has a good covering of floating plants which can help to reduce the light reaching the lower levels though floating plants covered in algae are no fun, so again one has to balance the nutrients with the light and select suitable floating plants.
 
If you had dual T5 tubes, I can assure you that you would have to add diffused CO2 in order to balance or you would have even worse algae issues than at present.  I tried a dual T5 fixture over my largest tank, a 5-foot 115g, and after two weeks took it back for a dual T8 (both using 4-foot tubes) simply because it was way too much light, both for my fish and the plants.  I have never found it necessary to add CO2, and after 20+ years of thriving planted tanks I'm not about to get into this game now.  CO2 occurs primarily from the breakdown of organics in the substrate by various bacteria (small snails are useful to get this going faster) and there is more than one might think, but it is usually the limiting factor.
 
Stem plants are fast growers, so they need higher light and nutrients.  I tend to avoid these as they do not fare that well, with a few exceptions.  However, your algae problems need to be brought under control, and once that is done, we can consider the plant options, which is part of that tweaking I referenced previously.
 
Just to prove that dual T8 tubes of the spectrum we have discussed do work, here are photos of my three largest tanks which all have the same lighting, two 48-inch T8 tubes, one 6500K and one 5000K.  The first photo is the 90g, the second the 70g, and the third the 115g.
 
Byron.

Your tank is absolutely gorgeous! I have tried all the things he said and got some new growth from my anubias however I still seem to be having algae growing on new leaves with other plants. I started adding the liquid carbon I had a few days ago so I'll update what effects that will have on my tank. Plants are growing well but the nasty brush algae is still spreading so far.

 

[Byron]

I have tried all the things he said and got some new growth from my anubias however I still seem to be having algae growing on new leaves with other plants. I started adding the liquid carbon I had a few days ago so I'll update what effects that will have on my tank. Plants are growing well but the nasty brush algae is still spreading so far.
 

 
Can you be a bit more specific?  By "spreading," do you mean it is still present, or is it actually increasing onto other leaves (like new leaves)?  What duration is the light on each day, and is this consistent (meaning, same period daily using a timer)?  What specific fertilizers are you using?
 
I am not a fan of adding toxic chemicals to solve a problem.  I know it is possible to get algae under control by restoring the balance.
 
Byron.