Algae ID

[Ellenquacker72]

I've been having a problem with this algae. It's in a 20g H ph 8.3 and hard water. Lighting: single t5h0 10000k bulb. About a month back I took all the rocks out and scrubbed it all off but within a couple days it came right back green and slimey, and now it's quite thick and slightly spongy. It's really frustrating since it builds up on (everything including the sand) so everything looks really dirty and covers the glass in a couple days. When I take the rocks out they have a distinct earthish smell. Could it be Cyanobacteria? My tanks been set up for 2.5 years but I've never had any significant nitrates, usually less than 5ppm (according to my API master test kit) Is there any way for me to fix this?

 

[shellieca]

How long are your lights on each day? IME, 8-9 hrs is plenty of light time & keeps the algae away.

 

[Rivercats]

Can't really tell what kind of algae it is in the picture but here is a good link that shows all the common algae found in tanks. Maybe you can ID the algae from this.... James' Planted Tank - Algae Guide.

How many hours a day do you run your lights? When having a problem with algae running lights 6 hours usually helps. Is the tank planted? What is your WC schedule and how much do you change weekly? Just trying to get an idea of your setup to help identify where your problem is.

 

[Ellenquacker72]

The lights run from 11am to 10pm, so I couldrobably cut back. All I have in there right now are some java ferns and one anubias which I just got the other day. I usually do a 15-20 wc every other week. I did them every week for a while but my nitrate never goes up past 5pp, so I pushed it an extra week. I only have 4 platies and 6 pygmy cories in there so it isn't exactly a huge bioload. None of the examples on that website seem to fit what I have.

 

[Rivercats]

Try running lights 6 hours until the algae is gone and personally I'd scrub off as much as possible to help get rid of it faster. Once all the algae is gone you can up your lighting every 2-3 weeks by 30 minutes. If no algae begins to grow in that time then add 30 more minutes. Continue to do this until you start to see algae form, then move the time back 30 minutes and that should give you the amount of time you can run your lights daily without causing algae.