Geeze.. Red algae

[Xzap]

I've got Red Algae / Black Beard Algae in my new 90 gal already.
I wondered if this would happen because some the filter media from another tank with red algae was used to start this one.

From what I read, it's a high phospahte problem. My nitrates stay at 10ppm.. what am I missing here ?

Has anyone used Simazine, if so did it harm your vals ?

pH 7.1
ites 0
ates 10
4dkh
po4 1.0

Thx,

dave

 

[malkore]

CO2 is low, only 10ppm.
aim for 25ppm ~ 6.7pH

 

[Xzap]

9/3/05
I'm at 5dkh today, so I set my ph monitor to 6.8.

Thx,
Dave

 

[travis simonson]

With BBA type algae you should also remove any of the affected leaves to prevent it from spreading and help get rid of it more quickly.

 

[Xzap]

Hey Travis,
When it got on my anubias, I did a 19: 1 bleach soak for about 3 minutes. Very effective at killing it

Dave

 

[rubysoho]

was this the same tank as the one you put the red clay in??

 

[Xzap]

This tank also has a planter with red clay in it Ruby. (90 gal)

I also has it in the other tank (29 gal).

Dave

 

[rubysoho]

well dang... I thought that might be the problem... hmmm....

 

[travis simonson]

Hey Travis,
When it got on my anubias, I did a 19: 1 bleach soak for about 3 minutes. Very effective at killing it

Very good point Dave, thanks for pointing that out. Bleach dips work well for killing almost any kind of algae if you can remove the plants from the tank. There are a few species I've found which don't take well to dipping in bleach solution (Nesaea sp., Pogostemon spp., Myriophyllum spp.) and some which would be impractical to dip (carpet-type plants like Glosso and Riccia, etc.) but most plants snap right back after dipping.

 

[Xzap]

I know you don't like to use chems., but have you or anyone you know ever used Simazine Travis ?
http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/simazine.html

Thx,

Dave

 

[travis simonson]

I used Algae Destroyer, which apparently contains Simazine, many years ago in an unplanted 20G community tank to get rid of algae and it did the job without any apparent harm to the fish. You wouldn't want to use it in a planted tank because many chemicals that kill algae can also kill or harm/stunt your plants. Here's a quote from the article link you posted:

Published studies as well as CIBA-GEIGY literature point out that submerged aquatic plants including Myriophyllum, Ceratophyllum and Cabomba, as well as duckweed and Wolffia can be controlled with simazine at twice the aforementioned concentrations. Vallisneria is also reported to be sensitive to the chemical.. These plants were field studied and are of interest in pond management because they are considered to be nuisance weed. Unfortunately, the use of these plants is different for the aquarist. Due to the sensitivity of these reported species to simazine, aquarium plants can be either killed or have their growth stunted by use of this algicide.

From this statement it really sounds as if Simazine would be awful to use in a planted tank. Since I have never used it in a planted tank I can't make any real world statements about its effects on plants but it sure sounds like it would do a number on your plants as well as the algae. Have you tried it before?

 

[Xzap]

I've never used it before.
Kinda a catch 22 situation huh ?

Dave

 

[travis simonson]

Yeah The article does go on to claim that it may not harm Crypts and swords but I don't think I want to find out. I've had some Crypts that would melt if you spoke too loudly around them It would be interesting to set up a 10G tank with a few "test pilot" type plants and find out how they are effected by dosing with Simazine. It may actually have some useful applications in the right kind of planted tank.