algae gone wild!

[sumarty2]

I have a serious algae problem all of a sudden. I few weeks ago I had a beautifully planted 75 gallon tank (mostly all water sprite with 2 amazon swords). I had only 4 tetras...in fact they were breeding amongst the thick plants. I discovered that when I counted 6 fish one day and I had 4 to start with. Anyway then a couple of fish died and I only had 4 again,so I bought about 10 more of the same plus those darn clown loaches I fell in love with. Anyway soon after that the algae appeared covering everything. I have been doing weekly water changes (50%) but they keep coming back. My plants are dying from being coated with the algae and I don't know what to do. I don't know anything about CO2 for plants....but I do know my light bulb is years old....should I replace that? What is the quickest thing to do to remedy this situation before all my plants die?

sue, the clowns & the dreaded algae

 

[rich311k]

What kind of algae? What kind and how much light? What type of plants?

 

[sumarty2]

ok this is my stupidity showing but I don't know the correct term for the type of algae....just the kind that covers everything, is green, easy to suck off with a python....that kind of algae. my light is ??? very old and I think it was your basic 48" light. it must have something to do with the addition of the extra fish and feeding more. I just did a water test and everything was where it was a month ago when I didn't have a problem. pH =6.5 ammonia=0, nitrate=5, nitrite=0. I haven't rinsed out my filter in almost 6 months.

 

[theotheragentm]

Aquarium Algae ID (updated)

Reference this and let us know what type of algae. Cut back on feedings and lighting hours for now.

 

[sumarty2]

looks like
Blue-green, Slime or Smear algae


am I doomed??

 

[neilanh]

That stuff is definately difficult to get rid of.

How long after adding the new fish did the bloom occur? And how old are your bulbs? I'm thinking old bulbs + extra ammonia is probably what's causing it.

 

[sumarty2]

maybe a week or two...not that long. I just ordered a new bulb. Is it worth trying an algae killer or will that not work on this kind?

I am doing a water change tomorrow and try to suck up all that nasty BGA!
my poor plants are in really bad shape. just the water sprite mostly..the swordplants are ok.

 

[Purrbox]

Actually what sticks out to me is that you are only reporting 5ppm of Nitrate. Since hobby grade kits are often inaccurate at this level, it's very possible that your levels are close to zero. Nitrates bottoming out is a common cause of BGA. I'd recommend manually removing as much as possible with a large water change, and then dosing Nitrates up to 10-20ppm.

If you've got standard fluorescents, it's recommended that you replace them at least once a year. Go ahead and get new ones. No need for the expensive aquarium bulbs, just pick up some inexpensive ones from the hardware store rated between 5000K and 10,000K.

Also remove any dead parts of the plants so that they focus on new growth instead of trying to heal the damaged parts.

 

[fijiwigi]

I'd recommend manually removing as much as possible with a large water change, and then dosing Nitrates up to 10-20ppm.

I have never heard of anybody wanting to dose nitrates very interesting stuff is it because the nitrates are the main food source for the plants. Isn't there an alternative to this??? I have never had a planted tank just a curious question from an outsider.

 

[Purrbox]

I have never heard of anybody wanting to dose nitrates very interesting stuff is it because the nitrates are the main food source for the plants. Isn't there an alternative to this??? I have never had a planted tank just a curious question from an outsider.

It's very common to have to dose fertilizers in planted aquariums. Most people can get by with just some Micro Nutrients and possibly Potassium in lower light aquariums which are usually lightly planted and moderately to heavily stocked. This is because the fish provide Nitrates and Phosphates in sufficient quantities to stay ahead of the plant needs. However as the plant mass increases (especially fast growing stem plants and/or nutrient hogs like swords) this balance can shift to the point where the plants are soaking up nutrients faster than the fish can provide them. At this point if you don't start supplementing you start running into algae problems and/or the plants start suffering from deficiencies. As you increase the lighting this situation is much more common, and in high light aquariums there are very few that can avoid dosing Nitrates and Phosphates in some form.

 

[Dave66]

I know it's counter-intuitive, but if you add more light to your tank you'll gradually eliminate the BGA. Replace the tube immediately; the phosphors have shifted over time allowing the BGA to proliferate. Buying a multi-tube fixture with lights in the 6700 to 10,000K color temperature is a very good idea for you. I have 300 watts of full spectrum over my 75, and in the 10 years of it's existence I've never had BGA or any algae to speak of.
Replace your tubes every eight months, and do it in stages, a new tube every week until they are all replaced.

Dave

 

[sumarty2]

well today after a long day a work I couldn't wait to get home to get rid of that BGA. It took me over an hour of PWC plus taking all the water sprite out to really clean the bottom where the BGA stuck to the gravel. Then I carefully rinsed all the plants and salvaged what I could and put them back. I had to supplement w/ plastic & silk ones that I had kept from years ago. Now I will wait and see if that did the trick. Oh yeah, I need to ask about the Nitrate dosing....is that fertilizer you can get at the petstore? any particular kind?

thanks a bunch!

 

[Purrbox]

You may or may not be able to find Nitrate at the LFS. Most only carry Micro/Trace Fertilizers. You can look for Flourish Nitrogen. More economical would be to head to either your local hydroponics store (if you have one) and ask for KNO3 - Potassium Nitrate or your local hardware or lawn and garden store and look for a stump killer that contains just Potassium Nitrate.