Algae Help

[Billbug68]

Okay, so I've got a couple answers on how to get rid of different types of algae, but I wanted to make a thread for it to hear everyone's routines and methods. I have green and brown algae in the sand bed and on glass and also what looks like BBA taking home on my driftwood and some on java ferns. My tank is 10 gallons with DIY CO2 and flourish comprehensive once a week after pwc. Unfortunately the tank is in front of a window but I recently put window film on the back of the glass hoping it would help... Think I should have just painted instead because it still let's some light through. Id like to get a few otos in my tank, just wondering what people have done to clean it up a little bit, otos? Shrimp? Snails? daily cleanings and pwcs? Spot dose with excel? Blackout for a few days? Combination of everything? Here's some pics of my situation. The sand bed is what bothers me the most because it's too heavy vac out.

 

[MickeyA]

Well I had some algea issues with my sons goldfish tank he it's not planted and he was over feeding them so alot of nutrients for algea to grow I would clean off the glass daily and the water even started turning green well I locked up the food and got a uv sterilizer the water cleared up in about 24 hrs and since I quit letting him over feed them I now only need to a clean the glass about every 2 week when I do a 25% water change

 

[Billbug68]

Yeah, I'm thinking my water is taking on a hint of green which worries me. However, I'm not sure if the window film is causing a weird tint to the water. It's pretty hard to clean the glass with driftwood and plants in the way... I'll have to pick up a magnet cuz reaching in is becoming a pain... Haha here's a pic of the water color, not sure if it you can make it out from the pic.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

It could be from all the light from those windows. How long have you had that black background covering the back of the tank? That's a must to have but if it hasn't been there long or it doesn't block out enough natural light that could be a part of the source.

 

[Billbug68]

It's only been about a week since I put the film on, I still need to get blinds on the window, just bought the house not too long ago... Do you think painting the back would be better? The film is supposed to block out uv rays and light blah blah blah, just don't know if it's sufficient... Was relieved to finally be cycled and now this!

 

[CorallineAlgae]

It's only been about a week since I put the film on, I still need to get blinds on the window, just bought the house not too long ago... Do you think painting the back would be better? The film is supposed to block out uv rays and light blah blah blah, just don't know if it's sufficient... Was relieved to finally be cycled and now this!

The screen should be just fine. I only asked because if it had been on for months and you had this issue it might not be enough screening. Since it's only been a week it makes sense that it will take time to get the algae bloom to subside. You're right, window shades will be another big help. Having that much sunlight and heat dominating over your tank is the likely culprit here. Maybe feeding lightly is another no brainer but your probably doing that. If after getting shades and giving it some time you still have green water you may need to reduce your light time to 2 sets of 4 hours with 2-4 hours of darkness in between plus your normal night cycle. If that doesn't wipe it out a UV sterilizer will become your best friend, but it probably won't come to that. One step at a time.

 

[Billbug68]

Thank you for your reply, I'm gonna do a good cleaning, pwc, skip my liquid ferts for two weeks, and probably scratch the idea of getting my HC started until I can get this under control. Hopefully I'll get the windows covered this payday. Outside of the window is a large covered patio so it never actually gets direct sunlight but i guess filtered light is just as bad. I've already been cutting down on my lights a lot so I'm gonna try maybe 3-4 days no lights? Will the plants be okay without light that long? Should I remove the CO2 if I'm gonna keep the lights off? I don't want my ph to crash. And also should I have an airstone running? The HOB filter adds some movement but maybe not enough? Any more advice would be greatly appreciated! Thanks again.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Yes, you definitely want to shut down your co2 when the lights are out. Your plants should be fine. Three days is the most I'd do for a blackout. The type of algae you have in the water is single celled so it doesn't have a long life cycle. Remember to clean out your filter sponges before turning the lights back on.
Yeah, I know what you mean about daylight not seeming like it would be that bright or have so much of an effect. I hope it all goes well for you soon. Overall, this is really just a hiccup.

 

[rkilling1]

As far as cleaning the sand, just bury the algae into the sand bed. As long as the algae is covered with sand, it will not grow and will die off.

A little tedious, but much easier then trying to manually remove it.

 

[Billbug68]

As far as cleaning the sand, just bury the algae into the sand bed. As long as the algae is covered with sand, it will not grow and will die off.

A little tedious, but much easier then trying to manually remove it.

For the most part I did that yesterday, the diatoms seem to grow deep into the sand bed though, at least along the glass where it's visible... today is day two of no lights, I hope it helps, I'd rather not spend extra money on excel to spot dose if I don't have too. Gonna test the water right now to make sure my nitrates are okay, yesterday they were up to 40 so I changed nearly 75% of the water. I think the high nitrates were partly to blame, do you agree?

 

[rkilling1]

Gonna test the water right now to make sure my nitrates are okay, yesterday they were up to 40 so I changed nearly 75% of the water. I think the high nitrates were partly to blame, do you agree?

Don't know. It's all part of a balancing act that if not done properly, you get algae. But...diatoms are not related to high NO3's.

I have had my NO3's show up as blood red on the test tube. IE greater then or equal to 160 PPM before and didn't experience an algae outbreak like you are seeing.

 

[Billbug68]

Maybe the combination of excess natural light + NO3 because it seemed to start acting up once the cycle was ending and the trates started to rise... Along with the fact that I started adding ferts and changed the lights at the same time... Aye...

 

[Billbug68]

So after the large water change last night my nitrate is still at 40ppm tonight. Should I do another wc? Do I really need to keep it bellow 20? Also since My ph went up from around 7 to 7.4 which I expected since I removed the CO2. It's looking better today, I don't see any new growth and I think my two lonely RCS have been doing work. Here's some comparison photos...

 

[Billbug68]

Who says CRS wont eat BBA? One piece of driftwood is nearly spotless and now they're doing work on this one... I want some more of these guys!