How to remove fuzz algae from plants?

[corrado33]

Ugh, algae... when isn't it a problem? So the question is, how do I remove fuzz algae from my plants like anarcharis and fanwort? It doesn't seem to like to come off.

Also, I'm confused as to whether it is hair algae, or fuzz algae? It LOOKS like the fuzz algae pictured in the greater Washington algae site, but it grows on the glass and it gets pretty long (I don't clean the sides of the tank). I'll take a pic in a few.

On the glass here.

 

[Silent Night]

if it is fuzz: easily controlled with algae eaters such as black mollies, otocinclus (my favourite), peckoltia and siamese algae eaters (to name but a few).

when i stocked my otocinclus i decided on one per 10 gallons, as a useful rule of thumb.

also:
affected plants can be soaked for two to three minutes in a ten percent bleach solution to kill any algae on them. completely remove heavily affected leaves. bleach rocks, gravel and any other items that exhibit growth of the algae.
to avoid algae entering the tank via fish, quarantine new fish for at least two days. when placing them in the tank net the fish rather than dumping them out of the bag, so no bag water enters your tank. soak newly purchased plants for two to three minutes in a ten percent bleach solution to kill any algae on them. nothing works 100% tbh.

i use a common UV sterilizer, if you want to go hi-tech.

 

[happygirl65]

It's hard with the fine leaved plants...if you can figure out what the imbalance is and correct that (perhaps too much phosphate...that was the culprit for me...had to stop dosing phosphate and do more water changes to stop it from growing) then you may just have to pinch off the affected areas and let it grow back....this is one of my least favorite algae....I agree also with ottos...so adorable and little algae eating machines.

 

[JustOneMore20]

Is the algae on the plants slimy? It is hard to tell in the pics....but it kind of looks like cyano/bga to me. The stuff on the glass looks like hair algae.

Remind me of your setup again (tank size, co2?, lighting, ferts?), please.

 

[Crepe]

Scrape what's on the edges with something hard and straight. Use a toothbrush to scrub what's on the seals of the tank. A pipette and ~40ml of H2O2 will do in whatever is on your plants. Just suck up 2-3ml and squirt it onto the plants.

 

[Silent Night]

if you do decide to use hydrogen peroxide (which is very effective in my experience) it is advised that you increase airation.

lol, did you let it get that bad on purpose?

 

[corrado33]

No, I didn't let it get this bad on purpose. lol It actually grows this much in a week regardless of whether I clean it or not. I try to clean it off twice a week. I basically just run my fingers through the plant and let the filters suck up the algae that comes off.

So, H2O2 eh? I might try that. I want to get a phosphate test kit first. I'm just having trouble with the fact that it's an imbalance. Here's my setup.

12 gallon tank.
1x13? W fluorescent bulb (life glow maybe? maybe aqua glow I forget)
2x 12 W CFLs
I use RO/DI water, and dose with fluorish twice a week (1 mL, twice a week) I also use equilibrium to put back minerals and Acid/Alkaline buffer to buffer pH. And for GH and KH respectively. I keep GH at 10 and KH at 7ish.

I have an AC20 and a Fluval C2 hangin on the back of it. (Lovin the fluval BTW)

Uh, that's it I think. Before I got the fluval, I think a lot of this algae was free floating, because it was foggy in my tank (hence why I got the other filter). When I put filter floss in my filters, it turns green in a day. The combination of the filters eliminated that problem.

I just don't think there is enough in the water for an overdose...? What would be in imbalance? Phosphate? There is never any nitrate in my tank. I've heard fuzz algae can be caused by low CO2? Could that be it?

EDIT: No, it's not BGA. BGA is much rougher with plants. It doesn't just stick to the leaves, it overwhelms them. I had BGA before I had whatever this is. So no, I don't believe this is BGA. (Although everything feels a bit slimy when you're pulling it out of the water.)

EDIT2: Almost forgot, I have two amano shrimp waitin for me at home so if it's fuzz or hair algae, these things should take care of some of it on the plants, correct?

 

[Crepe]

This problem runs deep I believe.

We need stocking levels
Nitrate
Phosphate
Light schedule
Full list of plants
and location of the tank within the house (close to window etc)
Also need ph as algae likes higher ph.

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f24/hydrogen-peroxide-and-its-utility-130482.html

here is a small article I wrote about H2O2 my personal favorite aquarium chemical.

 

[corrado33]

Ah, yeah I was at work and not thinking about my tank.

Stocking.

4x Fancy Guppy
5x Zebra Danio
5x Bloonfin Tetra

Nitrate 0 ppm (has been since I added plants)
Phosphate - dunno yet, don't have a test kit
Light schedule - 8 hours per day
Plants list - anarcharis ( just got cut down a lot due to lower part of plant dying off cause of shadowing by upper plant)
- fanwort (I forget the scientific name)
- couple java ferns
- anubius barteri var nana (yeah I'm not gunna look it up to spell it)

It's hidden from the windows by a desk and a wall, so no direct sunlight, although it is a bright room and we don't have blinds in the house.

pH is generally around 8

Tank has been set up for almost a year now.

EDIT: In all honesty, the algae doesn't BOTHER me persay, it's just another thing I have to take care of. Now BGA BOTHERED me. That crap makes your tank look stupid. Hair/fuzz algae just looks natural(I actually like to look of a little bit of it on my rocks), but I'd rather have it gone.

 

[Crepe]

Your problem is your nitrates. Having it hit zero is limiting your plants and letting algae grow. Increase nitrates with nitrogen dosing and it will help your problems.

Having any number hit 0 in brightly lit, planted tank is begging for algae.

 

[Silent Night]

The three main nutrients that algae need are nitrogen, phosphorus and potassium. In an aquarium, these nutrients come from fish waste, uneaten food, the metabolism of beneficial bacteria, and the decay of other organics such as plant debris or even dead algae.

I would suggest a battery powered gravel vac, and a more rigorous cleaning routine. Other than too much lighting (ruled out), the culprit may be over feeding, or not removing uneaten food. For that amount to grow so quickly... lol I would have opted for the quick fix UV. Worked well for my 30G.

 

[corrado33]

Your problem is your nitrates. Having it hit zero is limiting your plants and letting algae grow. Increase nitrates with nitrogen dosing and it will help your problems.

Having any number hit 0 in brightly lit, planted tank is begging for algae.

So you think that although most algae needs nitrogen, phosphorus, and potassium, these are thriving on (most likely) P and K. Since my plants can't use it because they actually NEED all three to use any of them. So if I dose nitrogen, my plants will use all of the excess nutrients and the algae will have nothing to grow on?

So if I just manually remove a bunch for a while after starting dosing nitrogen it should go away eventually?

EDIT: I'm going to ask again (just because it wasn't answered). Could the problem be low CO2 since plants need that as well?

 

[Crepe]

Yessir. That's most likely the reason. Algae are a lot more efficient than plants at sucking up nutrients and need lower concentrations of it to grow. Some also think that plants release algae suppressing allelochemicals at higher nutrient levels. It's the reasoning behind EI dosing and how EI tanks are generally algae free:
So, why does New School = no algae? - Page 3 - Algae - Aquatic Plant Central

 

[corrado33]

Yessir. That's most likely the reason. Algae are a lot more efficient than plants at sucking up nutrients and need lower concentrations of it to grow. Some also think that plants release algae suppressing allelochemicals at higher nutrient levels. It's the reasoning behind EI dosing and how EI tanks are generally algae free:
So, why does New School = no algae? - Page 3 - Algae - Aquatic Plant Central

Very interesting. So while we used to think that a lot of nutrients = algae, it's really the balance that is important. A lot of nutrients in balance = no algae and lovely plants. A lot of nutrients not in balance = lots of algae. I didn't read through that whole thread (just the first page admittedly), but I think that was the gist of what was being said right? So as long as the plants can grow at their full potential, the algae will be kept at bay. Correct? In all honesty, it's the reason I bought anarcharis. I read (in a few places) that it secretes something to stop BGA. It didn't work (at first) but suddenly one day my BGA got replaced by this lovely algae. Well, it looks like I'm off to buy some seachem ferts. (Yeah I know they're more expensive than what you can buy other places, but once I get used to the whole ferts thing, I'll make my own )

 

[Ilikefishes]

Siamese Algae Eaters will do the trick, also dose some fluorish excel. The co2 acts as an algicide, but they are not allowed to sell Excel as an algicide because it has not been fda approved or something like that.

 

[ymash13]

Easy solution

I got a couple of rainbow sharks that ate it all in a couple of days

 

[Barliman]

(Butting in)
I was thinking of starting a thread on a similar topic --still may-- when I found this one. Really, really helpful. Thanks to you all.

 

[AquaCheatah]

yup def a helpful thread here

to much input
i at one point had this type of problem but it was cause i was dosing nitrogen in my tank

what ended up solving the issue was getting just 2 siamese algae eaters they eat up green algae like popeye eats his spinach with in no time they grow up quick so if anything one or two will do cause they grow up 10 in some even more
otos are cool fishes as well but they eat limited amounts of algae unless you get a few of them but still overkill for a tank

atm since redoing my tank i got 2 bushynose pleco

if you feel that its a white slime i would suggest one cap of "microbe-lift artemiss" it removes fungus from plants and keeps fishes healthy and helps regen their fins

 

[Caliban07]

Hello all,

Carbon is the problem here. It's is usually always the problem when it comes to algae in planted systems because people focus too much on bright lights and nutrients but forget all about carbon.

For those that believe high nitrates and phosphates cause algae. I just quadruple dosed phosphate this morning with dry salts and triple dosed nitrates which has significant also increased potassium. I don't have much if any algae.



At a ph of:



With triple the dose of liquid carbon and a co2 injection rate of 3-4 bubbles per second.

I have Amano shrimp breeding in these conditions and the ever sensitive ottos are completely unaffected.

The correct notion is lots of nutrients + balance = no algae like you stated above.

When you force plants to quicken their rate of photosynthesis with high light intensity and do not provide non limiting nutrients you are asking for trouble. The system crumbles because dying plants have so many negative effects on the system.

1) remove all affected plants/leaves affected by algae.

2) remove algae on hardscape and glass.

3) provide non limiting macro and micro nutrients.

4) add carbon or significantly reduce light intensity.

5) clean the tank and filters, do not destroy the bacteria in the filters.

6) provide good flow around the tank with as much coverage as possible. Tanks care not to cancel flows out by placing nozzles/outputs on the same direction.

7) perform large weekly water changes.

I can almost guarantee your situation will improve massively.

As for allelochemicals, there effects are said to be negligible and simply adding activated carbon to the filter will remove all doubt.

Hope this helps.


Sent from my iPhone using Aquarium Advice

 

[chytownprincess]

if it doesn't brush off, then it has probably invaded the plant tissue..your best bet would be to cut the "infected" plant areas off and remove them from the main display.

"Hmmmm, gas and car insurance, or a war paint Scoly? I am walking home with my coral! "~Tattooed Nurse