I think I have algae??

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Dreamroper

Aquarium Advice FINatic
Joined
Jan 1, 2013
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Location
Peyton, CO
Hi Everyone,

This is my first planted tank and I think I have some sort of algae growing on my plants. I'm not sure if it's blackbeard algae or something else, but you can see the little fibrous growth on the Amazon Swords and also the leaves on my Chain Swords turn black.

I have 2 T5s that I'm probably leaving on too long each day (12-14 hours) and I'm most likely overfeeding a bit. At least after looking on the web, that's my conclusion.

My question is: how do I get my plants clean and get the algae to stop other than the two obvious mistakes I've made and noted?

Is there a treatment to add to the water, or do I need to take the plants out completely and treat them and then put them back in?

Thanks for your help-D
 
If they are indeed BBA (black beard algae) you can spot treat using a syringe of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. Might take 2 to 3 days of treatment, but you should start to see it turn red when it's dying. It's best to do the h2o2 treatment with the filter or anything circulating the water off so the h2o2 can flow over the BBA in higher concentration for several minutes. H2o2 almost immediately converts to harmless o2 and h2o. Just don't use more than 3mL per gallon of water. Avoid using h2o2 on mosses. Other than that, just adjust the photoperiod, increase PWC's and don't overfeed (as you mentioned). It's a good idea to put your lights on a timer so you can just set it and forget it. You'll have more consistency that way too. Are you dosing any ferts, what about excel?
 
If they are indeed BBA (black beard algae) you can spot treat using a syringe of 3% hydrogen peroxide solution. Might take 2 to 3 days of treatment, but you should start to see it turn red when it's dying. It's best to do the h2o2 treatment with the filter or anything circulating the water off so the h2o2 can flow over the BBA in higher concentration for several minutes. H2o2 almost immediately converts to harmless o2 and h2o. Just don't use more than 3mL per gallon of water. Avoid using h2o2 on mosses. Other than that, just adjust the photoperiod, increase PWC's and don't overfeed (as you mentioned). It's a good idea to put your lights on a timer so you can just set it and forget it. You'll have more consistency that way too. Are you dosing any ferts, what about excel?

Thanks for responding Brian. Yes, I'm using Excel, root tabs and also dosing with Flourish liquid ferts. I turned my UV light/filter back on for a few days.

Two questions:
*How long should I have my lights on each day? I have a 36 gal tank that is medium planted.
* The h2o2 treatment that you described will not hurt the fish and can be done within the tank, as long as I turn off the filter and power head?

I sure think it's BB algae based on what I've seen pictures of. I was also considering getting some Nerite snails to maybe help also. What is your opinion on those?

Thanks again-D
 
Do you have a T5 "NO" or "HO" fixture? You're medium planted, but with what species (i.e. all low light tolerant plants)? You can start cutting back to 6 to 8 hours max on the photoperiod. And no, H2O2 won't harm inhabitants if used in moderation. Too much can over saturate the tank with O2 and can cause problems like gas pockets in fish. Use a syringe to measure in milliliter and to "spot treat." You can use less, depending on the infestation, but 3ml per gallon is what I read to be max (i only need to use 1ml/gallon at a time). And yes, turn off anything that causes water to circulate during treatment (approx. 10 to 15 minutes after last spot treat). I'm not pro at this... Rivercats or Aqua_Chem have treatments locked down to a science.
 
Do you have a T5 "NO" or "HO" fixture? You're medium planted, but with what species (i.e. all low light tolerant plants)? You can start cutting back to 6 to 8 hours max on the photoperiod. And no, H2O2 won't harm inhabitants if used in moderation. Too much can over saturate the tank with O2 and can cause problems like gas pockets in fish. Use a syringe to measure in milliliter and to "spot treat." You can use less, depending on the infestation, but 3ml per gallon is what I read to be max (i only need to use 1ml/gallon at a time). And yes, turn off anything that causes water to circulate during treatment (approx. 10 to 15 minutes after last spot treat). I'm not pro at this... Rivercats or Aqua_Chem have treatments locked down to a science.

I'm sorry, I don't know the answer to the lighting question. This is my first tank and I went by the recommendation of the LFS.

I found a little syringe (no tip though) and spot treated with Excel. I really don't have a serious problem, but I want to nip it now and not let it get worse. I'll up my Excel a bit (I'm pretty conservative putting anything into my tank), cut back on the photoperiod and get some H2o2 to start treating with. Thanks for your help.

Forgot to answer the plant question: Amazons, Chain Sword, Water Sprite and one I can't remember the name of, but it has long skinny spikes for leaves.
D
 
You can use 3-5ml of Peroxide per gallon of water (caution has to be used when using this with delicate shrimp). Also be sure the hold the syringe right up to the algae and slowly squirt it. Leave filters off 20 minutes. Usually within 24 hours the algae will start turning red, pink, or white which means it's dying.
 
You can use 3-5ml of Peroxide per gallon of water (caution has to be used when using this with delicate shrimp). Also be sure the hold the syringe right up to the algae and slowly squirt it. Leave filters off 20 minutes. Usually within 24 hours the algae will start turning red, pink, or white which means it's dying.

Thanks Rivercats. I don't have any shrimp, but I was considering getting some Nerite snails to help with the algae also. What do you think of that? I don't know anything about snails, but I've read that some species can be prolific and take over your tank, but I've also read that this type of snail does not breed in fresh water.

I'm going to get some Peroxide & a syringe tomorrow.
 
Nerites and Otos are great at eating a lot of algae types -- unfortunately BBA isn't one of them. I believe rosy barbs, SAE, Florida flag fish can. Since I don't keep those fish specifically for BBA, I just use h2o2.
 
Nerites and Otos are great at eating a lot of algae types -- unfortunately BBA isn't one of them. I believe rosy barbs, SAE, Florida flag fish can. Since I don't keep those fish specifically for BBA, I just use h2o2.

Okay, well then no point in getting snails. Thanks Brian. I'll let you and Rivercats know how the h2o2 treatment works. Also starting tomorrow I'm going to shut off the lights when I go to work.

Have a good week-D
 
You may have staghorn algae which is black like bba but its longer and thicker. It kinda looks like a price of hair. Just a thought. You should upload a picture of the algae so we can determined which type it is
 

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You may have staghorn algae which is black like bba but its longer and thicker. It kinda looks like a price of hair. Just a thought. You should upload a picture of the algae so we can determined which type it is

Thanks Mitch. It doesn't look like that. I have problems uploading photos to this website. Not sure why....It seems like I have it under control for now. I've cut back on feeding, light and upped the Excel. I'll keep you posted.

If you have any tips for loading photos, I'm all ears.
D
 
When I upload pictures from my device it sends me an error message. Something about the application crashing. But when I post it the picture is attached normally.
 
I have only been able to attach one picture successfully, but others do it all the time. I wonder if they're using smart phones for most of them?
 
Ya I uploaded pictures directly from my android phone and it worked fine I never had any problems
 
I have only been able to attach one picture successfully, but others do it all the time. I wonder if they're using smart phones for most of them?

I started using 3rd party sites to host my pictures (I.e. photobucket, minus, Flickr, etc.) because AA resizes and compresses pictures so much (with the exception of the gallery), pictures come out small and grainy. Using 'the AA app' for pictures is a last resort, when I'm not around a computer (or I'm just being lazy).. lol
 
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