Please Help to Identify my Planted Tanks Algae Problem

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scottsheldrick

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Feb 5, 2017
Messages
37
Hi All,

I was just hoping one of you knew what type of algae this is and what the best method of keeping it at bay would be?

My poor RCS, trumpet snail and pleco cant keep up and neither can I because it is growing ridiculously fast!

Please note the pic is of plants that I only cleaned yesterday!

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Looks like the start of hair algae. Algae normally only attaches to plant leaves that are not at 100% health. There are many reasons why this may be.

Tell us everything about your tank and your maintenance routine then we may be about to help.
 
Thanks, below is all the details I know about my tank:

Dimensions (cm) 60L x 27D x 27H
44L

Filter - Fluval U1 (Will be upgrading to the U2 shortly)
1 x Air pump/air stone

Lighting:

14W LED 2730 lumens
Light Frequency: White LED - 10000K , Blue LED 460nm

(I have the 60-80cm model of the light in the link below for more info)

30 -120 CM Aquarium LED Lighting 1ft/2ft/3ft/4ft Marine Aqua Fish Tank Light | eBay

(I have placed a folded A4 sheet of paper over 3/4 of the light to dim the lighting slightly for my fish but I have not covered where the plants are placed in the aquarium. The light is on a timer for 7 hours p/day)

ph - 7.4
kh - 5
gh - 6
Ammonia - 0.25
Nirtrite - 0
Nitrate - 0
(Yes, well aware i'm going through another cycle as I replaced a filter about 3 weeks ago in a tank that was barely established without the proper knowledge about nitrogen cycles.. I also have to replace the current filter according to 'aqadvisor' but will do so with both filters running until the cycle is completed again).

Livestock:
1 x ancistrus pleco (juvenile)
3 x kuhli loaches
~9 x Red cherry Shrimp
9 x neon tetras
1 x trumpet snail (juvenile)

Plants:
3 x pongo (pictured)
1 x baby tears (pictured)
2 x other smaller plants that I have no idea what they are

Other info:
1 x small piece of driftwood
2 x Indian almond leaves
Gravel substrate w/ a small amount of crushed coral through it.
Currently performing 1 to 2 30-50% PWC a day to keep the ammonia below 0.5
I use Seachem Prime as my conditioner
Waiting for Seachem Stability to come in the mail to fastrack my cycle which will also be used at every PWC.
Plant Fert - I use Seachem Flourish once or twice a week.
Tank location is in my bedroom so I have other dim lighting and the TV on at times which may be contributing to the issue? I also turn my air pump/stone off for about 8 hours overnight so I can get some sleep lol (its not the quietest thing in the world!).

Please let me know if you need anymore info.
 
You need more nitrates for a start. Your plants will starv. Flourish should be adding some in tho.

Is the algae only recent since you replaced the filter? It might be a bloom due to the higher ammonia?

Also some seachem excel will help both your plants and to kill the algae. I'd suggest dosing to recommended.
 
You need more nitrates for a start. Your plants will starv. Flourish should be adding some in tho.

Is the algae only recent since you replaced the filter? It might be a bloom due to the higher ammonia?

Also some seachem excel will help both your plants and to kill the algae. I'd suggest dosing to recommended.
Thanks, yeah I was hoping once the stability arrives that the tank will get a much needed nitrate boost. Yeah algae is recent - just after the filter replacement.

Thanks for the product recommendation, I'll pick some up the next time I'm at my LFS
 
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