Question about algae

[Retired_AF]

I went to a pet store, one I usually don't visit, looking at their plants. They had some varieties I have been looking for and at a fairly decent price.

However, the tank the plants were in had a lot of black algae(??) that looked like hair strands (and clumps) on the bottom and sides of the tank as well as on the plants themselves.

The sales associate said all I had to do was wipe the plants off. I dont think it's that simple, but I wanted another opinion.

Would wiping the algae off be sufficient? I really dont want that black crap all over my tank but I would like some of these plants.

They had some nice sized amazon swords and banana plants but getting this algae all over my tank isn't worth it.

 

[neilanh]

Depends on what kind of algae it is and how stable your water is.

Look here and see if you can ID the algae, we'll go from there.

Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association » Algae in the Planted Aquarium

 

[Retired_AF]

I looked at the pictures but didnt see anything like what I was seeing in the store. The stuff I saw was very dark black, strands up to about an inch long, and hanging in clumps on the rocks, the glass, the filter pickup, the heater and on almost all the plants. There wer water currents flowing through the tank and the algae flowed with the current looking like hair.

I guess the closest is the fuzz algae, although what I saw was much thicker and longer.

 

[BigJim]

It sounds like BBA. My favorite LFS often has BBA and BGA in their tanks. I take it as a sign of clean, well-oxygenated water. BBA grows when there's a lack of carbon and BGA grows when there's a lack of nitrate.

 

[fort384]

It sounds like BBA to me. You cannot just wipe BBA off. I would avoid putting it into my tank if it were me... fighting it requires spot treating excel, ramping up CO2 injection, and trimming infected leaves.

I suppose if you really had to have the plants, you could do an excel dip before adding it to your tank, depending on what kind of plant it is.

 

[Roberacer]

Hey Folks. I have an issue with "RED" algea (aka BBA I am told) in my Discus tank. The algae on the plant leaves is black anways. Also green hard to scrape off of the glass algea grows well (that's good...No??) It eats the leaves of the plants something fears. I have read that some people think that it is controlable via elevated CO-2 levels. I have to tell you that I have CO-2 injection. I don't actually measure the amount of CO-2 but I have the Red Sea 3 stage indicator (suction cup to inside of glass) sitting in the yellow most of the time. I know this is apparently highly inaccurate but as it is showing excessive levels most of the time it has to be high. I still can't stop the crap from growing except to not feed the plants. Of course the plants start to die then. Thoughts???

 

[fort384]

BBA is a pain. High levels of CO2 are good for keeping it away... but once you have it, it won't kill it.

The first thing to do is trim and discard the leaves that have the most BBA on them... they aren't salvageable.

With what is left, my recommendation is to spot treat with seachem excel and a medicine dropper (HOWEVER-- I don't have discus which I know can be sensitive... and some plants like vals and anacharis aren't compatible with excel, so more info might be needed before going this route).

Basically, if you use the dropper or a syringe to squirt the excel directly onto the affected areas, after a few days of this, the algae will turn a pinkish grey color and die.

The other prophylaxis for BBA ime is SAEs... not sure if they are compatible with discus, but they love the stuff. They can be hard to find, and are often mistaken for other similar looking more agressive species, so make sure you are getting SAEs if you go this route.

The final prophylaxis for BBA ime is Amano shrimp. I think Amanos and SAEs are about the only critters that eat it.

The other thing to look at is nutrient balance for prevention. What kind of lights are you using? Are you doing N, P, K, and trace? BBA can be a good sign of issues with P (usually not enough, or bottoming out on P or Phosphates. )

Oh and by the way, I assume the indicator you are talking about for your CO2 is a drop checker? What kind of water are you using in it? If it is not 4dKH or at least close to 4dKH it could be reading wildly inaccurately. If you are using 4dKH solution along with the bromothymol blue indicating solution, then it is very accurate. If you aren't using 4dKH solution in your drop checker, test your KH and pH in your tank, and check to be sure your CO2 is as high as you think it is. CO2 in the 10-20ppm is heaven for BBA... you gotta keep it in the 25-30ppm range for best results in keeping it at bay, ime.

 

[Roberacer]

hey there. So this is my 3rd attenpt to reply. Very frustrated with this site now so I am being very short.
Not at drop checker. Red Sea doesn't list it on it's site or I would send you a link. I will get a drop checker soon. Don't know ppm of CO2. CO2 (injected) doesn't seem to affect Discus but never used excel (liquid CO2).

Current known parameters as of today. CO2 indicater - yellow (high), Ph 6.4, Hardness 3 DKH, Phosphate 0 ppm, nitrate 5 ppm

I don't add nitrate (they have plenty from food, also discus are sensitive)
Potassium 2 per week
K not sure what that is but I use Flourish (Seachem) also substrate is flourite with 1" smooth rocks on top.

 

[Roberacer]

so in breaking this up to get it posted there is another part.
Here it is:

In order to get the tank to proper conditions for discus I used "Discus Buffer". Seachem didn't make it clear that it was a phophate based product and phosphate levels were over 10ppm. I added an overflow filter filled with phospate removers. 2 kinds Seapora phos pads (2 cut to size) and a media bag full of Seachem Phosgard. Got the Seapora on sale when my LFS ran out of Phosgard. It took a month changing the media 1.5 times a week to get the levels down.
The issue with the phosphate at 0 ppm is phosphate (an acid) buffers the water slightly acidic. I use peat in the main filter (eheim 2217) and have 3 good sized pieces of driftwood also but now the Ph if not watched carefully has a tendancy to fluctuate. Discus are more sensitive to unstable ph then high ph. The water at the store where I bought them was 7.2 so they can be kept at higher ph. They just won't breed. They won't breed in a 30 gallon anyway so that isn't the issue. I have crypts which at Ph neutral (7.0) die from the inside out so I can't let the water go to what the city water is 7.5 ph. Also they are fun to keep because their water chem is different. Our other tank is alkaline and has Gourami's in it although I am thinking of trading them in on something cooler. Not sure what yet though.

What could I do to buffer the water other than what I am? I could then keep the phophate at almost nothing and slowly get rid of the red algae by pruning.