Why do i get this on some plants?

[Shane87]

Hi, I am not the most experienced with plants but most of them are thriving its just these plants and the 2 fake ones I have, why is this happening?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Do you happen to have really powerful lights?

 

[Shane87]

I have 2 38w t8's is that to much?

 

[Wroberson]

It's a combination of high nitrates, Phosphates, light slow growing plants. Even if you get one of those things lowered, the other will feed the algae. Try to shoot for 10ppm of Nitrate, .5-.25 Phosphates and then all you need to do is limit the light and increase the water current to keep the leaves moving in the water, allegedly.

I'm not there yet, but this is what I've read and have been told. I only have surface movement and not deep current. Kind of leery about keeping a circulation pump on 12 hours a day. The fish love swimming the current though. I just don;t want to over do it for them. I also keep the light on 12 hours.

 

[Shane87]

It's a combination of high nitrates, Phosphates, light slow growing plants. Even if you get one of those things lowered, the other will feed the algae. Try to shoot for 10ppm of Nitrate, .5-.25 Phosphates and then all you need to do is limit the light and increase the water current to keep the leaves moving in the water, allegedly.

I'm not there yet, but this is what I've read and have been told. I only have surface movement and not deep current. Kind of leery about keeping a circulation pump on 12 hours a day. The fish love swimming the current though. I just don;t want to over do it for them. I also keep the light on 12 hours.

My nitrates are almost always under 10ppm because I do lots of water changes, I don't have a test for phosphate but how do I lower that? I have a canister filter with a spray bar for surface movement and an internal filter mid level ( about where the leaves are) and I have already cut down light to 8hrs a day :/ would just phosphates cause this?

And thanks for the response

 

[CorallineAlgae]

My nitrates are almost always under 10ppm because I do lots of water changes, I don't have a test for phosphate but how do I lower that? I have a canister filter with a spray bar for surface movement and an internal filter mid level ( about where the leaves are) and I have already cut down light to 8hrs a day :/ would just phosphates cause this?

And thanks for the response

That's really not quite true. Plants need nitrate and phosphate to grow. In fact most people with planted tanks add nitrate and phosphate (often daily) if these levels are low or if they have lots of fast growing plants.

You said you reduced your light to 8 hours a day. I'm guessing it started to grow before this and you were running the lights way long. To much light and not enough co2 makes black beard algae or BBA a problem. You don't have many plants so using co2 wouldn't make sense. The best option would be to lower your light by perhaps using only one bulb but depending on the tank size it may still be a bit much. Then get Excell or glute. Excell can help kill some of the BBA. It isn't going to completely fix any light to co2 imbalance but if you were to also add more plants it would help.

The idea with strong light is to have enough plants to grow fast and healthy enough to constantly use the nutrients that algae also uses. That way the plants outcompete the algae. It isn't always easy to do. High light is far more difficult to control than moderate light. Anytime you use strong lights over a tank SOMETHING will grow. If it isn't plants it'll be algae.

The problem is that light isn't the only thing that plants need. They also need a carbon source like co2 or Excell and other nutrients like nitrate and phosphate. In low light it's easy. In high light it can be tricky.

You can think of it like driving a car. When you're going 35mph it's easy to avoid bumps in the road and things usually go along just fine. If you're going 95mph it's way more likely for things to go wrong but it's much more thrilling. Light = energy. The more energy you add to the tank the faster things grow. But it's more complicated to control.

 

[Shane87]

I didn't have my lights on much more than 8 hours before but it's buy a window do gets sunshine in the morning :/ so you thing if a add a load more plants and a Co2 setup then it should all run smoother? Or am I missing the point? Lol sorry I really don't have any experience with plants and these are the 1st ones I have had.

 

[Rivercats]

Adding more plants is always a good idea! Adding fast growing plants such as stem plants, water sprite or wisteria is an excellent for mopping up excess nutrients in the water. By using liquid carbon (Excel, Glutaraldehyde, API CO2 Booster), CO2, or a combination of both you are aiding the plants photosynthesis allowing it to grow faster and utlitize nutrients better which helps the plants to outcomplete the algae.

You can treat your current BBA by pulling up a daily dose of Exel or Glut (1ml per 10g) in a needless syringe, hold the syringe almost against the BBA and slowly squirt BBA with Excel or Glut. If you have alot you will have to do treatments over however many days you need to get everything treated. When you see the BBA turning white/pink/red it's beginning to die. Really tough BBA might need a second treatment.

 

[Rivercats]

I forgot to tell you sunlight can cause algae issues so you can try to cover the offending window (good luck). I run a high light tank that also gets alot of actual sunlight in 1/3 of the tank yet I don't have algae issues. Reason being is I have tons of plants, I keep nutrient levels at the proper levels for my plants by dosing ferts daily, and I use a high dose of Glut daily. My tank is balanced between my light/ferts/liquid carbon so I rarely see any algae. Truely think about upping your amount of plants, I mean alot of plants, possibly add ferts, and start using liquid carbon or CO2. Once it's balanced the sun really won't cause algae issues.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Rivercats is right on (no shock there!). She has a large tank with loads of healthy plants and no co2, only glute. It can be harder with Africans though because some can uproot plants. If they aren't diggers you'll have few issues.

The best idea is adding more plants. It isn't the only cure but if you plan on keeping such high light over your tank it'll be an important part of it. Honestly, I'd add a few true Siamese Algae Eaters to help you get a handle on it. They simply must be TRUE SAEs to work so look them up online to learn how to distinguish them from false ones if you decide to get a pair.

Some people look down on using algae eaters but that's a ridiculous stance. Algae grows in nature and algae eaters are there to eat it. It cannot be the only answer for dealing with algae but it's a very useful one to add as part of your victory plan.

If the window light is coming from behind the tank you could add an aquarium background to block it or even car window tinting. Otherwise follow rivercats advice.

 

[Shane87]

Ok thank you all for helping I will do what you have said and see what happens