algae bloom: Am I bottoming out on something?

[roydooms]

I'm not sure if tannin has something to do with my algae bloom or it's just a coincidence. I added a big DW this monday and now I'm getting what I think is fuzz algae or hair algae. I also noticed a few spots with BBA, GSA and Blue-green algae. I'm dosing MMN mix and Iron chelate 13%. I have P by seachem but I don't know how much to dose. I might start dosing N,P,K instead of the MMN mix. Need help! I turned off the lights. I'm planning to turn it back on once I figure out whats causing the algae bloom. I did some research and most lead to nutrient imbalance.

I mix a half cup of MMN and a teaspoon of iron chelate in a liter of water. I dose 4 drops per gallon. I also dose excel every time I do a PWC. I tried spot treating some algae but the bloom is just too fast to control. I run a CO2 system. Drop checker's color is greenish yellow. Should I turn off the CO2 for now? Attached are pics of what I'm dosing. Thanks in advance for any help.

 

[roydooms]

here's another pic of the fuzz algae or hair algae. I'm not sure.

The water surface of the tank also has some Bio-film. I don't know if that has something to do as well.

 

[mfdrookie516]

What are you running your co2 at? Or, have you not got your drop checker yet?

I can't tell if that's hair algae or the onset of BBA. If it's hair algae, its most likely an excess of ferts. Try cutting back on them. If it's BBA, you'll most likely need to increase your co2.

 

[roydooms]

The drop checker's color is yellowish green. The algae on the pics doesn't look like BBA. It's a third of an inch long. Its not a clump but one strand a few millimeter next to each other. I just noticed one BBA on my filter in-flow. should I turn the lights back on and cut ferts in half.

 

[mfdrookie516]

I would cut the ferts in half and see where it goes. A few days without any light should help things too. I've had to do a couple blackouts here lately for very similar algae.

 

[roydooms]

How long should I keep the lights off? Is it ok to not dose any ferts during blackouts? do I need to cover the tank with a blanket? or I don't have to?

 

[mfdrookie516]

I just unplug my lights and co2 for 2 days, nothing big and fancy like blankets or anything. My autodosers kept going though, but I did a water change afterwards to reset everything. I would just skip dosing while everything is off.

 

[roydooms]

Ok. Got it. One more question...

What would you consider my lighting? six 65w PC bulbs.

What if I reduce it to 4-65W?

Thanks.

 

[Amicus]

Don't mean to cut in but what is BBA?

 

[roydooms]

Black Brush Algae