Algae won't go away

[u2_Crazy]

I have an established planted tank with a black Algae prob. The algae is short , hair or fur like and can not be scrubbed off easily. I have tried a full 4 day black-out with no effect. This prob started a few months ago with a new light bulb (6500K).

I dose GW ferts 3 times a week, I have a diy co2 set-up and was getting a very rapid growth rate out of all my plants.

Can anyone suggest a method of ridding myself of this algae?

Thanks

 

[neilanh]

How much light do you have over your 29g tank? How long do you run them each day? Do you know what CO2 levels you're obtaining in your tank?

Check out this link for some tips to deal with it. It sounds like BBA from your description.

 

[JustOneMore20]

It sounds like BBA to me as well. This is usually caused by inconsistent co2 levels. When is the last time you renewed your mix? And how long had it been going before you renewed it? DIY co2 is pretty notorious for causing BBA outbreaks, since the levels are rarely consistent.

 

[pitt420dude]

U2 Crazy, I was fighting a bout of this a few weeks ago myself, and I have to tell you that my experience showed me that Neil and Justonemore20's advice sounds correct.

I was transfering filters and had to dismantle my CO2 reactor. For a while my CO2 dipped (drop checker showed blueish green) and the BBA spread. Now I have a better diffusion method and it usually shows green-yellow and the BBA has stopped spreading.

I've heard some effective methods are:

(1) blackout (no luck for you though),
(2) double or even triple dosing excel by turnign off your filters, and squeezing the excell in a syring or turkey baster directly onto the worst parts of the algae infestation,
(3) Removing the plants and leaves with it, or spot treating them (outside the tank) with hydrogen peroxide. I used a plate full of hydrogen peroxide, and a bucket of FW, to dip the infested plants/wood in the peroxide, then rinse them, and re-plant them. THis kills the BBA and didnt kill one plant (I didn't dip the roots though).
(4) get that CO2 up and steady!

4 is the most important as it is the only method that treats the probable underlying cause. 1-3 just treat the symptoms.

 

[JohnPaul]

I've actually used a turkey baster to shoot hydrogen peroxide on the BBA directly in my tank. Be sure you turn off your filter first and watch that you don't overdo it, or else the peroxide will wipe out the bacteria in your biofilter.

The algae killed by the H2O2 will gradually turn various shades of colors over the course of 2 or 3 days and then eventually fall off (or else, get munched on by fish).

Also, there are a few fish that actually enjoy chewing on this type of algae, including the American Flag Fish (sometimes called the Florida Flag fish, since it is a native fish in the waters in and near Florida). I had a couple of these fish before and they would swim up and take these big mouthfuls and just rip the algae right off the driftwood it was growing on.

 

[Purrbox]

American Flag Fish (sometimes called the Florida Flag fish, since it is a native fish in the waters in and near Florida.

Interesting tidbit I learned not too long ago, is that these fish are actually a type of Killifish. I haven't kept this variety yet, but I do love the Killies that I have. Very beautiful and active fish.

 

[JohnPaul]

Interesting tidbit I learned not too long ago, is that these fish are actually a type of Killifish. I haven't kept this variety yet, but I do love the Killies that I have. Very beautiful and active fish.

Yeah, I found that neat also. Obviously their colors aren't as vivid as the killies we normally see in the hobby, but when you get a good look at the males in good lighting, you really DO see an American Flag. It's really cool. I found them to be great citizens in a mixed community tank ("mixed" in the sense that the tank was about half killifish and half your more run-of-the-mill community fish like swordtails, corys, gourami, etc.) They do their thing and leave other fish alone, yet they certainly can hold their own if something else in the tank tries to go after them.

Btw if your LFS doesn't stock the flagfish, I've ordered them (and other native species like the Golden Topminnow) from PRODUCTS CATALOG AT SACHS SYSTEMS AQUACULTURE! and always been happy with the quality of the fish and the service.