Can't get rid of algae, need help

[Garbro]

Hey all, I have a 75 gallon with a moderate amount of plants, my algae problem has been a pain for a while now, tried to fix with CO2 and a new light cycle but no effect.


I have 2 light fixtures:

48" 40W single bulb fluorescent
48" 54Wx2 dual bulb T5HO fluorescent

DIY CO2 with three 2 liter generators plugged into a powerhead.

My light cycle is 4 on, 3 off, 4 on before they shut off for the night.

Water parameters are normal, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0-20 nitrate etc.

Tank is not overstocked.

The algae appears on plants, rocks, and glass. Also my plants still aren't doing much better than they were before I added the CO2.

Any idea what the problem is?

 

[jbib1089]

Hey all, I have a 75 gallon with a moderate amount of plants, my algae problem has been a pain for a while now, tried to fix with CO2 and a new light cycle but no effect.


I have 2 light fixtures:

48" 40W single bulb fluorescent
48" 54Wx2 dual bulb T5HO fluorescent

DIY CO2 with three 2 liter generators plugged into a powerhead.

My light cycle is 4 on, 3 off, 4 on before they shut off for the night.

Water parameters are normal, 0 ammonia, 0 nitrite, 0-20 nitrate etc.

Tank is not overstocked.

The algae appears on plants, rocks, and glass. Also my plants still aren't doing much better than they were before I added the CO2.

Any idea what the problem is?

From my experience with my algae problem I think you should try cutting your lights to only 6 hours a day. I saw a huge improvement when I did that. Also from everything I have read the DIY CO2 can only really can supply a proper amount of CO2 on smaller tanks 40 gallons and below. I'm sure you saw an improvement because some CO2 is better than none. You could also start dosing Excell. I have been dosing my tank with that and it has helped keep the algae in check. Just remember improvement won't happen overnight.

 

[Penguin]

From my experience with my algae problem I think you should try cutting your lights to only 6 hours a day. I saw a huge improvement when I did that. Also from everything I have read the DIY CO2 can only really can supply a proper amount of CO2 on smaller tanks 40 gallons and below. I'm sure you saw an improvement because some CO2 is better than none. You could also start dosing Excell. I have been dosing my tank with that and it has helped keep the algae in check. Just remember improvement won't happen overnight.

I agree with Jbib. Try putting your lights on a timer so if you're not home the lights won't be on the whole time and it would help reduce the growth of algae but not quite over night. Also if your tank is in front of a window try getting dark shades and or moving the tank away from direct sunlight because water temp will change, water will evaporate more in heat, algae will grow, and also it may harm fish if you have cold water species.

 

[Garbro]

Ok I might try 6 hours rather than four. There is no direct sunlight but it is in a bright room. I need to reset my timer to match with sunset and sunrise again I am off by an hour or so now.


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[mrvincent]

Cut to 5-6 hours of lights per day.

Also, is that a new tank ? What kind of algae you have ? I guess brown diatoms... It's normal with high lighting for the first 5-6 months... Keep up with cleaning and waterchanging. I had this problem when I started.

Also, don't dose ferts.