chemicals for Algea reduction?

[dmac]

I've recently added a secondary light for my plants, but I'm noticing a lot more algea in the tank. Anyone know of any chemical additive to reduce or help remove Algea that is safe for a dozen or so fish? Or is it just something I've got to scrape out every once in a while?

 

[GouramiFanatic]

I personally wouldn't put any chemicals in the tank as I fear what it will do to my fish. There may be a product out there that's safe to use, but I'd still be very cautious about trying it. I'd go the 'working' route and actually scrape it out.

 

[jcarlilesiu]

Well.. first off, having an algea problem is caused by a nutrient problem. Missing a critical nutrient in the tank, or excess nutrients will cause an algae bloom.

I see that this is a planted tank. heavily medium or lightly planted? Do you inject CO2? What is your tank size and how many watts of lights? And what kind of algae is it.

There are alot of members on here with extremely high light tanks, but because their plants have all the nutrients they need, they out compete the algae for nutrients, including lights. This means little to no algae.

I wouldn't recommend any chemical algae controls as #1 this is just a temporary fix, and #2 they will most likely be harmful to your plants even if they are safe. You should really work out what the issues are with the nutrients and this will probably resolve the issue.

If you have added a significant amount of light to your tank, you may need to inject or DIY CO2. There are stickies in the planted tank forum to assist.

Lots of things cause algae, and even more is caused by a "lack" of things. When your tank is lacking a necessary nutrient, algae out competes plants for excess nutrients because the plants stop growing. HTH

 

[dmac]

i've got two 16" 40w flourecents over a 30g tall hex.

I might have been misleading, Algae is not a problem, and I don't have a ton, but I've noticed an increase in the amount on the glass recently. The tank is moderately planted (3 live plants in bottom),

I'll probably just scrape it as needed.

 

[Purrbox]

Sounds like Green Spot Algae. This is pretty common in planted tanks. Recently people have found success in getting rid of GSA by upping their Phosphate dosing. I recently tried increasing PO4 dosing in my tanks, and while GSA is still present it isn't spreading nearly as fast. Hopefully with continued dosing at this level it will go away altogether.

 

[malkore]

FYI, its always best to post planted tank related questions in the planted tank section. algae is much more common in a higher light planted tank vs. the 'came with the tank' light fixture.

us plant geeks are a little more 'in the know' about the causes of algae and how to correct them.

But chemical treatments are NEVER a good idea, since most just use phosphate to kill the algae temporarily...then it comes back stronger than ever since it has more phosphate to feed off of. Or, you go from one kind of algae to another.

Algae is always caused by a nutrient imbalance...so re-balancing things gets rid of algae and keeps it gone. Its a fix. Chemical treatmetns are just a band-aid.