Cleaning algae from sand

[tommo_uk]

My planted tank has started to produce a lot of algae which is on both the glass and the sand. I have just pulled some of the sand out using a fine net and then cleaned it under the tap using a sieve!

There must be an easier way to this surely? And I'm not sure it got all of the algae out anyway.

Either that or I need to stop the algae in the first place

 

[Purrbox]

Can you describe the algae? Color? Smooth, short and bushy, extremely long and thread like, etc? Does it come off the glass easily, or does it require some scrubbing?

Test results please. Nitrates and Phosphates levels at the least.

Size of the aquarium, type and amount of light, carbon (CO2 or Flourish Excel), do you fertilize (if so what, how much, and how often)?

Answers to these questions will help us to determine what the algae is, what is most likely causing it, and allow us to recommend the best way to correct the situation so that you can get rid of it and it won't come back. When ever you have algae that becomes a nuisance and easily spotable, it is a symptom that indicates something is out of balance in a planted aquarium.

 

[tommo_uk]

Thanks Purrbox, some answers to your questions are as follows:

The algae is very dark green, almost black and needs some scrubbing off the glass. In the sand if its disturbed it goes into clumps. It looks stringy and quite short strands. It is also on the leaves of some plants.

Nitrate is 10. I don't have a phospahte reading available, but do have phosphate remover in my filter if that helps?

150 litre aquarium,
Arcadia 30w lamp on for approx 12 hours per day,
I was adding JBL FERROPOLJBL Online after partial water changes but have stopped as the algae is growing quickly,
I do not use CO2

I also had the filter outlet disturbing the surface water but this encouraged a very long stringy algae, so I submerged the filter to stop this and this has since stopped growing.

I hope this is enough, if not I can give more info. Any help is much appreciated

 

[Purrbox]

Sounds like the algae on the glass may be green spot algae. This is caused by low phosphate levels, most likely caused at least partially by using the phosphate remover. I'd take that out and see if it improves.

The stuff on the sand sounds different. Is it slimy? If so does it stink when removed from the water? Could be BGA as a result of Nitrates being overly low. Did you use a liquid test kit to test for Nitrates? If so has it been tested against a reference solution to verify accuracy at low levels of Nitrate (under 20ppm)? GBA tends to thrive in areas where the water flow is poor and/or the Nitrates are bottoming out. Correcting one or both of these will usually get rid of it.

Please check out both GWAPA and Steve Hampton's sites for further help in identification of the algaes you're dealing with.

Looks like a 150 Liter aquarium is approximately the same as a 40 gallon aquarium.
With only 30WPG gallon, you've got a very low light aquarium. CO2 injection shouldn't be necessary at this level. On a low light aquarium without CO2 injection like yours, aggitating the water surface is a good thing since it helps restore the CO2 level to ambient levels.

I'm not familiar with the JBL Ferropol, but based on the description it should help out with Potassium as well as Iron and other Trace nutrients. You'd probably only need to dose it after each water change, more frequently if you see signs of Potassium or Iron deficiency. You may want to cut down on your light period until you get the algae under control, perhaps 8-10 hours per day.

What plants are you keeping and how densely planted is the aquarium?

 

[SpeedEuphoria]

Perhaps a new bulb would help

 

[Purrbox]

Perhaps a new bulb would help

Good point. If your bulb is more than a year old, it definately should be replaced. No need to get an aquarium specific one, just one that is rated between 5000K and 10000K (Kelvin) that will fit your fixture. The local hardware store is usually a good place to find them inexpensively.

 

[tommo_uk]

The bulb is only a month old.

The plants I have are Amazon Swords and Sagittaria Subulata.

Here are some pictures of the tank after I cleaned it.