Fighting ongoing algae battle

[FishN00b83]

So I've been dealing with this annoying algae on my driftwood for a while now. It seems to really like my driftwood and that's about it, but it REALLY likes the big piece in the middle. Im not 100% sure what algae it is, and how to over come it, so I was hoping to get some advice here. I have a Eheim 2217 filter on a 40 breeder with pressurized co2. As of right now I run 2 T5 HOs for 4 hours a day. What can I do to finally get rid of this stuff. I attached a picture of it. It is ALL over this big piece of driftwood. I just took a picture of the tip of it.

 

[2ndtimer]

Try this out Remove it and brush off as much algae as possible, the boil the driftwood to kill the remaining algae. After it cools down, then rinse the driftwood thoroughly under running water and brush while rinsing. After that, you can put it back in your tank... Hope it works out..

 

[FishN00b83]

Wouldn't the chlorine from the tap water be a problem?

 

[2ndtimer]

Sorry, you can soak in dechlored water or if you have big enough bucket; rinse and scrub in the bucket of dechlored water after the boiling process...

 

[Alkane]

Just de-chlorinate the water, or soak it in de-chlorinated water once your done boiling. This is how I have treated my driftwood in the past.

What are your water parameters? What kind of fert.s do you use?

 

[FishN00b83]

Ammonia 0
Nitrite 0
Nitrate 0

I have 10 API root tabs I just put in, and I dose potassium, phosphorus, nitrogen, and flourish once a week according to the bottle

 

[Alkane]

How old are your light-bulbs?

Just trying to help you eliminate possible causes

 

[FishN00b83]

I have a nova extreme 4 bulb setup...I only run 2 bulbs at a time for 4 hours a day. First 2 hours I run the front pair, last 2 hours I run the rear pair. the bulbs are about 6 months old.

 

[2ndtimer]

Why don't you try cutting back a little on your plant nutrition in the future due to this could be feeding the algae growth (phosphorous) . It doesn't matter if the plant grows fast or slow; as long as it isn't dieing. If the plant looks dull and "droopy" then you step up the feeding. Otherwise, feed the least amount to prevent algae growth. The fish waste is still the best fert How do I know??? I have a GREEN thumb......Lol

 

[FishN00b83]

The reason why I am dosing phosphorus right now is because I have a few new plants with some browning / clearing leaves. I'm trying to get everything green again

 

[2ndtimer]

That's OK then... Once you get everything greened up the way you want, you should be able to cut back to the minimum nutrient; or at least decrease by 25% increments to help reduce that algae growth...

 

[Alkane]

I'm still in the learning process of dosing, but from what I've read you want to be very consistent. If your nutrient ratios get out of wack you can start an algae problem. Not sure how you dose but these sites were helpful to me.

Estimative Index Dosing Guide - Fertilizing - Aquatic Plant Central

Newbie Guide to PPS-Pro - PPS Analysis and Feedback - Aquatic Plant Central

 

[FishN00b83]

Yeah as of right now I just dose once a week with water changes