Getting rid of Green spot algae ...

[maricutie]

Hi!

I'm currently trying to get rid of green spot algae in my 10Gal tank, and i have tried almost everything. The lighting is moderate at 2 watts/gal b/c i have java ferns, brazilian swords, banana plant and tons of anarchis -- in general, requiring pretty low levels of light.

The lights are on only 8 hrs a day, which i hear is minimum. They're on a timer, so i know for sure. If this algae was on the glass (which, strangely, its not) I wouldnt complain, but the thing is it's on my brazilian swords and java ferns. i did a huge clean up about 2 weeks ago and massive pruning to get rid of this stuff, but if i keep cutting off the leaves i'll have nothing left. The algae only seems to grow on the older leaves ...

I'm a college student on a budget, so I'm trying to figure out how to solve this cheaply. I'm currently doing 25% water changes weekly in hopes of solving this, but to no avail so far (2 weeks). i may increase it to everyother day if this doesn't help out. Thinking of using some algedicide (algone? algaefix?) b/c i can't find anything to get rid of it on the plants ...
If you know of anything I haven't yet tried please, please let me know!! thanks!!!

 

[medge00]

flourescent or incandescent? I've got 2 wpg of flourescent lighting on my ten gal.... my spot algae vanished when I started to put CO2 on the tank. Search for DIY CO2 on the forum (or google) or you can by a hagen CO2 kit... they have them online. http://www.petguys.com/-015561176900.html You can also try Flourish excel, but I find this method takes longer (and its pricey). You should be able to put together a DIY system cheap. It may seem like effort, but you'll also like what it does for your plants. As the plants eat up the CO2 they'll grow faster and eat up nutrients as well, leaving little for the algae. Eventually, you can clip off the unsightly leaves with algae. Most tanks have some algae on old leaves. It comes with the territory. Try Rex's website. He's one of our plant guru's and has some good info... www.rexgrigg.com

HTH and welcome to the forum.

 

[maricutie]

Wow, thanks for the response! I'd been wondering about adding CO2 to my tank for awhile now, but the algae problem had me worrying that it would either increase the plant growth or the growth of the algae. Since my plants are growing ok (nothing too spectacular, but hey) i figured I wouldn't risk it. I think I'll try the DIY setup, since it's cheaper in both initially and in the long-run. I was also thinking about adding H2o2, but i think i'll give this a shot first. Do you think I'll need to increase the lighting levels?

 

[medge00]

do you have flourescent or incandescent? upgrading your lighting will depend in part on what you want to do with the tank. I have 2 wpg flourescent lighting and I have to say my ten gal. is my most successful tank. I have a few different crypts, water sprite (that is slowly getting moved to my bigger tank), hydroctyle (pennywort), a form of rotala, some vallisneria (spelling?), various anubias and a sword. All of these plants have the potential to work for you, especially if you add CO2. Without the CO2, you should be able to grow anubias, some val, and crypts... even hornwort, which is a floating plant that sucks up nutrients. Again, I'd recommend getting flourescent lighting. Even if you have screw in fixtures, you can find flourescents that screw in. I have 2 10 watt coral life screw in flourescents in my hood, plus that hagen CO2 system (DIY will work just as well).

also, I think I forgot to mention this before, avoid algacides. Adding chemicals is a short term solution. Until you start to limit the nutrients in your water, or get plants to suck 'em up, the algae will only come back... remeber all tanks have some algae!! HTH

 

[maricutie]

oops. yeah, I forgot to mention ... i have 2 10W mini compact flurescents(sp?) in the tank. so far the problem I have about growth is just specific to the green spot algae. my java fern, brazilian swords and banana plant grow enough -- a leaf or two a week, which is just fine for me! the anarchis, of course, grow crazy. but i think i will try the co2 tonight in hopes of getting rid of it.

 

[medge00]

awesome. give that co2 a try and get back to us in about 2 weeks.... by then you should notice considerable growth in your plants and your spot algae should start to decline.... you're not using fertilizers are you? you never mentioned it, so I assumed you weren't. That's fine for now, but realize when you up your CO2, your plants will eventually start needing those nutrients! vicious cycle isn't it? :>