Green Thread Algae

[Jetstorm369]

Hey guys, I have a 30g planted tanked. I have my lights on for 7 hours a day (from 4:30 pm to 11:30 pm), and I dose excel, trace, potassium, and nitrogen. I have about 20 tetras in there, and I run a 2213 Eheim. I also inject CO2. Can anyone figure out why I may be getting green thread algae? Thanks!

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

Look up spirogyra algae in the aquarium and see if that's what you have. Spiro algae, sometimes referred to as green hair or thread algae, is a tough algae. If you got the spore in your tank and it develops, its not really exacerbated by the usual culprits (i.e. inbalances) to other forms of algae. I discovered this stuff likes co2, high lighting, and nutrients as your plants do. So it just grows with your plants. I managed to get mine under control by manual removal, spot treating with excel and h2o2, and reduced photoperiods.

 

[Jetstorm369]

Look up spirogyra algae in the aquarium and see if that's what you have. Spiro algae, sometimes referred to as green hair or thread algae, is a tough algae. If you got the spore in your tank and it develops, its not really exacerbated by the usual culprits (i.e. inbalances) to other forms of algae. I discovered this stuff likes co2, high lighting, and nutrients as your plants do. So it just grows with your plants. I managed to get mine under control by manual removal, spot treating with excel and h2o2, and reduced photoperiods.

I believe that's what I'm dealing with now. Can you elaborate on spot treating and H2O2? Thanks!

 

[Rivercats]

Spot treating is easy. All you need to do is pull up in a needless syringe 2ml of either Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) or Excel per 10 gallons of tank water, get as close to the algae as possible, and slowly squirt with the HP or Excel. Also you need to turn your tank light and filters off for 15 minutes to give the solution time to work. If you have alot of algae you will have to do an area each day. Some people use 3ml of H2O2 or Excel to every gallon but I ususally stick with 2ml.

 

[Jetstorm369]

Spot treating is easy. All you need to do is pull up in a needless syringe 2ml of either Hydrogen Peroxide (H2O2) or Excel per 10 gallons of tank water, get as close to the algae as possible, and slowly squirt with the HP or Excel. Also you need to turn your tank light and filters off for 15 minutes to give the solution time to work. If you have alot of algae you will have to do an area each day. Some people use 3ml of H2O2 or Excel to every gallon but I ususally stick with 2ml.

How does excel combat algae? Isn't it liquid carbon?

 

[Rivercats]

Yes, Excel is a liquid carbon but it's also an algacide.

 

[Brian_Nano12g]

There's no mistaking it, Excel should always be used in moderation and with great care. Just taking a slight wiff of the stuff, you can immediately notice a strong chemical smell. It's dangerous stuff (but no more dangerous than Bleach I believe, so the same exercise of common sense should be used) and the active ingredient in it is listed as Polycycloglutaracetal --which is actually "an isomeric form of glutaraldehyde." If you shop for Glutaraldehyde, you'll notice that it's sold as Metricide (among others) which is used as a sterilizing agent. Glut is also known to be an "antimicrobial, bactericide, fungicide, and virucide." But when used safely and responsibly, it's used to spot treat and kill algae -- but we also use it as a liquid carbon to aid in plant growth and photosynthesis. Here's the source article that explains the algae killing abilities in more detail (it also makes it sound really bad, but when used with caution, it's safe): SOURCE

 

[Furret]

If you want a new fish there is a good algae eater call Otocinclus Catfish.. they are peacefull maximum size i arround 4 cm and they eat the type of algae that you have. Minimum tank size reconmanded is 25 us gallon

 

[Furret]

I have seen them in some pet shop. The dealers was ordering them to make clean there tank

 

[Rivercats]

Oto cats do not eat hair or thread algae. Their diet mainly consists of diatoms, green dust algae, and bio-film. Amano shrimp eat hair algae, American flag fish, and SAE's also eat it. Angelfish like to graze on it as well. The thing is you need to correct the problem causing the algae and not just try adding stock that will eat it. When algae is present in a tank it means there is an imbalance.