Help battling algae

[tulip55555]

Helloooo there. I have an algae problem. Not sure what kind, but it looks like black or dark green spots mostly on my plants. I did a MAJOR cleaning today. I pulled out every plant and rock and soaked them in potassium permanganate then sprayed with undiluted Seachem Excel and left them sit while I did a good vacuuming and 50% WC. I scrubbed the glass and cleaned the filter.
I really need help on what to do next. I have read about splitting my lighting into segments. Can anyone tell me how many hours on, then off, then on again?
I also would like to know about dosing ferts cuz I've read that doing it wrong will cause algae as well. I have a 40g tall with 1x 6700K Full spectrum daylight bulb. Right now I have swords, vals, java moss and taiwan moss. I'd like to use Excel since my lighting isn't right for C02 (yet) and also maybe some Seachem Comprehensive or root tabs. Any suggestions on dosing the plants but not encouraging algae growth???

Thanks

 

[Copachick]

I can say that for helping get rid of the algae, maybe buy a few Otos? We have them in our tanks and they do a fantastic job.
I think as far as the lights, what we did was only keep them on for 4 or 5 hours a day. We left them off while at work and turned them on in the evenings when we'd get home, and turn them off around bed time. That should keep down on the algae growth

 

[Batt4Christ]

Gotta figure out the reason- and the type would help as well.

Is it smooth looking or harry looking? A picture might help.

Most algae issues I have run into, regardless of the type, come from excess nutrients (overfeeding?), too much light (without enough CO2), or a combination.

It doesn't sound like your light fixture is the problem unless it is on way too long. Are there any windows allowing sunlight in?

Overfeeding and/or excess fish waste?

Someone posted that Ottos can help with minor algae issues- so can SAEs and Nerite snails (and some plecos). But it would be a good idea to figure out the root cause of the algae issue.

 

[tulip55555]

Gotta figure out the reason- and the type would help as well.

Is it smooth looking or harry looking? A picture might help.

Most algae issues I have run into, regardless of the type, come from excess nutrients (overfeeding?), too much light (without enough CO2), or a combination.

It doesn't sound like your light fixture is the problem unless it is on way too long. Are there any windows allowing sunlight in?

Overfeeding and/or excess fish waste?

Someone posted that Ottos can help with minor algae issues- so can SAEs and Nerite snails (and some plecos). But it would be a good idea to figure out the root cause of the algae issue.

I do think my photo period was too long-about 12 hours. There is so much conflicting information around...I had read that 12 hours was good, maybe I misunderstood and that was for a CO2 injected tank IDK. So that's why I was asking about splitting the photo period.
I think I probably jumped the gun on dosing ferts, but I thought with the long photo period that they would help. Now I realize that maybe I was feeding the algae. I've done some more reading and I don't think I need to dose anything right now.
I also believe I was overfeeding my fish, which I will start to remedy today!
So I think I have considered most of the possible causes and the reason I asked only about photo period and ferts is because those are the two that I didn't know how to approach from now on. I have come to the conclusion that ferts are not necessary at this point, but I am still not sure about splitting the photo period and dosing carbon (Excel)

I can't take a pic of the algae because I wiped it out yesterday, but it was spotty and maybe a liitle hairy, dark green to black in color and only on the plant leaves. Oh, and I couldn't wipe it off with my fingers, it was on there pretty good. I don't have anything on the glass and I don't think I can spot any on my bogwood either, but I did soak the wood and scrub it anyway.

I still haven't resolved how to fix the photo period or dose carbon so advice is still needed and appreciated.

 

[Batt4Christ]

The problem with getting a "straight" answer is that there are so many variables. Add to the confusion the different TYPES of light... And it's no wonder we get confused.

If using regular florescent lighting, then most plants need a minimum of 1 watt per gallon, with many doing a lot better with more (2+ watts per gallon). Where CO2 comes in (or other consistent carbon source) is when you. Approach the 2 Watt level.

CO2 injection isn't necessarily needed (tank/regulator/diffuser/etc) at that lighting level but won't generally hurt. Depending on tank sized- a DIY using yeast can work. But anything bigger than 20g tank becomes difficult to keep consistent and can be a pain (it's what I am using on a 29g, so I speak from experience).

Now- throwing out a big monkey wrench- I upgraded my lighting to. Dual T5 HO fixture. And had them going just over 13 hours a day. Plants went nuts- but so did the BBA and Staghorn algae. I supplemented the DIY CO2 with flourish excel. Still couldn't control the algae. After I put my light on a timer- 4 hours on, 5 hours off, 4 hours on, and only have one bulb on at a time- bba and Staghorn gone.

If you don't want to get into CO2 injection, then I would keep the wattage to no more than 1.5watts per gallon and dose with Flourish Excel. 12 hours of light, regardless of watts, will cause issues. 10 hours if the wattage isn't so high MIGHT be ok, if dosing with the Excel.

And as others have posed on other threads- sometimes we have to learn by experience.

Good luck!