Help!!!! String Algae taking over!!!

[drab808]

Hi everyone. I have had a problem with string algae for a while but it is now starting to become a major problem!

All my moss is basically covered in this string algae. It isn't attached to the moss but rather just entangled with it. It wraps onto the other plants in the tank too.

My lighting at the moment is 3 x 18 watt bulbs for 6 hours per day. 6500 k lights are 60 cm above substrate with a glass top over the tank. I dose a nutrient mix with every water change. I have 2 mollies and now 2 Siamese algae eaters as well. I also have 2 German Rams in the tank. And 2 glass catfish. I recently moved all other inhabitants (tetras) to another tank.

I do a 30% water change weekly.

I'm trying hydrogen peroxide dosing to see if it will solve my problem. I dosed two times today, 5 ml of 6% concentration. I've done a few tests on the algae in a bucket with like 200 ml water and 5ml of the h2o2 but the algae still doesn't seem phased.

Btw my tank is 100 liters and I'm guessing about 5 liters in the filter.

The tank was recently restarted but I kept the old filter without cleaning it at all. The lighting is new but the algae already started with my previous lighting.

Here are a few photos of the lighting and algae I have







Any advice is greatly appreciated


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[ScotJudd]

I've not used hydrogen peroxide but I have used Excel with great success. The algae needs to be removed manually as best possible, I twist round a rough stick and pull it out. Then spot treat it with Excel or peroxide. Turn off your filters and air stones. Let the water movement cease, about a couple of minutes. Then using a pipette or syringe aim an undiluted dose of your algaecide slowly and directly at the algae. Leave it five minutes and then turn on your filters etc. Repeat daily. The algae should turn red after a day or so and then melt away. You can't really treat the whole tank at once, only a small area. With patience you can totally kill off the algae. If it returns hit it early before it gets a hold. I now dose the tank daily with Excel, I have a lot of plants, and the algae has never come back. This also works for black beard algae. Hope that's of some help.


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[drab808]

I've not used hydrogen peroxide but I have used Excel with great success. The algae needs to be removed manually as best possible, I twist round a rough stick and pull it out. Then spot treat it with Excel or peroxide. Turn off your filters and air stones. Let the water movement cease, about a couple of minutes. Then using a pipette or syringe aim an undiluted dose of your algaecide slowly and directly at the algae. Leave it five minutes and then turn on your filters etc. Repeat daily. The algae should turn red after a day or so and then melt away. You can't really treat the whole tank at once, only a small area. With patience you can totally kill off the algae. If it returns hit it early before it gets a hold. I now dose the tank daily with Excel, I have a lot of plants, and the algae has never come back. This also works for black beard algae. Hope that's of some help.


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Thanks scott. I shall try some spot treatment today


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