Help with Algae

[eelz]

I have a alot of algae in my cichlid tank. It attaches and grows on all the rocks, airtubes etc in the tank.

Here are a couple of pictures to give an idea of how heavy it is.
Note: It does not grow long, just covers the surfaces with 0.5-1.0 inch long algae filaments.

Is this algae bad / good? What are my options to control it / get rid of it?

 

[colinquilliam1]

How often are you feeding, doing water changes etc and are you running co2, over dosing ferts maybe? & what is your lighting period?

 

[eelz]

Feed twice a day. 20% water change every 2 weeks. Not running co2. Lights are on for 16hrs per day.

 

[colinquilliam1]

Thats your problem. Feeding too much and lights on too long.
I would do 50% a week for a few weeks. Feed every 2 days and cut lights to about 8/9 hrs.

If you can get those rocks out easily you can spray them with hydrogen peroxide, leave for 30mins, scrub with a stiff brush then put them back in. You can spot dose with it too using a syringe. Most chemists sell 6% proof but 3% is not as quick. Dont spray near the fish though.

 

[Fresh2o]

Yes, increase those water changes and reduce the lighting period. I am a firm believer that excessive inorganic wastes (along with light) fuels the growth of BBA (black beard algae).

 

[eelz]

I can remove the rocks easily enough. Will Hydrogen Peroxide 3% work - I can get that at my local Walmart?

Would there be a certain solution I can setup in a bucket and just take the rocks out and set them in the the bucket of solution. Leave it for a certain amount of time to kill the algae then take out scrub, rinse and put back in the aquarium?

 

[colinquilliam1]

Hi buddy. The thing is, you "could" do a very weak bleach dip but you run the risk of putting it in your tank, same with weak soapy water. Hydrogen when mixed in water it converts to o2 so wont harm the fish. Its great stuff and easy to use. Put it in a spray bottle and blitz it. Cover it all, leave and scrub. It may fizz and bubble when you put them back in but it will be fine and the fish love the bubbles. Its good for cleaning the tank if you ever strip a tank too. I clean all my filter pipes etc with it.
If you get algae on leaves you can spot dose with a syringe.

Any probs just ask

 

[RetiredJedi]

I can remove the rocks easily enough. Will Hydrogen Peroxide 3% work - I can get that at my local Walmart?

Would there be a certain solution I can setup in a bucket and just take the rocks out and set them in the the bucket of solution. Leave it for a certain amount of time to kill the algae then take out scrub, rinse and put back in the aquarium?

Possibly a distilled white vinegar soak?

 

[earhtmother]

Silly question if it converts to O2

 

[earhtmother]

Do I have to try to "dry" any algae covered plastic plants before dipping them

 

[colinquilliam1]

Up to you, let them soak or dip and put back in. I dont touch plastic plants lol

 

[Fresh2o]

Bleach works. I’ve used a diluted bleach solution to remove algae/BBA. Lots of rinsing afterwards along with a soak that included a dechlorinator

 

[speedy51]

Hi bleach, vinegar or hydrogen peroxide will work. The down side is that you will also be killing off all the beneficial bacteria that is also growing on the rocks. I’m not sure how big your tank is, how long it has been running or even the type of filtration but before you go pulling out rocks to dip make sure your filter is well seasoned. I agree with colinquilliam1 you need to cut back on the feedings, increase your water change and cutback on the lights.

The major contributor to you algae is your lights and the high nutrients or phosphate in the water column. These are your food source for the algae growth. If you don’t chemically treat your rock, you can pull out tank water and scrub down the rocks with a brush removing all the algae and put them back in. Just make sure you follow up with lower light period less food and more water changes.

If do go the route of bleach get yourself a bottle of Seachem Prime or equavilent. This will neutralize the bleach. Good luck

 

[Angellove78]

You can be on the safe side clean the rocks in hot water and bake them for 5 mins. And with the plastic plants I'd clean them best I could in hot water the boil them. I worry about using bleach, vinegar, all that stuff. But that's just me. Just thought I'd put my 2 cents in on this.

 

[Paul1792]

I had a "BBA soap opera" as well.

A few years ago I had a classic BBA disaster caused by multiple issues as I described in post #7 in this thread:

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/bba-problem-311191.html

I agree with the advice given so far and for me, increasing water changes, feeding once rather than twice a day, and reducing light did the trick.

Nitrates - which serve as food for algae - build up quickly - and the only thing that has not been mentioned so far I believe is that you should test your nitrates with an API test kit or equivalent. Most of the experts in this forum tend to try and keep nitrates under 20 ppm .... but frankly, I am happy when they are under 40ppm and my water is crystal clear and the fish are healthy.
https://www.amazon.com/dp/B000255NC...t=&hvlocphy=9011684&hvtargid=pla-348697791053

http://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f12/seachem-test-kits-vs-api-test-kit-358695.html

Strange, my local Petco, Petsmart, & Petland all tell customers to change water 25% a month. Not good advice for keeping nitrates in check where levels could easily reach 100-200 ppm.

 

[colinquilliam1]

Its learning all the routines that is the hardest part and keeping on top of it.

Loads of info and a wealth of knowlege on here but my tip as always been "keep it simple". Very easy to get bogged down with advice that can sometimes blind you with science.

 

[eelz]

Update... Today I took the rocks out and hit them with the pressure washer then sprayed them with Hydrogen Peroxide. 50% water change and added an old air curtain that was kicking around since I had the big rocks out. Fingers crossed with less light, food and increased water changes the BBA stays under control. Here is an update on how it looks now.

 

[Angellove78]

Verrrrry nice! Love all those rocks!

 

[colinquilliam1]

Much better looking now