Need help badly......

[Lonewolfblue]

Here's some pics of my algae problem. I got home from work and this is what it looked like. The only thing I did this morning was do my CSM+B dosing for my micros. I did my tests tonight, and nitrates are right around 20ppm, and my phosphates are just a touch under 2ppm. What do I need to do to combat this? I just can't seen to win this battle.

Also, tonight I'm cutting my lighting down to 130W plus 130W actinics. Will work from there.

Any ideas is greatly appreciated. The tank is turning south real fast, and I want to stop it from getting any worse.

This last pic isn't part of the problem. It's just to show how big my banana plant is getting. The big leaf is about 6 inches across.

 

[Glenc]

I feel for you. It is very disheartening when algea kicks in. How are your CO2 levels? Maybe you could kick it up to 30 ppm for a while and see what happens. If the algea keeps up you may have to remove the badly infected plants and start again. I'll send you some of mine if you have to do this. HTH

 

[Lonewolfblue]

My kh is 80 (4.5)
My ph goes from 6.5-6.7 via a controller.
So that puts me from 27ppm to 43ppm

Also, most of the algae, with the exception of the first pics, is high up. I can just cut the infected parts off the vals, and take out some of the infected amazon sword leaves, but the first pic is from bottom to top like that.

Edit....

As for pic #5, is that due to a deficiency?

 

[Glenc]

Your CO2 level is very good. I think you are on the right track. Cut the lighting back and see what happens. Hopefully the algea will melt away. I'm sure someone with more experience that I have will chime in soon. Good luck.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I'm also switching to a 50/50 bulb in my 26G because my L. repens is starting to look like your plants that are melting away when you upped the lighting. I think I'm just not cut for real high lighting yet. But the hands on experience really gives you a good education.

 

[Purrbox]

I think your right about pic 5 being a sign of a nutrient deficiency. Since you're NO3 and PO4 levels are good, my bet is on Potassium. One of the many signs of Potassium deficiency is pinholes which slowly expand. Try upping the Potassium dosing and you may find that it helps with the algae as well.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

As for my Potassium, I dose 15ppm after water changes once a week, and about 5ppm mid-week. I might tru 10ppm mid-week to see what happens.

 

[sherry]

I dose potassium every other day.. I am about to cut out nitrate and ph osphate dosing due ot high fish load... but I follow EI as far as potassium goes.

maybe it would help.

maybe in fact you should try a straight EI for a bit and see how that works for you...

www.barrreport.com

 

[Lonewolfblue]

What is EI?

 

[rich311k]

http://www.barrreport.com/forums/showthread.php?t=1

It is what I am doing. So far so good.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

If it doesn't get much better in the near future, would a total black-out be out of the question?

 

[czcz]

Total blackout may or may not kill some of the current algae, but won't cure the problem. Pic 5 looks like new growth and so points at trace deficiency Can you answer all the questions in the plants need help sticky?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

In order to provide definitive assistance, provide as many answers to the following questions as you are currently able to:

~Plant(s) affected? All
~Tank size/volume? 75G
~Lighting/wpg? 390W CF + 130W Actinic
~Do you inject CO2? If so do you know the level? 27-43ppm
~What do pH, KH, PO4, NH3 and/or NO3 test kits say? ph 6.5, kh 80, NH3 0ppm, NO3 20ppm
~Dosing? What/how much/how often? Nitrogen 2x weekly to bring levels up to 20ppm, Phosphate 2x weekly to bring to just over 2ppm. Traces 2x weekly as CSM+B
~Heavily, moderately, or lightly planted? Heavily
~Fish stock? Yes, low to moderately stocked
~Tank Location (near windows - in direct sunlight)? No
~How long has tank been set up? Feb 2006

 

[czcz]

How fast are NO3 and PO4 dropping according to tests? Can you test vs a known solution to validate the test results?

Simply adding to the posts above, running one fixture all daylight (260w CF) is still very high light. Even with this light, suggest you keep nominal CO2 levels above 35ppm. (Yes, that 5ppm can go a long way ) I understand your desire for red plants, but it often comes as you defeat algae by gaining command of nutrients. The one guy running as much light as your current set-up successfully is Travis... it's simply guru level.

Third the EI recommendation.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I haven't really calculated my uptake yet. Will do it in the near future. Having to work 14 days straight, which I have 4 more days to go, just been doing a quick test here and there and dosing.

 

[Screwylui]

i 'm not sure if this has much merit but i have heard that actinic can actually increase algae production. In lowering the light not only are you harming the algae but your plants too.. and since algae tends to be the more resiliant of the too i bet it might even get worse. why not shoot for about 3 wpg and give the plants a chance to thrive and beat out the algae? ... if you haven't done so already.. sometimes it seem slike the only way to win is to start cutting leaves off...

 

[Lonewolfblue]

i 'm not sure if this has much merit but i have heard that actinic can actually increase algae production. In lowering the light not only are you harming the algae but your plants too.. and since algae tends to be the more resiliant of the too i bet it might even get worse. why not shoot for about 3 wpg and give the plants a chance to thrive and beat out the algae? ... if you haven't done so already.. sometimes it seem slike the only way to win is to start cutting leaves off...

I've already cut some leaves off, and am doing more. I pick on the worst case leaves. Also, for anacharis, can you cut it down to near the roots and have it grow back? If I were to cut down most of the plant, will it come back? I know they say you shouldn't trim more than 50% or something like that, but for anacharis, which is the worst hit, would it regrow if I cut it down?

Edit:
Lower light probably wouldn't be good for my dwarf hairgrass, so I'm going to run 130W in the back, 130W in the front, and 130W actinic in the middle. Thinking about cutting off the actinics to see if that has any effect on the algae.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Another question, will cutting back on the time I have the lights on help? Currently they are on from 7:30 am to 9:00pm. If I were to cut it back to like 10-12 hours, would that possibly help?

I was also thinking of a break from the light at 11am to 1pm (2 hours). Would that possibly help any with the algae problem?

 

[Purrbox]

I would definately cut your lighting back to no more than 12 hours, possibly even as far as 8 hours. With as high as your light levels are this will make it easier to get things under control. Once you've got the algae beat you can slowly increase how long the lights are on up to the 12 hours.

As far as putting a break in the middle of the lighting cycle, I've never found it to be beneficial in beating algae or detrimental to plant health. Some people have reported great sucess using this method. Go ahead and give it a try if you want.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Well, I haven't dosed my tank in 2 days, and things are starting to look a little better. Maybe my testing just isn't accurate, and I'm getting the levels just too high. Will go another day without dosing macros and see how things look.