The fuzzy green nightmare

[Kilgore]

Hello,

I have been dealing with 3 types of algae in my tank, and I finally have the brown algae beat, and the thread algae is likewise a goner, but the green fuzzy "carpet" algae just won't die!

My setup is as follows: 25 gallon, 65 watt CF = 2.6 wpg, densely planted. I don't have a phosphate test kit, but nitrogen is 15 ppm. I concluded that my algae problem was due to a combiation of high light and lack of CO2.

So, I finally got my KH up to 3 with the help of baking soda, and felt comfortable starting up my Nutrafin CO2 system. It has been running for over a week now, and I can see the bubbles forming and following the diffuser path, so it is working properly. Since then, however, my pH has not changed one bit, which I assume means neither has my CO2 level! According to Chuck's CO2 calculator, the CO2 level is "low" at 9ppm, since the pH is 7 and KH is 3. But obviously this hasn't changed since before I even started using the CO2. I am considering adding a 2nd canister, but I am not sure if that would help, or just be a waste of money. I have $30 to spend on another Nutrafin canister, but not $100 on a whole CO2 system. Plus I'd have to add shipping, and buying a container locally. Not to mention that I am terrible at DIY stuff.

Shouldn't the Nutrafin be doing better than 9 ppm!? Isn't my target like 30? I can't see even getting close to that. Maybe the CO2 calc is wrong, but the algae says my CO2 level is not high enough, either way. What do I do?

 

[czcz]

9ppm out of the Nutrafin for 25gals makes sense. Its just not much of a generator and does not have a very efficient diffusor.

Whats the pH like afer raising KH to 3 degrees?

Even if you're terrible with other DIY stuff, you can do the DIY for another canister. Really. This is a great article: http://www.qsl.net/w2wdx/aquaria/diyco2.html#2

Another option is to buy or build a more efficient diffusor (replacing the Hagen ladder). This will either be more expensive or time consuming than your other options, but is also easy. Waste to have a great diffusor without more CO2 generation, though.

I think you're correct that more CO2 will help beat that stuff provided dosing is in order, fwiw. If you don't trust the charts, in the end you can just use certain algae as indicators for inappropriate levels of CO2.

HTH

 

[maxwell1295]

Get yourself 1 gallon juice bottle, some Jello mix, and some winemaking yeast. I have 2 of them running simultaneously on my 30gal tank and get a fairly steady 25-30ppm of CO2.

I'm going to write up a more detailed explanation of how I set up the "DIY Jello" generator sometime today...

 

[Kilgore]

Whats the pH like afer raising KH to 3 degrees?

My pH was originally 6.6 with a KH of about 1.5 ppm; after raising it very gradually with baking soda over a period of 3 weeks, I was able to raise the KH to 3 - the resulting pH was 7.0.

The odd thing is that it doesn't seem to fluctuate at all, in spite of using the Nutrafin canister, so I guess I didn't need to be too concerned about getting the KH up in the first place.

As for DIY CO2, I appreciate the link to that article, but realistically speaking, it would take me hours to drive all over town to get all those parts and put everything together (I can't even begin to guess where I would get a "bulkhead" fitting). Plus, as the article states, that reactor alone would come to 35$. After I buy the bulkhead, the sealant, the tubing, the powerhead, and the reactor, and other miscellaneous parts, I guess I just don't see how that would come to much of a savings over, for example, the $119 Semi-Automatic CO2 System from drsfostersmith.com. Of course, I would have to buy the CO2 canister locally - and I have no idea where to even begin calling about that, or how much it would be. And what do you do with them when they're empty?

So..... I am a little confused as to how to proceed from here. There has to be a cheaper, more efficient way to supply CO2 to small tanks. I am curious about the system maxwell1295 describes, but hesitant to use Jello anywhere near my tanks. Maybe there is a more simple DIY CO2 system than that article describes; after all, my tank is not that big.

Hhhhmmm, heard anything good or bad about the new "Turbo CO2 Bio Sytem"? It comes with a powerhead for diffusion, supposedly works for aquariums up to 40 gallons....

 

[rich311k]

Well even with pressurized you would need the reactor etc. You can get away with just the tubing and silicone and a few check valves. I just drill a hole in a bottle top, jam the airline through and seal it. Works fine. I have a check valve on each bottle to keep the system pressurized when I change mixes. The efficient reactor is the key to the whole thing though.

 

[czcz]

Are those KH and pH values from water that has been sitting (say, in a glass) outside the aquarium for 24 hours? If so, you may have some thing (a buffer) in your tap that breaks the KH/pH/CO2 relationship, but pH should still lower after injection. Have you limited surface agitation in the aquarium to keep CO2 from gassing off?

For the DIY bottle caps, you don't need the bulkhead, and instead could use regular airline fittings from the LFS, or force the tubbing through the hole in the bottle cap for a mechanical seal. (Little super glue for a better seal would be wise.) You could still use the Nutrafin ladder by combining both yeast generators with a T.

edit -- um, what Rich said. -- /edit

The cost estimate for a powered reactor in LeVassuer's article is a little high, just fyi.

How about Flourish Excel as a supplement to the Nutrafin? Excel is not quite as effective as CO2 in terms of providing carbon/plant growth, but is an algaecide and will help with such algae.

The Red Sea Turbo CO2 unit has its fans because it is a simple powered reactor and generator, and eliminates the need for DIY (save for mix changes). I do not think it would provide adequate CO2 for a med+ light 40 gallon, for what its worth. Getting one and using a T to add the Nutrafin cannister should work well in your 25gal, though.

 

[Kilgore]

Well, you guys have certainly given me some great ideas. I didn't think it needed to be as complicated as that article describes, at least not for a smaller tank, where efficiency is less important. I mean, if I was trying to make one soda bottle worth of CO2 work for a 55 gallon, I would be willing to put more effort into ensuring that there was no leakage, but when the water volume is less, it doesn't seem quite as important.

Let's see, my shopping list will be:

soda bottle (2 liter or larger)
aquarium sealant (or is superglue better?)
CO2 resistant tubing
check valve (regular airline kind, I am assuming)
reactor (whether I buy one or make it myself remains to be seen)
diffuser (or is that the same as the reactor? Lol, I don't even know!)

I am still considering the RedSea Turbo system for my 25 in combination with the Nutrafin, but when I get better lighting for my 46 I will definitely want to go with the DIY system described above.

The most important thing now is to look up the proper yeast/sugar/water ratios so that I don't make a timebomb in my living room. I told you I was terrible at DIY!

 

[rich311k]

Reactor is the bottle to make the CO2 diffuser dispenses it in the water. You can use your ladder you already have as your diffuser they work pretty well. You are correct on the rest of the list. I use silicone to seal but superglue or a hot glue gun will work as well.

 

[Kilgore]

Are those KH and pH values from water that has been sitting (say, in a glass) outside the aquarium for 24 hours? If so, you may have some thing (a buffer) in your tap that breaks the KH/pH/CO2 relationship, but pH should still lower after injection. Have you limited surface agitation in the aquarium to keep CO2 from gassing off?

Sorry, forgot to answer this. There is actually a difference between the off-gassed water and the aquarium water, but it is minor - only a 0.2 difference. The off-gassed water has a pH of 7.2 and the aquarium water is around 7.0. Occassionally it seems like its closer to 6.8 but I think the AP test is kind of hard to interpret. I just try to determine if it is more green (lower pH), or more blue (higher pH). I have tested at end of day, and first thing in the morning, with little appreciable difference - I guess that is what I meant by "no change in the pH."

As for surface agitation, I have an Eheim Ecco canister filter with an outlet that sits about 3 inches below the surface. I wouldn't call it agitation, but there is definitely some surface movement. Not enough, however, to break up the film that forms from the Excel that I use. You said it was an algicide... but so far, I haven't seen any proof of that. I started adding a half cap every day about one week ago (before that, I had only been using it every other day). The fuzzy green nightmare just keeps getting worse.