Bacterial bloom turned into algae bloom?

[eco23]

doing big WC's will definitely reduce the green water issue, but you are still left with figuring out what caused it to begin with.

I know people say actinics are useless but I've also seen people say that algae can use it.

I've yet to see any real data going either direction, so if I was battling this problem it would be something i'd keep on the table. I've not tested it in any serious fashion so I cannot say either way.

I don't know if the fert dosing once a week is going to make or break the issue, I'd stick with the lighting solutions first.

I'll definitely reduce the lighting, but I've gotta blame the ferts at least a bit because I've had these lights with the same routine for months and the algae never showed up until I switched to real plants and dosed the plant food a couple times.

 

[jetajockey]

yeah it definitely could be fert related, even though your dosing is extremely minimal. A greenwater algae bloom can build slowly over days so it may have been coming on for a while now.

 

[fort384]

What plants do you have eco? Hair algae loves an excess of micros like you are dosing, and if you have slow growers, they will uptake very little of what you are adding.

 

[eco23]

What plants do you have eco? Hair algae loves an excess of micros like you are dosing, and if you have slow growers, they will uptake very little of what you are adding.

I have some Java Moss, Vals (3), A Morimo Ball (1), Water Sprite (2 but bushy), Micro Swords (2), and a mystery plant I can't remember the name of, plus some little spriggy things Severum Mama sent me with my Amano Shrimp.

I haven't seen any signs of hair algae, just a major diatom outbreak that ended a while ago (which now that I think about it ended rather recently) and occasional tiny green spots on the glass. My Otos and shrimp keep everything pretty tidy.

 

[fort384]

hmmm ok. I would still say most of those plants do not require much in the way of dosed micros...

I think cutting the micro out, doing a few large water changes, and severely cutting back on light for awhile will get it under control. Once it is back to normal, I would try a 1/4 dose of the trace instead.

 

[eco23]

You guys are awesome. I'll get this thing knocked out and go with the recommendations. Thanks guys.