Algae

[jacpr233]

Does fish waste contribute to algae problems???

I have a 72 gal planted tank. There is about 50 small community fish. I do water changes every Sunday 20%. Light is on for 9 hours a day. I feed once a day. Fish eat food within one minute.
I don't know what to do with the Algae. I clean scrub the tank twice a week. It's becoming annoying.

 

[adadkins1]

Yes, fish waste is just one contributing factor for algae. Excess/deficiencies of macro and micro nutrients and CO2 levels have a large impact too. Could you elaborate, what are the fish and how many of each? What types of plants do you have? What type of lighting system? Do you use any ferts? What are your nitrate readings?

Sounds like a lot, but that is a lot of what goes into play with algae.

 

[bigbanker]

Some of the easiest ways to control algae is to reduce how long the lights are on and reduce how much you feed your fish

 

[jacpr233]

My stock is
bala shark 3
Serpea tetra 6
Penguin tetra 1
Zebra danios 6
Sterbai Cory 1
Odessa barb 2
Zebra snails 2
Rasboras 4
Bloodfins 4
Cory metae 2
Neon tetras 10
Black neon tetra 2
Unknown barb 3
Pleco 2
Siamese algae eaters 6
Clams 2
Otos 4

My plants are
Amazon swords
Melon swords
Java fern
Hygrophilia corymbosa
Anubia nana
Congo anubia

My lighting is a wavepoint with two tropical wave bulb, one 12k and a pink one for plant growth. Light is on for 9 hours a day with a timer.

Feeding is once a day. Fish eat food within one minute.

Ferts are flourish excel, nitrogen, phosphate, iron, potassium and comprehensive. All from seachem. I dose according to dosing label in bottles.

 

[adadkins1]

Is this a T5HO light setup? Perhaps your problem is the bulbs, the 12,000K bulb cannot be used by the plants, but the algae can use it. Also, do you test your nitrates? Nitrates of over 20ppm will aid in algae growth. It does sound like you are feeding properly so main issues are lighting and macro nutrient levels. Something you could try is a split photoperiod. Set the timer so that the light is on 4 hours in the morning, then off a couple hours, and on 4 more hours in the evening. I do this with all my tanks and it has really helped reduce algae issues. You can set it up any times you want, the main thing is splitting up the time the light is on. If need be you can also decrease your photoperiod to 6 hours.

 

[jacpr233]

I don't know exactly what my nitrate is but I do 20% water change every Sunday and every saturday I take a sample to the LFS and they tell me the water is good. What light should I replace the 12k with. What's the reason the plants don't like the 12k?

Would getting a carpet of baby tears or something hardier help with the algae control?

 

[jacpr233]

Yes the light set up is T5HO

 

[Paxdaddy]

I'm not very experienced but I would say you want lights to be in the 6500k range. A 12000k is more for reef tanks

 

[jacpr233]

Would a carpet of any foreground help??

 

[Paxdaddy]

Would a carpet of any foreground help??

A more experienced member will have to answer that. I'm not sure

 

[jacpr233]

Ok thx for the info

 

[adadkins1]

Yes, a light of 6,500-10,000K would be better for the plants. The reason it needs to be in this range is because it mimics natural sunlight. Outside of this range and the light is not really benefiting the plants. I personally would highly suggest you get a Nitrate liquid test kit by API. They are highly regarded and very accurate. If your nitrates are high and you are dosing ferts, then that could be part of the reason the algae is having a hay day. Please excuse my lack of experience with T5HO, but what is the total watts of the light fixture you are running?

 

[CorallineAlgae]

How old are your light bulbs. Old bulbs always grow more algae than plants, though it could be any number of things causing this.

A nitrate test kit really is important to have. Stores that just say your water is "good" aren't giving you much practical information. Knowing your tanks actual levels is so much more useful than just getting the approval of a store clerk.

How much water flow is your tank getting? In a tank your size it can be very helpful to have good water movement, in addition to very clean filters.

Also, adding ground cover can be a two sided sword. On the one hand having more plants to consume nutrients can be beneficial... it also means you won't be able to clean your sand nearly as easily.

 

[jacpr233]

I purchased the light bulbs 2 months ago. I will buy a test kit and start doing it on my own today. I think the lighting I have is giving 3 watts per gallon (not sure tho).

I don't know what to do anymore with the algae..I have tried what all the LFS around me say but there is no success in eliminating it for a week. It always come back.

 

[adadkins1]

Well, perhaps the amount of lighting is too high. If you do actually have 200 and some odd watts of T5HO over that tank it very well may need CO2 injection, but I'm not positive. Plus the test kit will help a ton in determining if nitrates are the cause.

 

[Paxdaddy]

Just make sure you get a liquid test kit. Like the API that was recommended. Don't waste your money on the strips. The liquid test kits are far more accurate

 

[Paxdaddy]

Also when I first started I didn't know too much and I would take my water to petsmart for them to test it because I thought my ammonia was too high. They used the strips a d got the same results I did but said it was fine and not to worry about it. I listened to them and my fish were dieing left and right because of the high ammonia. That's when I stopped having them test my water. Not saying all employees are like that. Some are very good and helpful. Just some of them don't have the knowledge or just don't care.

 

[jacpr233]

Thx for the info. I will get that kit tonight. Is a 50% water change risky or healthy? I'm I'm trying to get rid of the algae

 

[adadkins1]

50% is a lot, generally it is better to do 2 smaller ones. Do a 25% today and one tomorrow. Just seems to be a little safer IMO. Also, make sure to test nitrates before the water change so you get a more accurate number.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Well, perhaps the amount of lighting is too high. If you do actually have 200 and some odd watts of T5HO over that tank it very well may need CO2 injection, but I'm not positive. Plus the test kit will help a ton in determining if nitrates are the cause.

You make a great point. Could well be to much light on a non co2 injected tank.

OP, does your light fixture let you run only one bulb? If may be a good idea to use only one bulb for the next few weeks to see if that's your algae culprit. It may be worth a shot. My light fixture is also 2x2 T5s and even with overly high co2 being injected managing algae is insanely tricky. I can only have both bulbs on at once. If I didn't use lots of co2 and add plenty of ferts AND do weekly water changes algae would overrun my tank. Even with all that, it's a pain. T5 lights are just so powerful.