algae and tiny bubbles

[xgarland77x]

Whats up guys, I came home today after adding more C02 to my diy system and there is a film of tiny bubbles on the surface, the plants and the drift wood. algae started slow and is now starting to get "healthy" mostly on my plants. I added a 96 watt coralife compact strip about a week ago, and I'm only putting sea chem flourish into the system once a week. I put up some photos. What do you guys think???

 

[fort384]

The bubbles are no problem. My tank is always covered on the surface. The bubbles on the plants are healthy. They are oxygen. It is called pearling. My guess would be you are bottoming out on some nutrient, which is allowing algae growth. . A good fert schedule includes dosing multiple times per week. What are your nitrates checking at? Do u have a P test kit?

 

[xgarland77x]

ph is 6.6
my drop checker is a nice green (see pic)
nitrate is 20ppm...

 

[fort384]

Co2 is not the issue, you are looking good there ( must be a great diy system ). Nitrates are good. My guess is you are low on P, k, or a trace element.

 

[xgarland77x]

how can you test for those?

 

[fort384]

Well first, are you adding any trace, k, or P? K and trace you do not need to test for. Most decent lfs's will sell a p test kit (or PO4).

 

[fort384]

Also what size is your tank again? And what is the color temp of your bulbs? That is an awful lot of light for a tank with diy co2. Also how long per day are you running the light?

 

[xgarland77x]

30 Gallon
96 watt 6700k
around 14 hours

 

[Purrbox]

Cut back on your light to 8 - 12 hours per day. Closer to 12 hours when growing out plants and closer to 8 hours when maintaining your scape or fighting algae.

What type of algae are you dealing with? Often the type of algae can help determine which nutrient is lacking.

 

[xgarland77x]

I think its the black bb one, got pics up above.

 

[Purrbox]

Unfortunately it's very difficult for me to tell from you pictures what you're dealing with. I believe you are referring to Black Brush Algae (BBA).

If it is BBA, then low fluctuating levels of CO2 is often the cause. This is a very common problem when using DIY CO2, since it fluctuation by its very nature. The key is to keep levels above 30ppm even at the lowest to avoid its spread. Generally it doesn't go away on it's own even when you've fixed the problem, it just stops spreading. You'll need to remove the affected leaves. You can also supplement with Flourish Excel and spot treat the affected areas to kill off the BBA. Do keep in mind that some plants, especially Vals and Anacharis do not react well to Excel especially when it is overdosed.