Algae issue! Help

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fishfinatic89

Aquarium Advice Apprentice
Joined
Oct 5, 2014
Messages
25
Location
Michigan, USA
I have an algae question. A few months ago I started having hair algae issues. Well anyways I started dosing co2 booster and changing out diy co2 every week. I keep my lights on 10hr a day. I run a phosphate remover. All ammonia nitrite and nitrate are perfect. I do weekly water changes but it still seems like it's still growing. I'm lost...does any body have any suggestions?

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10 hrs is a bit much,try reducing your photo-period to 6 hrs daily&that should help..

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Six hours don't seem very long at all. But I will try having it on less

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I run all my planted tanks with a 6 hr photo-period...

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!
 
Well it won't hurt to try I have it on a timer which makes it easier but thanks for the suggestion. I dose co2 booster and have diy co2 what's your opinion on that

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If this is a 55g then DIY may not produce enough CO2. Increase the amount of CO2 booster or Excel. Glutaraldehyde is a more economical alternative.
I run my lights for a total of 7 hours. Two fixtures that provide periods of medium and high light. Injected CO2. I dose PPS-Pro with triple dose phosphate. When the phosphate levels on my tank were <2 ppm outbreaks of green spot algae would occur. Plants were not looking so good at the time.
Why you are running a phosphate remover? To prevent algae growth? Yes, algae utilize phosphate. So do the plants. The healthier the plants, the better they can out compete the algae for nutrients.
Phosphate levels and algae are discussed in this link: http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=108467#/forumsite/20495/topics/108467?page=1


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Yes it is a 55 and Oh I did not know that plants used phosphates well I guess that would makes sense since algae is also a plant but I will remove the phosphate remover. Do you have any suggestions to how to keep the phosphates down other? But I do put two caps full of the seachem excel everyday. But maybe it is my lighting. I also run a bubbler 24/7 would it be best if I shut that off during the day or no?

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Yes it is a 55 and Oh I did not know that plants used phosphates well I guess that would makes sense since algae is also a plant but I will remove the phosphate remover. Do you have any suggestions to how to keep the phosphates down other? But I do put two caps full of the seachem excel everyday. But maybe it is my lighting. I also run a bubbler 24/7 would it be best if I shut that off during the day or no?

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Phosphate reduction can occur through water changes (assuming the water source contains little to no phosphate). Feeding low phosphate (higher quality) foods is a great way to reduce the introduction of phosphate. Of course, plants and algae consume phosphate.
What kind of lighting is on the tank? The amount of lighting will dictate the amount of fertilizer and carbon needed. You mentioned Excel, anything else? What plants are currently growing in there? I have a med-high light tank that gets CO2, an Excel equivalent, and ferts daily. I have a low light tank that only gets root supplements every few months. Both grow plants and have little algae. They key is the balance between lighting, ferts, and carbon.
Running the bubbler 24/7 is fine since you are not injecting CO2 gas.
If you are considering an economical alternative to Excel, check out Metricide 14. Metricide 14 is a sterilizing and disinfecting solution that contains a product called Glutaraldehyde. This is the same active ingredient found in Seachem Excel and API CO2 Booster. Volume wise, 1 gallon of Metricide 14 equals 7.5 bottles of Excel (500 mL). Strength wise, it is equivalent to about 15 bottles of Excel. It costs about $25 online. Do not confuse Metricide 14 with Metricide 28. The latter contains some ingredients not suitable for the tank.



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Wow seems like you sure know your stuff. Well I run a diy co2 that I change out weekly that I also disconnect every night (yes a waste) but I dose excel and seachem flourish and do about 40% water changes weekly's. I run one of those 48" national geographic programmable lighting strips. I believe the k rating is 6500k and 10000k with the blue not sure of the lumens so what you call that low to medium lighting

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Most likely put you on the low end of lighting taking the depth of the tank into account...

Getcha feet wet fish tank people!
 
Yeah I'm not sure what defines what category your in it's three separate LED strips on the tank

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Depth is a killer in terms of lighting. That is why I went with a 20g long. Shallow and decent footprint. Lower cost for lighting and ferts. Still, it is a small tank.
You should run your DIY CO2 24/7. I did in the 20 and according the to drop checker, for the most part the CO2 was okay (color was between blue green and green). I was using two 2 L bottles. It never turned yellow green or yellow (too much CO2). I did not run additional aeration at night.
Tiger is probably right about the light output. I will see if there is published PAR data for that fixture at that depth. My favorite low light plants are crypts.


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Yes I run two 2Liter bottles in the 55 so I'm sure that the co2 adsorption would be even lower then your 20long plus running the aeration.. I will try the co2 overnight will the aeration at first and then compare it with out aeration and I believe all my plants are pretty simple I have crypt wendtii, anubias nana, wisteria, red lidwigia repens, s repens, Argentine sword,


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Sounds like a plan.
Those swords and crypts do appreciate substrate fertilization. I've tried Seachem Root Tabs, AquaFertz Root pellets, and recently received some Mebbid style DIY osmocote+ root tablets. The first one was too expensive, the second one decent (came in three flavors: Total, Phosphate, and Iron), and I have yet to try the third. But I've heard good feedback and the last one.
Having a small tank has its drawbacks. Large swords like the ones you have are out of the question. Of course, the number/types of fish can be limited.
Good luck with this.


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Yes I have dirt in the aquarium with a gravel cap. I've only had this setup for about 3 months or so the nutrients in the dirt should still be good... I also have tried the diy osmocote works well actually! I'm thinking of sticking some in here or bad idea?... I just wish my s repens would grow faster. That could be a cause of weak light I'm sure. But I will your suggestions and see what the results will be

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