CO2 to fight Algae?

[jbarr]

Hi
10 gal
50W Screw-In Fluorescents
glosso, stargrass, bacopa, pygmy chains, java moss, banana plant
Dose Fluorish Comprehensive 2x a week.
750ml DIY CO2

Theres been some strange algae in my 10 gal. First there was some green algae on the sand bed, so I limited my lighting. Now, 2 days later, the algae on the sand is gone but in the water column, is millions of small strands of clear greenish stuff. It gives the water a jelly-like look almost, and I fear it is a case of GW.



What causes greenwater?

Will limiting my light help it go away?

Will adding more CO2 help fight algae? Or can algae use CO2 just as much as plants??



I was planning on upgrading from 750mL to 2L. Would that be too drastic? Or would it help my battle against algae...
TIA and wish me luck, if we can even figure out what this is.

 

[rich311k]

moved to planted forum.

 

[Purrbox]

For a 10 gallon, I'd recommend at least a pair of 1 Liter bottles. By having two bottles you can rotate when you change the mix and achieve more consistant CO2 levels.

Green Water is normally caused by a spike in Ammonia (often gone before you can test for it).

The best way to battle green water is to get your CO2 levels up, and keep you nutrient levels good. Once this is done, if you are patient you can wait for it to go away on it's own (this will probably take months) or you can use one of several methods to try to knock it out quicker. These include a 3-5 day blackout, a UV Filter, a diatom filter, or FW Daphnia.

 

[rich311k]

Thanks Joy I completely missed the nitrate being 0. How old is this tank? What is it stocked with?

 

[jbarr]

Well it's been set up for about 6 months I'd say. Newly added sand. Stocked w/ nothing after I planted, about last month.

 

[Purrbox]

Since you don't have fish to provide nutrients for your plants you'll need to dose instead.

 

[jbarr]

I do dose, Flourish Comprehensive

 

[rich311k]

You need to add some nitrogen and most likely some potassium.

 

[Purrbox]

Flourish Comprehensive only takes care of the micro nutrients. As Rich said you'll need to look into dosing your macros - Nitrate, Potassium, and I would recommend Phosphate as well.

 

[jbarr]

I'm going to the LFS tomorrow, what would you folks recomend for Nitrate, Potassium and ossibly Phosphate? The LFS only sells Kent products, but what would you say? 5wpg and CO2?

 

[rkilling1]

I would look into dry ferts. They will last you a long time.

Greg watson was selling them, but he has sold his business to someone else. You can purchase them here:

http://www.aquariumfertilizer.com/store/aquaticplantfood.php

Other then that, Seachem also sells them in liquid form.

 

[Purrbox]

Most LFS don't carry the necessary product on the shelf, so you'll probably have to ask them to do a special order. You'd want Seachem Flourish Nitrogen, Seachem Flourish Phosphorus, and Seachem Flourish Potassium.

I'd also recommend going with dry ferts over, the Seachem Ferts. While both are good products, the dry ferts are a lot less expensive and will last a lot longer. You'd want to order KNO3, K2SO4, and KH2PO4. I'd also recommend ordering CSM+B, since shipping is the bulk of the order and then you have it on hand for when the Flourish Comprehensive runs out.