Help with Algae plz

[kaz]

I have algae that looks black in dots sort of and its growing upwards like hair in some parts. I tried to just take it off with my fingers but this doesnt not come out easily. on some plants I just broke off the leafs at the stem. I then thought about maybe a black molly would take care of this problem or a bamboo shrimp? can anyone give me help with this plz thank you.

 

[Zezmo]

Sounds like BBA.... search this thread for BBA and you will find a lot of info on stopping it.

coughco2fluctuationcough.....coughdosewithexcelcough

 

[rkilling1]

I have algae that looks black in dots sort of and its growing upwards like hair in some parts. I tried to just take it off with my fingers but this doesnt not come out easily. on some plants I just broke off the leafs at the stem. I then thought about maybe a black molly would take care of this problem or a bamboo shrimp? can anyone give me help with this plz thank you.

I agree cough. LOL

Bamboo shrimp are filter feeders, not algae eaters.

 

[kaz]

here is my water para:

phosphate 2.0
kh 161.1ppm or 9
gh 286.4ppm or 16
ammonia 0.25 to 0.50
ph 7.2 or 7.5
nitrite 0
nitrate 20 to 40

I did a 50% water change. after seeing ammonia

 

[Rupret]

You said your ammonia is 0.25 to 0.50. My advice to you is to take care of the ammonia problem first; algae will thrive on ammonia. I have had green algae (ie: green water) associated with ammonia levels of <.025, so you are above that. Work on your water changes and bacteria build up. One thing I did that helped, was putting in a dose of bacteria starter. After I did that, my ammonia was down to 0.0, which is where it needs to be. Once you get your ammonia down to zero, then you can further address the algae issue. I can give advice on green algae and green water, but I'll let others advise you with the BBA.

Good luck!!!

 

[kaz]

what might be causing this spike of ammonia my tanks been setup for well over six months

 

[Purrbox]

Something might have damaged the biofilter, a fish might have died out of sight, or there might be some dead plant matter that is rotting.

 

[kaz]

so one plant rotting or a fish decaying is much more than the biofilter bacteria can handle?
all my fish seem to be there and my plants are well only one or two leafs getting a bit yellow. i do notice bba if this is what type of algae it is, its taking over everyday more and more.

 

[Purrbox]

The biofilter is very flexible, but it takes some time to adjust to changes in the bioload. A rotting fish or a rotting plant may or may not be too much to handle depending on the amount of ammonia that is released. This is why they need to be removed immediately when found.

It could also be something completely different that damaged your biofilter so that some of the bacteria died off. Either way, if there is Ammonia or Nitrite in an established tank there is a problem. Water changes to keep the levels down until the biofilter catches up will help protect the fish and help prevent a GW outbreak.

 

[Rupret]

I agree with Purrbox, that you have a problem somewhere with your biofilter. Ammonia and nitrite both need to be zero or the green algae and green water outbreak will be on the horizon, which is not pleasant to try to correct - trust me. I'll still recommend adding a dose of bacteria starter (designed for a new tank setup) to boost your bacteria, but still look for anything that maybe causing the ammonia spike and fix anything you find.

 

[kaz]

is there any product that will kill the bba it is starting to over run the leaves. is there anything I can do to stop it?

 

[Purrbox]

Get your tank in balance (lighting, CO2, and ferts) and the algae will stop spreading.

You can then either remove the affected part of the plants or using a dip to kill the existing algae. Excel is know to kill BBA when overdosed slightly and will help the plants to grow.

Until you fix the underlying problem and get your tank balanced the algae will keep coming back.

 

[kaz]

right now I don't have co2 because of my 1.0wpg lighting, I fert only kent botanica K potassium and seachem flourish.
should I use excel?
i did a big water change and my ammonia is zero so far.

 

[Purrbox]

Since this is a low light tank with minimal fertilizing, then how often are you doing waterchanges? Are you using aged tap water or just straight from the tap?

 

[kaz]

I do every weekend water change from 20 to 40% with python straight from the tap but first I treat my tank with prime. I just bought flourish excel and just treated as directed.

 

[Purrbox]

This is probably why you are experiences with BBA. Tap water has high levels of CO2 which you aren't gassing off prior to adding to your tank. This is causing large fluctuations in the CO2 levels of your tank. Fluctuating levels of CO2 under 30ppm will cause BBA. Your best bet for a long term solution is to either do less frequent water changes (that really makes me cringe) or to age your water before adding it to the tank by either letting it sit for 24 hours or aerating it for an hour.

 

[kaz]

makes since, but why now and not privously? I have been doing this for more than six months in fact it will be almost a year in may. It will take alot of bucket to hold the water.

 

[Purrbox]

For an answer to that question, we'll need to wait for someone like Tom Barr to weigh in. It was one of his posts on this forum where I first learned about this. Of course it's probably very similar to the many aquariums that are running DIY CO2 for many months without any problems, and then suddenly start experiencing problems with BBA.

 

[tropicfishman]

amano shrimp eat tons of algea, maybe you could throw a few in, hope they don't get eaten and they can eat your algea for you.