i have black fuzz growing on my plants in my 75-gal tank . . .

[goodogcarl]

it looks like i could take my thumb and scrape it off . . . gut that's not the case.

i'm new to the hobby and am trying to absorb as much info as possible. someone told me chinese algae eaters are good for this problem . . . anything else? i've heard chinese algae eaters can be aggressive and i really don't want that.

is there anything i shoul've already been doing to prevent this problem?

appreciate any help you can give me.

 

[Mumma.of.two]

It's BBA. Chinese algae eaters don't eat it but siamese algae eaters do. It's not often recommended to add fish to control algae though. What's your light, how long do you leave it on, what ferts do you use, tank depth and any other info you might think will help? The best cure is prevention.
To treat what you have now you can remove the leaves affected then treat the remaining algae with excel or hydrogen peroxide.

http://www.aquariumslife.com/featured/algae-control-with-flourish-excel/

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm

 

[goodogcarl]

thank you so much for your response. i just bought a new bulb that was labelled as "ultra sun" but it seems this algae had begun before the new bulb.

i turn the light on when i get up in the morning (7:00 or so) and shut it off when i go to bed (11:00 or so)

 

[Rivercats]

You are running your lights way too long. Try cutting them back to 8 hours. BBA is mostly caused by too high light being left on too long. Also be sure your doing 50% WC's weekly to help keep nutrient level down as too much nutrients in the water will contribute to algae growth. Do you have any live plants? Plants like water sprite, wisteria, and fast growing stem plants will absorb and use excess nutrients which will help them outcompete the algae. So try running your lights only 8 hours and spot treat with Excel or hydrogen peroxide as Mumma said.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

Yup. It's your photoperiod. Nothing will stop the algae with a 15-16 hour photoperiod. You can always use a timer to manage it. I'd be in trouble without timers.

 

[Rivercats]

I'd be in trouble without timers.

Me too! With my T5HO and Metal Halide dual set up I'd go crazy trying to keep each light sets going off and on at the proper times. Nothing beats lights on a timer.

To the original OP you can get a timer and split your viewing time up if need be so the tank is on when your home to view it.

 

[goodogcarl]

thank you all

for responding. decreasing the number of hours my lights are on has nearly cleared up the algae problem completely! just over the weekend!

i bought some stuff from a lfs (nobody had ever heard of excell) but by the time i got home i'd talked myself out of using it in the tank. the directions said you had to turn off your filter for 6-8 hours -- did i read that wrong -- and i didn't want to do that.

i'd like to post a picture of my aquarium (i'm very new so be tactful) . . . how do you do that?

 

[Rivercats]

You don't turn the filter off when using Excel. I use a generic Excel daily in almost all my tanks. You don't even turn your filters off when spot treating with it.

As for pic's... since I recently learned myself I'll pass on the help I got. Type your post, click on go advanced, scroll down where you see Additional Options and click on Manage Attachments which takes you to the attachment page. Next click on the first Browse button, click on a picture from your picture file, you have 4 Browse buttons to use, after you have your pic's on the browse buttons, then click on Upload on the right hand side of the screen. Once attached go back to your post page and you'll see they are attached under the Manage Attachments, then post as normal.

 

[CorallineAlgae]

That took me forever to figure out. I was on here a long time before I learned to post a picture. -_-

I'm guessing you didn't get Excell but some kind of herbicide. Is that what happened? >:-/

 

[goodogcarl]

seachem flourish excel . . .

is that what you're talking about?

 

[Rivercats]

is that what you're talking about?

Yes, Seachem Flourish Excel

 

[goodogcarl]

great!

i'll order it today. how much do you put in your tanks daily?

thanks for the help.

 

[Rivercats]

When spot treating for BBA you use 2ml per 10 gallons of tank water. So pull up the proper amount and do your spot treating daily until you get all the BBA treated. You might want to order a needless syringe if you don't have one as that is what you need to spot treat with.

 

[goodogcarl]

you pull up the entire affected plant?

 

[goodogcarl]

foiled at every turn

You don't turn the filter off when using Excel. I use a generic Excel daily in almost all my tanks. You don't even turn your filters off when spot treating with it.

As for pic's... since I recently learned myself I'll pass on the help I got. Type your post, click on go advanced, scroll down where you see Additional Options and click on Manage Attachments which takes you to the attachment page. Next click on the first Browse button, click on a picture from your picture file, you have 4 Browse buttons to use, after you have your pic's on the browse buttons, then click on Upload on the right hand side of the screen. Once attached go back to your post page and you'll see they are attached under the Manage Attachments, then post as normal.

I must be really simple, I can't even find the "go advanced" to click on!

 

[CorallineAlgae]

I must be really simple, I can't even find the "go advanced" to click on!

It's not on the app, only the PC forum. You can do it through the site on a mobile using Safari or another web browser.

 

[Rivercats]

you pull up the entire affected plant?

No "pull up" the proper dose of Excel in the syringe. Then treat the plants where they are.... lol.