Ideas on methods to rid this algae

[Lokilow]

Hey guys,

Ive been having some issues with trying to rid this surface algae for a few months. It started out when I used some "natural" meds and then the algae took over.

Ive tried raising my light, lowering my light on time, upping my CO2 (with my light in its normal position). Nothing really seems to help, ive even manually removed plants that had it bad and brushed it off.

I have a chemical to get rid of algae but its hard on shrimps and snails so I dont want to use it.

Is there anyway to get rid of this much algae naturally? Really struggling finding the right balance to get rid of it.

Here is some pictures of the type of algae im dealing with.

 

[davehenri]

I was having an algae problem in my tank and got some advice that really worked:

1. Added 1.5 ml of H2O2 (3% hydrogen peroxide) per gallon.
2. repeat for 3 days.
3. manually clean glass and plants and do a 50% water change.

This worked very well for me. The H2O2 breaks down into Oxygen and water fairly quickly. It doesn't harm the plants or fish, but algae don't seem to like it.

 

[Lokilow]

I haven't tried that so ill look into it and give it a shot. Thanks for the suggestion.

 

[ZxC]

Reduce light intensity if possible.
Reduce photoperiod to 5 hours per day max (until algae has subsided, then slowly increase back up to 8 hours per day over a few weeks).
Ensure you are providing adequate nutrients for the plants (unhealthy plants promote algae).
Dose Flourish Excel or equivalent Met14 at the “after water change” rate on the Excel bottle once per day.
Manually remove all algae you can.
Manually remove excess organics in the tank by gravel vacuuming and cleaning filter media in old tank water every water change.
Manually remove any decaying or dead plant matter.
Increase water change frequency, and the amount of water changed.
Consider spot treating badly affected areas or dipping plants / hardscape in a Flourish Excel, Met14 or H2O2 + water solution. Google search which method you think would work well, and for general ratios to mix a safe solution. Certain plants can’t tolerate these chemicals, so ensure you do a little research prior to dipping / spot treating plants.
If using CO2, ensure CO2 is dropping the pH of the tank water a full 1.0 – 1.2. To do this, measure the pH of tank water with no CO2 dissolved in it, and then measure again 2-3 hours after CO2 has been running. Ensure the drop in pH is a full 1.0-1.2. If the drop is not there yet, slowly up CO2 over a few weeks until at least a 1.0 drop is achieved, and watch fish / livestock carefully. Adjust CO2 down if you notice fish gasping at the surface and consider running an airstone at night when pushing a 1.2 or greater drop. For example, a tank water pH of 7.5 with no CO2 dissolved in it, should reach a pH of 6.5 – 6.3 for CO2 to really shine, and for maximum plant health.
Consistency in CO2 levels is key to plant health. Keep CO2 levels as stable as possible once a desirable level has been reached.

 

[Lokilow]

Reduce photoperiod to 5 hours per day max (until algae has subsided, then slowly increase back up to 8 hours per day over a few weeks).
Will try this again
Ensure you are providing adequate nutrients for the plants (unhealthy plants promote algae).
I EI dose GLA Micromix .2 grams daliy
Dose Flourish Excel or equivalent Met14 at the “after water change” rate on the Excel bottle once per day.
Ill pick up some more Excel, stopped using it when I started EI Dosing
Manually remove all algae you can.
Manually remove excess organics in the tank by gravel vacuuming and cleaning filter media in old tank water every water change.
Every water change I do this
Manually remove any decaying or dead plant matter.
Every water change I do this
Increase water change frequency, and the amount of water changed.
I already do weekly 50% water changes, should I really increase that?
Consider spot treating badly affected areas or dipping plants / hardscape in a Flourish Excel, Met14 or H2O2 + water solution. Google search which method you think would work well, and for general ratios to mix a safe solution.
Certain plants can’t tolerate these chemicals, so ensure you do a little research prior to dipping / spot treating plants.
Ill try this out as a whole tank solution first
If using CO2, ensure CO2 is dropping the pH of the tank water a full 1.0 – 1.2. To do this, measure the pH of tank water with no CO2 dissolved in it, and then measure again 2-3 hours after CO2 has been running. Ensure the drop in pH is a full 1.0-1.2. If the drop is not there yet, slowly up CO2 over a few weeks until at least a 1.0 drop is achieved, and watch fish / livestock carefully. Adjust CO2 down if you notice fish gasping at the surface and consider running an airstone at night when pushing a 1.2 or greater drop. For example, a tank water pH of 7.5 with no CO2 dissolved in it, should reach a pH of 6.5 – 6.3 for CO2 to really shine, and for maximum plant health.
Consistency in CO2 levels is key to plant health. Keep CO2 levels as stable as possible once a desirable level has been reached.
I had this checked before but I should recheck it again as I have changed the bubbles since.

Thanks for the tips, they are a good lead and a few things I havent tried yet.

 

[ZxC]

Do you only dose GLA micro mix @ 0.2 grams daily? If true that is bad bad, and likely a huge cause of algae / unhealthy plants.

Your addition of 0.2 g (equivalent to 1/32 tsp ) Plant-Prod Micro Mix to your 35gal (40 gal aquarium less substrate / hardscape) aquarium adds:
Element ppm/degree
Fe 0.106
Fe as EDTA 0.06
Mg 0.071
Zn 0.006
Cu 0.002
B 0.02
Mo 0.001

Dosing this daily is way over doing it, and you are missing the most important nutrients, NO3, PO4 and K.


50% water changes weekly are the bare minimum when dosing EI,

 

[Lokilow]

Yes. thats only what I dose. I dont dose anything else per the advice given from Plantedtank.net. That is also the dose that GLA told me directly to dose. Its so frustrating trying to wrap your head around this stuff when you get so much different information.

50% water changes are what I do weekly anyways.

What would you suggest?

 

[ZxC]

Yes. thats only what I dose. I dont dose anything else per the advice given from Plantedtank.net. That is also the dose that GLA told me directly to dose. Its so frustrating trying to wrap your head around this stuff when you get so much different information.

50% water changes are what I do weekly anyways.

What would you suggest?

Which thread was that advice given to you on? There may be a specific reason it was given, but I don't see why it would be.

 

[Simon_DG]

I had algea to in my planted tank.. what helped me whas adding 10 adult amano shrimp. 50% water change every week. Also cleaning the input sponge of the filter every weak.. (not the filter biostones) putting my light from 10h a day to 8h a day and also manually removing all dead parts of plants daily and weekly