Staghorn

[IceH2O]

Okay guys help me out here. I've searched through the site and I can't find any thread with my situation.

I have a 55 gallon with 96 watts of CF over it.No CO2 of any kind. It has a gravel substrate and mostly low light type plants with a few fast growers. Its been up and running for close to a year.

Mostly crypts and anabuis with some Val,and African Ferns. Fast growers being OakLeaf Watersprite that is floating, Brazilian Pennywort which is anchored, and a few stems of Wisteria.

I've always dosed 5ml of flourish 3 times a week. Then I saw the staghorn and thought I read that it was due to low nitrates. My AP test said 10 ppm but I added a 1/2 tsp of KNO3 to make sure it was atleast 10ppm knowing that if it turned out to be 20ppm after the dose that it was still in the safe range. I also added some KSO4 due to some leaf holes I thought might be due to K deficency.

The stag is growing on my African fern which is on the tanks bottom and sits between 2 AC 70s so I don't think the water flow is low in that spot. Its also on one of my crypts whose leaves are long and in the ACs flow path, they are close to the tanks top. I also see it on anabuis. But what really blows my mind is that its on the fast growers too. The brazilian pennywort has it and it looks to be starting on the wisteria.

I do 50% weekly pwcs. Excel is on its way as I use it in my 75 gallon tank which is all fast growers with EI dosing and no algae.

I'll appreciate any feedback. I don't plan on going pressurized, thats why I went low light and with mostly crypts in this tank.

The lights have been on for 11-12 hours but I put them on a timer today to run them 8 hrs.

 

[JDogg]

i have been battling staghorn off an on for a while now..it is more of less off right now.

i would make sure your ferts are in order (NO3, K, PO4 and Trace) may want to dosing excel (C seams to be the key i think). also i think dissolved organic help cause it too. i get mine near the outflow of my powerheads and filter. give you filters a good cleaning (but do not destroy all you bio-filtration.

 

[7Enigma]

search for a thread I authored called something like ways to kill algae staghorn and BBA. It was a while ago and got locked, but we effectively killed it with spot peroxide treatment and bleach dips. If its still in its beginning stages I would highly recommend removing any affected leaves that are fast growers, and a spot peroxide treatment for any slower growing longterm plants (like anubias). Blackout did not help in my case.

 

[Zezmo]

Flourish Excel will wipe out staghorn. Squirt the recomended dosage directly on the algae with an eyedroper. Repeat every other day until the algae is gone.

Perhaps look at high organic TDS for leading to staghorn. More filterfloss, and chaging the floss more often in the filter will help. I buy my floss from the craft store whre is it really cheap. (polyester fiber fill)