String Algae

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

gallowchris

Aquarium Advice Activist
Joined
Nov 11, 2011
Messages
106
Location
toronto
Having a problem with string algae. Lighting is 3 watts per gallon, for 8 hours per day, then 1.5 watts per gallon for the other 4 hours. Dosing with Excel to help everyone. CO2 present. Iron dosing also. Just started with Aquacare Planten + (swhich has N&P) which I'm not to happy about so about to switch, thinking Flourish. I remove as much of the string algae with a tooth brush jsut about everyday, but it doesn't seem to be dieing off. My plant growth is massive! So they are using everything (this was before adding the Aquacare). Any ideas on how to get rid of the ugly string algae?
 
wpg is really irrelavent. What type of lighting do you have? A 12 hour photoperiod, even with reduced lighting for 1/3 of it, is too much. Cut down to 7-8 hours for starters.
 
Thanks for the lighting time change, i have backed off a bit and it has helped. Think cutting down the Rosea will really help, that was the main growth area, which was a few inches away from the light.

Lighting is two AquaticLife 30" T5 HO 48 watts per unit, reef light. So i have 96 watts on a 30 gal tank.

Co2 is DIY, working great nice steady 1 bubble per minute, no Co2 when the lights are off. Also triple dose of Excel.

ForumRunner_20111229_144202.jpg



ForumRunner_20111229_144237.jpg
 
4x T5HO on a 30 really is a absolute monster load of light, and a DIY CO2 system working at 1 b/min is really underperforming. Most 2L DIY CO2 containers should get closer to 1 bubble per 3 seconds or so. I would think that you would probably need at least 1 b/second to get an obligatory level of CO2, probably more for that much light.
 
Ya its a ton of light but I have a bunch of plants that need higher lighting 3 watts per gallon. Over the past week i have had only the one light on to see if it made a difference. Not much happened. I made a typo on the bubble count LOL i ment 1 bubble per sec. I have two 2L bottles setup for this. Now do you know of any way to rappidly get rid of the algea? Was thinking with the less light and co2 things would clean up but no luck. Going to dose with Excel again.
 
Back
Top Bottom