My Algae Free For All

[demurefemme]

Ok, so a few months after adding my new lights (196 watts at 7600k, over my 46 gal bowfront), my tank has turned into an algal smorgasbord. It wasn't too bad before I left town for a week, leaving the tank in the care of a friend, but I came back to (my first ever) a bad case of green water, and some cyano (blue green algae), as well as the existant brush/ fuzz algae that's on my leaves. My pH is around 6.7, and I have hard water (I haven't tested it yet tonight), zero nitrite, zero ammonia, zero iron, but phosphates are above 5 mg/l and nitrates are right between 60-80 mg/l (I think my friend's admitted over-feeding might be partly to blame). I have one hagen co2 system (which i refilled tonight), and have not used fertilizer since flourish gave me a horrible case of cyano.
whew, that was a lot of information.
ok, so does anyone have any idea what would help my situation here? i thought about adding iron, but figured that might just exacerbate my problem. i'm looking for a diatom filter (saw the vortex xl model at petsmart, and 90 bucks seemed like a decent amount to shell out), and will perform a 50% water change tomorrow morning. i kept the lights off today, as well (they usually get about 12 hours).
any ideas/insights would be fantastic!
thanks, and hope everyone is having a great holiday season

 

[betowess]

You'll save a ton at Big Als online on a filter purchase such as a Magnum 350. PS, I use to live on Sycamore and also on Fanin street in Denton back in '86. NTSU prior to UNT. Had lots of fun in that town. Was a muso then... best...

 

[Fruitbat]

demurefemme...

That's a LOT of light (4+ watts per gallon)!!!! I'm not surprised that you had an algae bloom...especially with the higher nitrate and phosphate levels. The diatom filter will clear your algal bloom very nicely, though you may have to run it more than once. However, unless the underlying conditions that originally caused the problem are corrected, you will probably have a similar experience again.

You don't say what kinds of plants you have in your aquarium but I'd suggest getting some fast-growing stem plants that will compete with algae for nutrients. You might also consider cutting back on the light a little.

 

[demurefemme]

hm, would a magnum filter be an effective diatom filter? they sell those here at petsmart (small town=not too many options), and i was considering buying one, but felt maybe i should just get something that said specifically diatom filter. i'll run out and buy a magnum right now if it'll take care of my swamp!

as far as my light goes, i have a lot of light because i have a love affair with high light plants like swords and red/bronze plants. currently in my tank i have anubis nana, bronze wenditi, rotala indica, hairgrass, brazilian swords, and some anacharis (which seems to be dying out now that i have this algae problem). would it be a death sentence to get more?

go eagles!

 

[demurefemme]

update!
ok, so one 60% water change, and one HOT magnum converted to a diatom filter later, and i have NEVER seen my tank look this clear. thanks for the tip.

now...what would y'all recommend that i do in order to keep my algae at bay?

 

[TankGirl]

Get rid of those phosphates, for starters. I know everyone blames them right off the bat, and they are not always the problem, but I would certainly try that, by the use of phosphate removing products used in your filter. Measure phosphate in your tap water to be sure that water changes are not working against you (like me), beacuse otherwise increased water changes can often do wonders for algae.

Another trick that does not address the underlying problem of nutrient imbalance, but works nonetheless, is to stagger your lighting schedule. Use timers on your lights with 5 hours on, 2 hours off, and 5 hours on. This has worked wonders for me.

You might not be getting maximum CO2 utilization from your Hagen unit. Go to http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm and use their calculator to see how much CO2 you are getting. It may be useful to run your CO2 through your filter or something to get more bang for your buck, with that kind of light. I doubled by CO2 utilization with the same Hagen unit when I abandoned the ladder diffuser it comes with. Those are great for a 10gal or so, but after that you need a little help getting the most from the bubbles.

 

[Guest]

You need to keep your nutrients in balance. Your nitrate and phosphate levels were much too high. See my FAQ for more info on nutrients.