What is this nasty black algae?

[Thaiboxer]

Hi all!

I'm running a 125 gallon tank that's been established for over a year. I have a fairly large load, but tons of filtration (approx 10x/hour) and my fish seem happy. My water clarity is great, but I've had this nasty black hairy algae slowly taking over my tank for a long time and I've finally gotten sick enough of it that I'd like to get rid of it forever.

First of all, what is it? I've searched on algae blooms a lot on here, and I've found references to diatoms (sp?) and hair algae, not sure if this is either one... I attached two pictures to this, those should be worth more than I can possibly type. For more, check my gallery at: http://www.screwynoodle.com/gallery/BlackAlgae

Second, how do I get rid of it?

FYI:
0 Ammonia
0 Nitrites
20-30% weekly water changes
80-82 degrees temp

Fishy load:
2 plecos, about 8" each
1 Tiger Oscar, about 9"
1 Green Terror, about 8"
1 Jack Dempsey, about 7"
1 Red Terror, about 7"
2 Severums, about 6" each
2 Parrots, about 2" each
1 Black Convict, about 3" and 6-8 babies, all less than .5" (nope, nobody eats them but daddy is in another tank. Convicts get agressive when they're mating!!!)
1 Red Tailed Shark, about 4"

If I can provide any more helpful info, please let me know.

Thanks!

 

[Corty]

Yow that's a nasty case of black brush algae (a red algae, actually). I'm so sorry. I'm battling a bit of it myself. Only way I've even made a dent is to remove the affected leaves (fortunately it has left most of my equipment alone). If you remove them, the plant can grow back.

I'm looking into purchasing a Siamese Algae Eater - I'm told they can at the very least keep it in check.

By the by, you have some very cute Plecos. :]

 

[malkore]

Black beard algae...nasty stuff cuz you can't really pull it off the plants without damaging them.
Tell me about the lighting on your tank.
Also, do you have a way to test nitrates and phosphates?

Algae blooms are always caused by a nutrient imblanace. in your case I think you have too much phosphate.
A true Siamese Algae Eater will eat this algae...but fixing the source of the problem is a better idea.

 

[Thaiboxer]

I'll take a look at my testing kit at home. It's got six tests in it, the only ones I really use though are Nitrites and Ammonia. There's pH, and some other stuff. I'll take a look at Phosphates and Nitrates.

Is Black Beard/Brush sensitive to light? If I put the tank in the dark, will it die?

I've been thinking about pulling my rocks out and bleaching and scrubbing them with a wire brush. I don't have any live plants, and my lighting is just two flourescents. They're using aquarium bulbs but I don't have any details on them.

Thanks Corty for the comment on my plecos!

 

[gradantanant]

u can do a black out on your tank.

just dont turn your lights on for like 3-4 days and the algae should die. if your tank gets a lot of natural sunlight then wrap your tank in something

hth

 

[TankGirl]

That will likely work, but the conditions that produced the algae will return if nothing else is changed.

I too have this algae and in my case it is due to high phosphate in the tap water, not an uncommon problem. Definitely test your phosphate and nitrate and see what you get, tap and tank.

I use a phosphate removing resin in my filter and it helps quite a bit.