what type is this ????

[pitchblack]

hey all cant seem to get rid of this agle even though I have a good population of bristle nose and flying fox... Can anyone tell me what type of alge this is and how to get rid of it...

thanks :wink: :wink:

[Merrilyn]

My guess is black beard algae. Nothing eats it, that I know of.

[duck]

My guess also is BBA.
One of the following or all.
1) get a siamese algea eater which will eat it and they are similar to the flying fox.
2) increase your nitrates.
3)bleach it then make sure you wash it good.

[Fishpimpin73]

Wood shrimp will eat it, and there is rumored to be a hyper rare Malaysian fish ( don't remember the name ) that will eat it also.

Generally caused from an over-abundance of "something", although no is quite sure what.

Most helpful tip...............

Blackout the tank for 3 to 4 days ( And that means a COMPLETE blackout, cover it over with a dense cloth or blanket ) then take a peek at it.
If it is gone then your good to go, if not then cover it back up and repeat.
Can cause some headaches when feeding fish :wink:

What is your water change schedule on this system?
How old is it?
How long has the wood been in there?

[duck]

Plant's have needs aswell so does algea so do discus if you want to keep plants and discus together you need to tend to both needs.
You need to get the plants to outcompete algea so you need to tend to the plants needs,If you don't you will always have some sort of algea growing.
I don't use any algeacides of any discription not only can it kill your plants aswell as the algea,Then you could run the risk of killing your discus small chance but it's still a possibility.

[pitchblack]

I know at the moment I have excess phosphates in the tank but have some pouches in the filter to remove it. I do water changes twice a week. 20 - 25%. I add liquid fertilizer weekly. When the alge gets out of control on the bog wood I usually take it out and hit it with the high pressure hose I have. It gets it clean but always creeps back.
Duck Im a bit worried about putting bleach on it. If the wood soaks it in it will do damage to the tank???

[Fishpimpin73]

Your never going to "get rid" of the algea.

You just have to find the right combo of conditions to keep it under control and dormant.

Phosphates could deff be the issue.

Sooner or later you will get it :wink:

[pitchblack]

never get rid of alge its a battle of the century with me at the moment. well here are my parameters and what I do on a weekly basis


ph. 6.7
ammonia 0
nitrate and nitrite 0
iron 0.25
gh 17ppm
kh 120ppm

I do a water change twice a week.
I add liquid fertilizer once a week
also water conditioner to remove chlorine and chemicals from tap water.
Trace elements and thats it.

Its driving me crazy to wonder why the imbalance. i think its the phosphates but wondering how they got there in the first instance.

[duck]

The first thing is your nitrate should be at least 10ppm not 0.
Fish food can add phosphates.
How much light have you got?
Depending how much light you got you might not have to ferts every week.
Example:One of my tank run around the 1.2wpg i hardly every fertilize it maybe once a month.

[pitchblack]

I have two 4 ft globes running and a three foot. each light is an aqua glow for planted aquariums 40w per globe

[duck]

Have you checked your tap water maybe it has phosphate's,Also check your liquid fert's aswell.

I would let your nitrate's hit at least 10-20ppm.
Then i would bleach the wood to kill the BBA, just soak it for a couple of minutes 50:50 ratio water/bleach the make sure you wash it really good,If it feels slimey it still has bleach keep scrubbing until it doesn't feel slimey.
If you have other algea issuse's cut your fert to every 2 week,Apart from that get your nitrate's up abit,If you have just root feeder's like crypts and swords,vallis,I would just use substrate ferts and not worry about the lquid fert at all.

[pitchblack]

cool ill try the substrate fert.. and give the bleach a go if I get brave enough

[duck]

If you don't want to bleach them just give them a good scrubbing,It will do.

[lesley]

how long has your tank been running? Mine took months to settle in and I went through lots of different types of algae. I have a flying fox and siamese algae eater, cories and a pleco in my tanks and find that I now have no algae at all. I did have stuff like you have shown on the mangrove roots but it eventually disappeared and I sometimes wonder if there is enough algae there for everyone!

I have all slow growing plants, apart from the vals that I regularly take out and put into the tank which has Uarus that eat everything. I don't dose with extra ferts. just let the fish feed the plants.

I did try dosing with ferts early on and had massive amounts of algae, if you are going to try ferts it seems to me that you will have to check all sorts of extra things, I would try http://www.aquabotanic.com/ for help with dosing ferts.

HTH

[pitchblack]

My tank has been running for quite a while now. But did a clean yesterday. Pulled the bog wood out and blasted it with the pressure hose. No more bba. At least for the moment I hope.