Help with algae

[JulianFish]

Hello - I'm brand new to the forum, but have found it very useful over the last few months.  Three months ago we upgraded to a 55 gallon (from a 10), and all was going well.  It's heavily planted, with a mix of fish - tetras, platys, guppies.  Water quality has been good, and we clean and water change (40% or so) weekly.

Starting a couple of weeks ago, I noticed some hair algae - looks white until pulled out, then it is pale green. Its spreading, and now I've noticed some small bunches of reddish coloured algae as well.   A couple of days ago we went to BA's and bought two Siamese Algae Eaters, but they are very small and aren't likely to clean it in a hurry.

Is there anything else I can do? 

Light is one T4 48 inch, and plants have done well.  I do weekly Flourish Excel (2 caps or 20 ml) for carbon and a cap of API Leaf Zone for fertilizer.

I've read conflicting advice on the net - more light, less light, more ferts, etc.  I don't want to go the CO2 route, at least not yet.

Any advice?

Many thanks.

[brotherluv]

I was told to use 2 ml per week in my 120g tank and 1ml per week in my 10g tank.  Apparently if you use too much it'll encourage algae growth as it provides algae with everything it needs to grow...no expert here though.  Some snails might help.

[cory]

Red Ramhorn snails, Cherry or Amano shrimp, H202?

[HappyGuppy]

Red Ramhorn snails, Cherry or Amano shrimp, H202?

+1

Here is a link that's my bible to this stuff
http://www.guppies.com/forums/showthread.php/21075-BBA-Thread-Hair-Algae-Kill-with-Hydrogen-Peroxide-H2O2

[JulianFish]

Thanks folks.  I decided to try the hydrogen peroxide.  Certainly cheap and doesn't appear to risky for the fish.

I put in 50 ml for the 55 gallon tank. Just put it in - the algae is widespread enough that it didn't seem worth squirting here and there. 

As first, it didn't seem to do anything at all, except bubble where I had earlier trimmed a plant.  Then I went out for a few hours, and when I came back, the whole tank was bubbling away.  A couple of strings of algae fell off the plant they were attached to, which looks like a positive sign.

It didn't seem to bother the fish - perhaps a little more animated than usual, but who wouldn't be with all that extra oxygen. 

The bubbling slowed after about 6 hours.  I'll see what effects it has in the morning, but so far so good.  I hope it didn't mess with the filter bacteria, but again, it's just oxygen and as long as I didn't dose too high it should be OK.

Thanks again for the advice, and I'll let you know what happens.   

[androo303]

Hmm. Please do keep me in the loop. I originally thought I scratched the heck out of my glass but after reading about the super tough algae I soon realized it was scratched. I used an old petsmart card to scrape it and it worked great!!! Only problem is that it takes a lot of elbow grease and it is going to take forever at this pace (29g tank with problem on all 4 sides).

If this method works, I am going to try with my fingers crossed that it works. I do have a Siamese algae ester and about 20+ cherry red shrimps, so hopefully I can help them out because I don't think they can keep up.

[JulianFish]

I promised an update on the peroxide treatment for algae. A little late, but here it is. 

Well, all the fish are now blonde, but the roots still show.  Oops - wrong peroxide.

Seriously,  I gave it the low end of the recommended dose as mentioned before, and it bubbled nicely.

After a couple of days the aquarium looked sparkling, and there appeared to be less of the small algae clinging to the plants.  The long strings however, came back quite quickly and I picked them out by hand.  They seem to be less than before, but I'll keep an eye on it.

In summary, the while the treatment certainly didn't wipe out my algae problem, I think it did help, and I'll likely give it another go.  Perhaps a good periodic maintenance tool, but not the long term solution of getting the fertilizer and light balance right, which I'm still figuring out.

Thanks again for all the advice on this thread and elsewhere in the OVAS forum.

[magnosis]

In my experience hair & tread algae have been caused by too much light in relation to my co2 and ferts.

Do you have a lot of plants ? what are they ? If they are sturdy plants (e.g. mosses, java ferns, anubias, some crypts) you can try a black out.

Basically, let your filters run, add an air pump, turn off co2, and cover the entire tank with a blanket (or whatever opaque) for 2-3 days.  I've done this twice with good results against hair, thread, bga and black brush algae.

Flimsy plants may suffer.  If you can, take em out, clean (and maybe sterilize with chlorine or permanganate) and put them in another tank for the time being.  If not, I'd be surprised they don't make it.  They may take a hit but 2-3 days in the dark isn't that bad.

As for green diatoms (little dots that grow mostly on the glass), I mostly let it be.  I keep the front glass clean and let it grow on the other surfaces - that way it will be less aggressive on the areas you want to keep clean. Eventually it will go through its cycle, get thicker, and start peeling off (if you algae eating crew hasn't feasted on it at this point)

Those 'small bunches of reddish coloured algae',  are they gone too ?  If they are microscopic in size or slimy looking, its probably cyanobacteria (not exactly an algae, but some evolutionary step between bacteria and algae - actually one of the most ancient form of life on earth...3.5B years old!).  Cyanobacteria are likely caused by improper lighting, high phosphates (PO4), dissolved organics and/or nitrates.  Make sure PO4 does not exceed 1.0-2.0 ppm, do regular water changes to keep your nitrates as low as possible (unless your tank is heavily planted) and try reducing the photoperiod.

[HappyGuppy]

Read that link again and try 2ml per gallon.

I used to have ferocious algae including horse hair algae.  A few rounds and I had years without any traces of algae. PM me and I'll share some red ramshirns with you.

[charlie]

Julian, i have followed this thread from the inception, while your approach is treating the symptom, the underlying issue is obviously still present, hence the return of the algae.
It might be worth your while to investigate the cause & treat that as opposed to the symptom, this road can be longer & frustrating but is acheviable & very rewarding, i`m willing to help in that approach off line if you are interested.
Regards

[Fishnut]

I would be very careful using H2O2 as a cure for algae on a regular basis.  Algae is there because the conditions are present to let it grow.  Charlie is correct in saying that it is important to get to the root cause before really being free from it.

[sas]

H2O2 works really great when you need to take a tank down for
various reasons, and disinfect everything. But it certainly is only a stop gap as far as treating algae,
as Charlie has stated.
It would be great if we all could  be in the loop on the outcome of this thread, as I'm
sure there are lots of people out there learning as I still am.

[JulianFish]

Thank you all.  Good advice all around. 

Happyguppy, yes - it looks like I got the dosing wrong.  Next try I'll go the full 2 ml per gal. 

Magnosis - no red algae so far, and not much algae on the glass.  The problem I was trying to manage is the long hairs coming off plants.  I have a lot of plants, some hardy, others more fragile.  I may give your suggestion a try, but first I'm going to try to learn more about getting the fertilizer-light balance correct.  I know I've been lackadaisical on the fertilizer.  Not ready for CO2 though.  Yeast seems too fussy (although I've made beer many times), and I don't want to splash out on a compressed system.

The algae is definitely better now than before the H2O2, even if not eliminated. 

I'll do some reading on a "lazy" way to maintain good fertilizer levels, and see what's next. I certainly agree with everyone who commented that you have to get to the cause, not just treat symptoms.

The good thing is that the water parameters have been great as far as the fish are concerned, and I've had zero issues with fish health. 

Thanks again

[magnosis]

For a "lazy" way of dosing fertilizers, I would suggest either EI (Estimative Index) or PMDD (Poor Man's Dosing Drops).  These are two highly popular dosing strategies and there is plenty of information online.

This would be a good place to start ;-)  http://ovas.ca/forum/index.php?topic=35307.0