humpty Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 hey i have been having a brutal battle with some algae. I am not sure if it is beard, thread of hair algae or if they are all the same. Anyway i have a 33g tank with 84w of lightingand pressurized CO2. I dosed an eighth of a teaspoon of potassium sulfate twice a week. I also dose Plantex CSM+B and Potassium nitrate twice a week. I have been maintaing about 30ppm of CO2 and a pH of 7. Recent tests went as follows Ammonia = 0 Nitrite = 0 Nitrate = 10ppm Phosphate = 0 Kh=120ppm pH = 7 I have been getting these bad outbreaks of algae lately, there wont be much algae at night, then when i get home from work the next day there will be massive algae growth. Everytime i run my tests they seem okay. Can somebody please share some insight as to what could be causing this problem Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted June 27, 2007 Report Share Posted June 27, 2007 (edited) Are you dosing any phosphates? You should aim for about 1-2 ppm. Lack of phosphates may be limiting your plants and allowing the algae to grow. I have found that Flourish Excel is very effective against that stuff. Remove as much algae as you can first. If it's everywhere, you can treat the whole tank (first dose at recommended levels, then 2-3x recommended doses afterwards) or just shoot some Excel directly at the algae patch. Within a couple of days, the algae should change color and start dying. If your lights are on for more than 8-10 hours, reducing the photoperiod may help as well. Edited June 27, 2007 by werner Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
BowMaster Posted June 28, 2007 Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 Horrible stuff, absolutly horrible. To be honest, the only thing that worked for me was daily doses of Excel and physically removing the stuff. That means selectively plucking away plant leaves and scrubbing the glass and rocks. Be carefull not to over pluck you plants though, because they might die. I tried reducing the light but it had little to no affect. Don't let it get out of control, because it will devistate a planted tank at an exponential rate. Lyle Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humpty Posted June 28, 2007 Author Report Share Posted June 28, 2007 the plants are growing really well, but i started dosing phosphates again. I dont understand how excel can work but cranking up the co2 doesn't. I dont really want to buy excel considering a spent a bundle of money on the co2 setup Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted June 29, 2007 Report Share Posted June 29, 2007 I dont understand how excel can work but cranking up the co2 doesn't. I'm not suggesting that you use the Excel for the carbon source, but because it has great algae killing properties when overdosed. Seachem can't legally market it as an algaecide, but it's well known among plant hobbyists as such. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humpty Posted July 1, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 so i made some new plantex mix that has 2 tablespoons in 250ml and i have mixed new nitrate with 4 tablespoons in 250ml of water I plan on dosing potassium sulfate and nitrate, Sunday, Tuesday and Thursday, 1/4 teaspoon each day plantex on monday wednesday and friday i bumped up the co2 and got my ph down to 6.8 I also removed the phosphate bag and dosed some phosphate and when i tested the next day phosphates were way over 5pm off the chart. So i put the bag back in until it went down to 0. I am now going to wait a day and then test to see what the phosphate levels are before i does again Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zoban Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 I think part of the difference between Excel and Co2 injection is in the delivery method. Excel being a liquid already and broken bits of carbon already disolved vs injection that has to be defused etc into the water. I am probably off but I think the basic idea is sound. What I know for sure is that Excel worked to extinguish my BBA problem when I did massive lighting upgrade while back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
werner Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 The algae killing properties of Excel are associated with the main ingredient: glutaraldehyde. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted July 1, 2007 Report Share Posted July 1, 2007 When properly ballanced macronutrients - meaning minimal amounts of each of NPK & C - overdosing of any one has little effect. However, limiting even one is a guarantee for algae. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
humpty Posted July 3, 2007 Author Report Share Posted July 3, 2007 so i noticed that a day after the water change the algae starts to come back alittle bit, im assuming that after the water change i am noit dosing something up enough. Yesterday and today i have dosed nitrates twice, and i am still getting a very low reading. Is it possible that the plants are using nitrates that fast? On a side note I sprayed a dropper of hydrogen peroxide on a leaf of my sword and the algae has completely died off in that one area. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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