hair algae

[windeindoiel]

Ok so I have this pain in the butt algae problem. I have the Coralife T-5 double linear strip full spectrum and 6700k plant lamps, 1.44 wpg, which sit about 5" above the waterline. It was 1" above the water line but the hair algae was totally taking over so I raised the light 4" which seemed to help a bit. The algae is still there though, I don't mind as much when it grows on the filter and heater, but when it grows on the powerhead it's annoying. It grows really long and dangles in the current and looks kind of stupid. And it grows on plant leaves and that's not very good at all. I've been trying to remove plant leaves and picking it off the gravel when it grows there but really it would be nice if it just didn't grow so much. So any suggestions on how to get rid of it? Thanks.

[midgetwaiter]

Lighting alone won't cause this you have some kind of nutrient problem too.

Restricting nutrients in a planted tank can get tricky but I would bet that you have a phosphate problem that contributes to this. There are some articles pinned in the planted tank section that talk about maintaining the correct nitrate / phosphate balance.

You could also try to control it through critters that eat it. Some shrimps, even ghost shrimps sometimes, will eat it and flying foxes will do a good job too.

Edited April 13, 2006 by midgetwaiter

[windeindoiel]

In the tank I have one dwarf puffer, some otos and some amano shrimp. The otos and amanos eat some of it, but they just can't keep up with it all.

Speaking of amano shrimp, I haven't seen them offered in quite awhile, are they out of season or out of demand or something?

[HOSStile]

I stopped adding ferts and decreased the light a little the plants are still growing well and the hair algae has disappeared. I suspect that the plants are now getting most of the nutrients, but is kind of a balancing act, unless you follow one the regimes that Milan and others talk about along with testing.

[Milan]

Harold,

1.44 wpg is already low light tank. No PPS or EI teritory, neither CO2 (although it does not hurt). With moderate fish load, this tank runs well on K+TE formula (most commercial ferts).

Windeindoiel,

Bear in mind, there is no algae free tank. It's only the owner's level of tolerance that matters. Specifically, hair algae is a sign that you are not much far from the nutrient balance. You may also introduce some algae eating fish, such as Siamese Algae Eaters.

Do you have NO3 and PO4 tests?

[HOSStile]

Harold,

1.44 wpg is already low light tank. No PPS or EI teritory, neither CO2 (although it does not hurt). With moderate fish load, this tank runs well on K+TE formula (most commercial ferts).

Sorry Milan I was just talking about my tank, I was at about 4 wpg with C02, injecting liquid fert into the roots. Cutting back on light and fertilizer eliminated the algae in my case. Oh and I forgot to mention that I have a very large bio-load (lots of fish)

Edited April 13, 2006 by HOSStile

[jvision]

One thing you might want to try, depending on the size of tank, is adding Seachem's Excel. I've heard some excellent reports of it taking out most forms of algae. Adding it to my 10gal tank helped get rid of Spot Algae.

[windeindoiel]

One thing you might want to try, depending on the size of tank, is adding Seachem's Excel. I've heard some excellent reports of it taking out most forms of algae. Adding it to my 10gal tank helped get rid of Spot Algae.

Will it be ok for my plants?

And so I still really don't know what to do about my algae. Would CO2 help? Possibly give the plants an edge over the algae? Maybe more plants? My plants are doing ok but I think they could be doing better, but if I add light the hair algae goes nuts, and I'm just really not sure how much fertilizer to add. I am very confused.

[Vallisneria]

One thing you might want to try, depending on the size of tank, is adding Seachem's Excel. I've heard some excellent reports of it taking out most forms of algae. Adding it to my 10gal tank helped get rid of Spot Algae.

I was starting to see a hair algae problem developing in my 20g that is newly setup. MY vals were covered with 1/2" long algae strands and my java moss was completely covered too. I started adding Seachem excel to my tank since both Jason and henry from dad's fishroom said they have heard good things about it. Plus only having to add a few squirts of liquid seemed a lot easier then any of the other algae fixing methods.

So i started adding it at the recommended dosage 2 weeks ago and i have seen a noticable improvement. The vals are almost hair aglae free and the java moss is looking better. The tank has also stayed cleaner inbetween water changes. Before the glass would have a slight green algae film, now its clean. The plants have grown more since adding the excel also.

So i'd say its a success, atleast so far it looks good. I've added it to a couple of my other tanks too as i noticed they had a bit of blue green algae. Not sure if it is supposed to help with BGA but its worth a try.

Anyways, i'd say its worth trying since a small bottle isnt' very expensive.