Larry Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 My fry tank has some Nuclear green algae in it. Its that florescent green stuff. How can I get rid of it. The fry are still very small so I am not sure about chemicals or fish that might eat the stuff. Any help is appriciated. Cheers, Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted June 13, 2006 Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Is the water green or is it growing on the glass and decorations? Do you have live plants in this tank? If you do how long do you keep the lights on. Are you fertilizing? If you dont' have plants do yo uhave lights on this tank? If so just turn them off. Algae can't grow if there is no light and the fry dont' need a light on their tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 13, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 13, 2006 Is the water green or is it growing on the glass and decorations?Do you have live plants in this tank? If you do how long do you keep the lights on. Are you fertilizing? If you dont' have plants do yo uhave lights on this tank? If so just turn them off. Algae can't grow if there is no light and the fry dont' need a light on their tank. I have some of the Java fern that I got from you in this tank. I can put it in another tank though. I will take out the plants and turn off the light. The algae is on the sand bottom of the tank. Cheers, Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 This tank is newly setup? Algae is common in newly setup tanks. How much lighting do you have on this tank?Do you only have the java fern and moss in this tank? I would just tyr to clean as much of the algae out as you can and then maybe add more plants. If its a new tank it might take a few weeks for the algae to settle. Maybe try adding some zebra snails or a small BN pleco to help keep the algae down. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 14, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 This tank is newly setup?Algae is common in newly setup tanks. How much lighting do you have on this tank?Do you only have the java fern and moss in this tank? I would just tyr to clean as much of the algae out as you can and then maybe add more plants. If its a new tank it might take a few weeks for the algae to settle. Maybe try adding some zebra snails or a small BN pleco to help keep the algae down. I have a very small bn pleco that i got from jason. I am not sure of the lighting but i think there is lots. The tank is in a rack with two 4 foot bulbs in it. There are some sort of snails in there but i am not sure what kind they are. Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 One thing that you can do to help fight/hinder/prevent algae is to add a bunch of floating plants. They help absorb nutrients and block light. Your Java fern/moss won't mind. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Murminator Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Im going to jump in here also my buddy has the same problem there is no algae what-so-ever but the water is nuclear green it looks really cool like some has dyed it. He has no live plants and plastic orniments, which came from other tanks. The inhabitents are mixed cichlids 2 big honking comets (8"?) and really old 13" pleco and about 50 mystery/apple snails. There is a window nearby but it doesn't affect the other tanks in the room. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 14, 2006 Report Share Posted June 14, 2006 Green water is a sign of excess ammonia. Need big WCs, live plants (floaters are good) and/or some terrestrial plants w. their roots in the water (I keep mine rooted around lava rock in my HOB filters). Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9outfit Posted June 17, 2006 Report Share Posted June 17, 2006 My fry tank has some Nuclear green algae I'm no expert, but sounds to me you have blue-green algea in your tank. Does it peel away in big sheets? If so, then it's actually a bacteria, not algea, therefore algea destroyers will have no effect. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 17, 2006 Report Share Posted June 17, 2006 The cure for cyanobacteria (BGA) is to remove as much of it as possible, do a large WC and add a bit of NO3. Or... instead of adding NO3 (if you don't have any plants - floating or otherwise), cover the tank completely for 3 or 4 days, and don't let ANY light get in. Then do another big WC, and you'll be free of the green snot! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9outfit Posted June 17, 2006 Report Share Posted June 17, 2006 (edited) Actually Larry, no need to freak and take drastic action and put your new fry in jeopardy. It's unsightly and signifies you are overfeeding (which I feel isn't a bad thing when feeding small fry), but the blue-green algea won't do any harm. add a bit of NO3. Or... instead of adding NO3 (if you don't have any plants - floating or otherwise) :well: Hmmm... I'm confused.... I thought plants remove NO3 (Nitrate), not add it? Edited June 17, 2006 by k9outfit Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 18, 2006 Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Actually Larry, no need to freak and take drastic action and put your new fry in jeopardy. It's unsightly and signifies you are overfeeding (which I feel isn't a bad thing when feeding small fry), but the blue-green algea won't do any harm.add a bit of NO3. Or... instead of adding NO3 (if you don't have any plants - floating or otherwise) :well: Hmmm... I'm confused.... I thought plants remove NO3 (Nitrate), not add it? BGA doesn't survive w. excess NO3. However, you'd still want plants in there to help keep the excess NO3 in check. Usually in planted tanks, we do WCs to add nutrients, and reballance the system. However, in a non-planted tank, we do WCs to remove excess NO3. In a non-planted tank, I'd do the Black Out method. If it's planted, I'd go w. the add-NO3 method. Does this help clear things up? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Larry Posted June 18, 2006 Author Report Share Posted June 18, 2006 Yes, what i have done is the following: Added a bn pleco 40% water change/clean gravel added floating jave fern limited light to about 4 hrs/day seems to be working just great, thanks to all for the info Larry Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
k9outfit Posted June 19, 2006 Report Share Posted June 19, 2006 Thanks for clearing that up for me jvision! :thumbs: I'd like to use your plant/NO3 method for getting rid of this stuff, since I've got a huge batch of fry that I'm feeding 4x/day, and don't want to loose them by covering the tank or by adding a BN pleco..... BGA doesn't survive w. excess NO3. However, you'd still want plants in there to help keep the excess NO3 in check Still a bit hazy though; not trying to be obtuse or anything , but if you need excess NO3 to destroy the BGA, but you want the plants in there to keep the excess NO3 in check, how would I get just the right combination of NO3 & plants to kill off the cyanobacteria? For that matter, what is the right amount (ppm) and how do I know I've hit the mark before I readjust and loose the right mix? Just want to know how much NO3 I need to add to the tank without overdoing it, since I'm leary of stressing out and stunting my fry with high nitrates. Could I just increase my nitrates by overstocking & overfeeding even more and kill the stuff off that way? But yeah; the BGA sure is unsightly! :P Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted June 19, 2006 Report Share Posted June 19, 2006 (edited) Still a bit hazy though; not trying to be obtuse or anything , but if you need excess NO3 to destroy the BGA, but you want the plants in there to keep the excess NO3 in check, how would I get just the right combination of NO3 & plants to kill off the cyanobacteria? For that matter, what is the right amount (ppm) and how do I know I've hit the mark before I readjust and loose the right mix? To be honest, I've never measured ppm. I've just gone by what's been recommended - about 1/4 tsp per 20 gal. That's in what most would call a heavily planted tank. So, if it's a barebottom tank that you want to try this method on, I'd have at least enough floating plant mass to cover the entire top of the tank. Other good plants to use are fast growing stems like Hygrophylia spp, Moneywart, or something like Watersprite and it's cousins (Nature's Corner has some in, I do believe). Could I just increase my nitrates by overstocking & overfeeding even more and kill the stuff off that way? Not really because food and fish waste isn't just NO3... One other thing that I've used that has worked well in conjunction with the NO3 method is adding the recommended dosage of Seachem Excel. It's killer on most algae, and helps knock out BGA a bit, too. HTH. Edited June 19, 2006 by jvision Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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