Algae Problem

[turtle]

I would appreciate any advice on getting rid of the hair like algae that is trying to take over my tank.  Left unchecked it forms floating mats at the surface.  With regular cleaning it still trys to choke out the plants, sticks to the substrate, driftwood, etc.

I have asked around and heard that the problem is too much light, not enough light, too much phosphate, not enough micro nutrients, etc.  Any advice would be greatly appreciated as the algae is the only thing that is thriving.

Maybe I should admit defeat and start marketing it as a new organic herbal tea??

[finfan]

Re: Algae Problem

get 2 juvie BN plecos (not regular pleco), i had similar problems and they did miracles

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Algae Problem

Imbalance of light/fertilizer-nutrients/co2

plecos, nerites, amano shrimp will help suppress the problem.

[Mzungu]

Re: Algae Problem

If it's hair-like algae, I don't think the plecos will touch it.

I've had success with cutting the light in half, manually removing all that I could, and dosing Excel every day. If there are small fish in the tank, I've also had success adding a slew of scuds to eat the hair algae. I've seen reports of amanos taking care of it, as well. Another option would be to add rosy barbs or flagfish, who also eat the algae pretty efficiently, although from what I've read, they prefer the newer growth, so manual removal would be beneficial.

Good luck!  :)

[RussGB]

Re: Algae Problem

Well....I  agree with the light/nutrients/CO2 thing, but that's all a bit tough especially if you aren't a mad chemist!

I would pick one of more of the following:

- Add some oto's.
- Add Nerites. I got them in all of my tanks now; love them!
- Do a two dark period in the middle of the day. I have read about this, but never done it.
- Amano's - ceaseless consumers!

[eklikewhoa]

Re: Algae Problem

No need to be a mad chemist....just a bit more dedicated. With the "black out " photo-period it's the same as attempting to "balance" out the tank.

[turtle]

Re: Algae Problem

I appreciate all of the input.  Based on everyone's comments, the current plan is to dose woth Excel and add amanos and nerites.  A couple of follow up questoins...

Are nerites available at a lfs?  I have never seen them but then again have never been looking.  Any suggestions for how many would be appropriate for a 135?  Also I like the idea of Amanos, again any idea of who carries them and how many would be appropriate?

Alos, I get that it is a nuttient/light/CO2 problem but wanted to see if there was a likely suspect prioir to spending the $$ on a CO2 system or phosphate spnges.  I'll keep you posted on my results.

Thanks again,

Gareth

[Mzungu]

Re: Algae Problem

Nerites won't take care of the hair algae, but they're excellent algae eaters to have around, they clean up almost everything else.  :)  Not sure where you can get some right now in town...maybe someone else can tell us. I ordered mine from Rainbow Snails. I think there's someone here on HFB that has a large amount that he's planning on selling...

Amanos are pretty popular, I know that Fish Gallery has some. But I haven't been to any other stores lately, so I'm not sure.

For a 135, you can get a ton of amanos and nerites! What fish do you have in there? The number of amanos will depend on the current bioload, but you probably don't have to take that into so much account with the nerites. They're about an inch or so across, when full grown, but they work really hard. I'd say 10 or 20 would be fine, it all depends on what you prefer. But in the 15g I have at home, 7 was pushing it, because they really do eat all the algae pretty quickly, and I've had to disperse them into other tanks so they can eat!

[ItsDubC]

Re: Algae Problem

Like ek said, it's an imbalance.  Algae eaters take care of the algae of course but I suppose the real question is why the algae is appearing in such large quantities in the 1st place.  More than likely, you have a lot of excess nutrients in the water column.  Adding more plants to outcompete the algae would probably be a good long-term solution in addition to the suggestions already made.  Try adding some floating plants and see what affect it has on the mats of algae forming.