Stubborn algae

[peterp63]

So, I've been using PC's and metal halides on my troph tanks in order to produce algae on the rocks for my trophs/petros to graze on. It's working beautifully and they are eating it up like crazy.

New problem: I'm getting algae on the glass that is hard as heck to get off. Even with algae scrapers I have to work extrememly hard to remove this algae. Any recommendations?? I've cut down on the amount of time the lights are on because I was making a ton of algae anyways, but this doesn't seem to help out with reducing the amount of this stubborn algae that's forming on the glass.

Anything will help.. Thanks!

[Mzungu]

What color is it? Green or brown? Does it form in little spots, or all over?

Just wondering which kind, since some have their own Achilles' heel, if you will. :)

[peterp63]

Green. Yeah, I think they start as little spots....

[Mzungu]

Is sunlight hitting the tanks at all? If so, try to block it from doing so.

Unfortunately, for this stuff I only know of elbow grease. It's tough algae. My man says it's easier to scrape off when it's under water - I say it's easier during a water change when it has been dry for a few minutes. Who knows?

Maybe someone else has a secret they can share... :)

[cichlid1409]

thats deffinitly the rough stuff to remove... a razor blade makes short work of it though... just something that comes along with high lighting and nutrients.

[peterp63]

Yeah, I guess so. I'm about to add a metal halide to my 300 gallon. Doh!! And I feed these guys like 6-12 times per day!

[Complexity]

It sounds like green spot algae. Using a razor blade is the way to clean it off. But the bigger problem is the imbalance that's causing it in the first place. Generally, it's due to low phosphate (PO4) in the tank. Dose PO4 to fix the root cause. Then clean up what's already in the tank with a razor blade.

http://greenleafaquariums.com/aquarium-fertilizers-supplements/mono-potassium-phosphate.html

[J-WS6]

Peter,

What is the spectrum of the bulbs you are using? This may be a contributing factor.

[myjohnson]

clean the glass more often foo.

[peterp63]

Man, I DO!! I saw that one of my filters was plugged pretty good so there was probably an excess of nitrates in the water for this algae to grow... problem is solved now and the glass is clean, so we'll see what happens. I have a bunch of filtration on this tank, so without one filter I should've still been good....

Not sure of the spectrum, J. This is the metal halide/PC Coralife light that I got from Ek. I only use the MH's.

[myjohnson]

I like EK was using 12000K.

Sell me the petros foo!

[J-WS6]

Ah, then unless he kept the bulbs, they should be ADA 8000k.

[peterp63]

I got everything, so I'm sure they're still the same. What does 8000k tell you, J?

[Mzungu]

If it's an ADA bulb, that tells ME that it would probably grow plants wonderfully, if it weren't for your fish.

They also make a scrubber pad for algae magnets that has a strip of acrylic/plastic on it that acts as a scraper while you're using the magnet. Some people love it. Not sure who makes it, though.

[J-WS6]

Well, I had forgot that you had that fixture from Ek. 8000k is not bad, they're just primarily plant bulbs, that's why you don't see many companies making that spectrum. I think since you've got the halides on there and are trying to grow algae on the rocks, you're always going to have some show up on the glass, just part of it.

If it were me, I'd throw a handful of albino bushy nose plecos in there. They seem to work consistently, wihtout becoming lazy, or producing lots of waste like your standard pleco.

If that doesn't work for you then there's always the option of a UV sterilizer, which might help clear up the glass, but in return stifle the growth of the algae on the rocks, so it's kind of working against what you want to accomplish.

Maybe contact Ek to see what his photo period was for that light fixture when he had it up and running.

Hope this helps,
J