"John H." wrote in message
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"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"John H." wrote in message
. ..
I've got a bad case of hair algea in my 55gal. Its mostly attached
itself to broad leaf plants, my amazon swords. It reminds me of that
fine hair you have to clean of corn, its its much finer than that. There
isnt any on the grass I use in forground. ITs really ugly. Not sure
where it came from. I've read that you have to use a 5% bleach soln to
kill it... thats before you put the plants into your tank, right? What
can I do now, trim the affected leaves?
thanks
John

55gal
pH 6.5-7
kH 8-9
eheim canister filter
CO2
no2 & nh4 nil
no3 20
96 watts light X 12 hr/day

My setup is very similar to yours, except I have more light.

I had a bout with hair algae too, before I added more plants. I just kept
pulling it off and I finally got rid of it. Then I got BGA (a real
scourge) and now some minor BBA.

Do you add PO4 or traces? How much CO2 do you use, quite a bit based on
your PH and KH?

I think my CO2 is at about 1 bbl/2sec or so, not much. Water in my area is
fairly soft, from the tap the kh is 10. I add some peat to soften it more
for my discus. I wonder if that algea got in from the peat I'm using?? Its
the stuff from Fluval?

Go here to check your CO2 levels (ppm).

http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm

My Hair Algae came in on some pond plants, before I changed my tank to
Tropicals.


I've seen Florida Flag fish recommended for HA or a blackout if it's
really bad.