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#1
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Black brush algae from hell
You could also try a few SAE's which are known to eat this algae. Your GH
is waaay too low, try using calcium carbonate or other such source, iron levels are also too low for keeping plants. If all else fails, look for Azoo BBA killer which may have rid my tank of this ugly algae after 8 days(2 days treatment left of 14 days), be sure to follow the directions carefully (less feeding/frequent water changes) as it kills your biofilter but if you've got heaps of plants already it's not too much of a problem. "LeighMo" wrote in message ... How much light do you have over this tank? ph 7.2 KH: ~3 That's not a lot of CO2. If algae takes off whenever you fertilize, I suspect your tank is CO2-limited. Try to add enough CO2 to get your pH down to 6.6. I wouldn't worry about the phosphate. I've got tons more phosphate than you. (40ppm in my tapwater!) There was a little bit of BBA when I first set up the tank, but it soon vanished. IME, when you set up a tank (or re-set up a tank), it's normal to experience algae outbreaks. Don't panic, and don't overreact. The plants need time to get established and start growing well. Don't be afraid to fertilize. It may take time, but if you give the plants everything they need, the algae will go away. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#2
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Black brush algae from hell
160 watts running 12 hours/day. I've cut that down to 10 hours. The bulbs are the
generic GE plant & aquarium ones. I'm thinking of replacing these next week with some full spectrum ones. -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
#3
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Black brush algae from hell
I noticed that when doing the 30% water changes every other day, the algae
was kept in check. However as soon as I left if for a week, it was back worse than ever. CO2 is now at 2 bubbles/sec. I'm literally picking the affected gravel out. This has really stumped me. -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
#4
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Black brush algae from hell
160 watts running 12 hours/day.
Okay, that's not too much light. More CO2 would be nice, but it's not critical. I think Dave gave you very good advice. A GH of zero is not good for a planted tank. Perhaps it's a change in water chemistry with the move that has caused the problem? Getting your GH up is more important than what kind of bulbs you're using. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#5
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Black brush algae from hell
I noticed that when doing the 30% water changes every other day, the algae
was kept in check. However as soon as I left if for a week, it was back worse than ever. That sounds like a trace element problem to me. Definitely get your GH up. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#6
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Black brush algae from hell
That's not a lot of CO2. If algae takes off whenever you fertilize, I
suspect your tank is CO2-limited. Try to add enough CO2 to get your pH down to 6.6. Thats interesting. I had a very, very big BBA outbreak in a smaller tank. I setup the CO2 system as a pre-cursor to putting it in my larger tank. The plants flourished for a while, all other chemistry was as expected, high GH/KH, Nitrate around 40 etc... Then I took the CO2 away - and as if by magic, the brush algae appeared and started to take over the tank - there was no getting rid of it - dosing with my regular chemicals had no effect. It spread to the point of clogging the internal filter. As I used to go away on weekends I was worried that the filter may stop so I trickled air in through a hose. Biggest mistake ever - the BBA just flourished took over all bogwood - rocks- gravel the lot. It's gone now - I cooked the slate in the oven, threw the bogwood out (actually sunlight has an interesting effect on it - makes it go purple when it dries out - it would make a nice ornament) and scraped the stuff off the sides of the filter and removed the infected surface gravel. There is still a little left - but I have very few fish in there now as they have mostly been transfered. Martin. |
#7
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Black brush algae from hell
I've been running the same amount of light over the same tank with annual bulb
changes for the last 2 years. Besides to get the plants to grow properly, I need this amount of light to get the high light plants to flourish. -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
#8
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Black brush algae from hell
Recommendations on how to raise the GH? Baking Soda only raises the PH I've
found. Right now it's at ~7.2 and I don't want it to go any higher. Any other suggestions? -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
#9
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Black brush algae from hell
Yesterday a 30% water change was done. I added 2.5 ml of Tropica Master
grow. I've also added some PH Stable from SeaChem to help with the KH. I've been using these products for over 2 years now and haven't had any previous problems. I spent an hour picking affected gravel off the bottom. I'm not going to add any additional Iron to the tank as soon as I do, BBA appears within hours. I'm not kidding. I've been using a product called Aquarium Stuff to remove the chlorine. Again for well over 2 years. I've added a few new plants to the tank. I've noticed that they did well initially, but the broad leaved ones like Hygrophylia have started to get holes in the leaves and look yellowish. I'm sure this is a nutrient problem, but adding iron will only cause the BBA to increase. I'm going to slowly add more Tropica Master grow during the week. Any other suggestions anyone? -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
#10
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Black brush algae from hell
".D.E" wrote:
Recommendations on how to raise the GH? Baking Soda only raises the PH I've found. Right now it's at ~7.2 and I don't want it to go any higher. GH and KH are unreleated. You can raise GH quite effectively in a planted tank with Kent RO Right (which I use and recommend) or Seachem Equilibrium. Any other suggestions? Go back and read this whole thread. Several people have given you good advice. In summary: * Your CO2 is low. Increase it to 15ppm+ * Your Iron is low. PMDD or Flourish Iron. * You have no traces. PMDD or Flourish. * Your GH is low. RO Right or Equilibrium. * You are changing too much water. Once a week is fine. This thread started just 48 hours ago. Work on these issues, give it time. Start your reading he http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/ http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm |
#11
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Black brush algae from hell
Any other suggestions anyone?
Raise your GH. Not your KH, your GH. Dave told you what products to use. You *don't* need pH Stable. (IMHO, no one needs it. I don't recommend using sodium bicarbonate in fishtanks. I don't fully understand the chemistry, but it doesn't produce a stable change in pH. More a temporary bounce. Calcium carbonate is much better if you want to raise your KH/pH). But you don't need to raise your KH or pH. Just your GH! You said you had moved. Is it possible that the tapwater is different in your new home? What was the GH at your old house? Plants will never do well with a GH of 0. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
#12
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Black brush algae from hell
GH & KH at the old place were 0. I'm not kidding. Normally the water here on the
west coast of Canada is GH 0, KH 0 and ph 5.8 - 6. I added 4 siamese algae eaters yesterday as well as some fast growing wisteria and started to add Kent R/O to raise the GH. Tank parameters since the 30% water change today. CO2 2 bubbles/sec. Noticed growth in some plants. Good sign. GH ~1. I'll keep adding the Kent R/O to raise the GH. Is this stuff just epson salts? KH ~5 PO4 ~1 GOOD SIGN! PH ~ 7.2. I wouldn't mind getting this down to 6.8 FE 0 NO2 .3 NO3 8 Ammonia 0 After spending an hour removing the affected gravel off the bottom, it looks like I haven't removed any at all. I'm not kidding. It's just as bad as a day ago. 30% water changes will continue until the SAE's can get a handle on the BBA problem. -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
#13
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Black brush algae from hell
GH & KH at the old place were 0. I'm not kidding. Normally the water here on
the west coast of Canada is GH 0, KH 0 and ph 5.8 - 6. And you didn't have problems? Man, I wouldn't want to be injecting CO2 into water like that. GH ~1. I'll keep adding the Kent R/O to raise the GH. Is this stuff just epson salts? I think it's Epson salts and calcium carbonate. g You could make your own, but many people believe the ratio of calcium to magnesium is important, and if you use Kent R/O, you don't have to worry about it. 30% water changes will continue until the SAE's can get a handle on the BBA problem. I don't think that's necessary, now that you are adding the proper traces. You're not giving your tank a chance to stabilize. SAEs prefer young, tender BBA to old, tough stuff, so you might want to remove visible algae when you can. (By removing the leaves it's growing on, if the plant can spare them.) The SAEs will keep new algae from growing in to replace it. It will take time, so be patient. Leigh http://www.fortunecity.com/lavender/halloween/881/ |
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