Black brush algae from hell
I can't seem to shake this from my tank.
Since I moved about 2 months ago, I've been having a hell of a time with black brush algae. I did a quick test of the water today: FE: 0 PHO4: ~2 NO2: .3 NO3: 8 ph 7.2 Ammonia: 0 KH: ~3 GH: 0 weekly 40% water changes. I added 3 bags of phosphate remover to the ehiem 2226. I just did a 20% water change. Tank is 66 gallons. Heavily planted & med fish load of tetras. I'm going to start doing biweekly or triweekly water changes. Is there any other way to reduce this phosphate level? No fertilization or iron being added. Any time I do that, the stuff takes off again. Substrate: profile with flourite added. CO2 @ 1 bubble/sec Suggestions? -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
Black brush algae from hell
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/ |
Black brush algae from hell
".D.E" wrote:
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. PH Stable is 100% baking soda. |
Black brush algae from hell
".D.E" wrote:
FE: 0 PHO4: ~2 NO2: .3 NO3: 8 ph 7.2 Ammonia: 0 KH: ~3 GH: 0 Leighmo has already observed that your CO2 is pretty low (5.7ppm). With a GH of 0, there is no Calcium or Magnesium in your water, both of which are important micronutrients. With Fe of 0, your plants will start to yellow quickly. Leighmo also suggested you not get upset over Phosphate. He's right. I also observe that you have measureable nitrites, which is never good as it indicates that your biological filtratration has been interrupted and your plants aren't picking up the slack. Are you using water conditioner? If not, start immediately-Prime or Amquel. Weekly water chages are sufficient. Biweekly or triweekly are unnecessary. Specific recommendations: 1. Get GH up to 3 or more. Either your tap water is super soft, or you areusing RO water. In either case, Kent RO Right will work. If using RO, mix with harder tap water. 2. Increase your bubble rate or improve your diffusion to get CO2 up over 15 ppm 3. Look at trace fertilizers. Start reading he http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Fertilizer/ http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_co2chart.htm |
Black brush algae from hell
I spent another 45 mins removing affected gravel from the tank last night.
Ph 7.5 last night, 7.4 this morning. Another water change this Friday as I've been working late every night this week. I've also changed the bulbs on the front of the tank to full spectrum bulbs. I've had good results with these in the past and these maybe a factor in the problem as well. CO2 is now 2-3 bubbles/sec. Plants are now growing better. I'm going to keep adding the Kent R/O to raise the GH. Thanks for all the suggestions everyone. -- Later. D.E. Have a better one. To email me back, simply remove "Forget.The.Spam" from my address. |
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