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#1
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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. |
#2
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Black brush algae from hell
Just read an interesting suggestion about getting rid of algae that
might be what you call "brush" - grey strands (3/4 in or so long) forming thick soft colonies on the leaves and on the gravel. Impossible to remove mechanically. - KH 9 - PH =8 - No suspended organic matter of any sort - these algae seem to benefit from it very much. So any fish that disturbs the bottom will help the algae. The article said it takes about 1-1/2 to 2 months to get rid of that sort of algae. Another thing they tried and claim it worked is to have very fine active carbon powder suspended in the water. It settles and covers everything and aparently does not bother the plants as much as it suffocates that sort of algae. But having everything covered in black powder is one ugly sight, I don't know if it works well either. --Nikolay |
#3
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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/ |
#4
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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. |
#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. 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. |
#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:
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. |
#11
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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 |
#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
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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