Algae prevention

[FluffyBunny]

Hi all, what are some of the ways to prevent algae growth when starting a new planted tank?

[Urban Aquaria]

Start the tank with a high density of healthy fast growing plants (best if the entire tank is filled with plants from the beginning) that will allow them to utilise all the light and nutrients available, thereby out-competing the algae growth (algae will also be present, it's just a matter of minimising it). Co2 injection will boost plant growth significantly and help them out-compete algae too.

If algae does appear (which they will), just manually clear them as much as you can, and adjust the light, nutrients or Co2 supply according to find the right balance.

Once the tank is fully cycled, adding teams of algae eaters (ie. shrimps, otocinclus, snails etc) will help to further manage the algae growth. Each algae eater deals with different algae, so the key is variety and teamwork.

[greenie]

To add to UA, most new tank setups tend to be overkill for some, especially on light intensity and duration. I suggest set light to 4hrs during initial phase if you are unsure of the intensity.

Don't keep changing the setup you have started to allow the plants to acclimitise and start settling in before algae starts wrecking havoc. Algae copes faster in changing tank parameters as compared to plants.

[barmby]

Try to know more friends from AQ and trade plants with them.

Plant heavily from beginning and Never Never wait for plant to grow out in the hope that this will fill up the tank. It never work : )

Algae need one factor to prosper while plants need everything such as NPK and TEs and and a lot of Carbon

[FluffyBunny]

Thank you for all the replies. Will add more plants to compete with the algae.
Another question, how long should i wait before adding liquid ferts after newly setting up the tank?

[Urban Aquaria]

Another question, how long should i wait before adding liquid ferts after newly setting up the tank?

Its usually a good idea to begin dosing fertilizers once the tank is planted, choose a good all-in-one fertilizer if you are just starting out. The fertilizers help to ensure your plants get enough of the various nutrients to grow properly and reduce potential deficiencies (adjust the dosages based on observing plant condition and density).

[Cmlee]

I add excel but still have algae , all plants are ok except java moss started to become brown. Not sure if it is due to excel?

[Urban Aquaria]

I add excel but still have algae , all plants are ok except java moss started to become brown. Not sure if it is due to excel?

Excel only inhibits algae slightly at normal dosages, if the algae growth is fast, it still wouldn't help much. Only at much higher overdosed levels does it have the actual algae killing effect (but that will also affect the plants and livestock too).

Java moss (and most mosses in general) can be affected by Excel, as they tend to be more sensitive to such chemicals.

Note that Excel is not a nutrient fertilizer, its a carbon supplement.

[Cmlee]

I have Xmas moss and fissiden in my tank too but only java moss turned brown. Any idea why?

[Urban Aquaria]

I have Xmas moss and fissiden in my tank too but only java moss turned brown. Any idea why?

Maybe check the position of the java moss, it could be getting less light or less flow, move it around and see if that helps improve its growth.

[Cmlee]

The java was growing well and I can see new growth. But after putting excel it becomes brownish 1 week later. So my guess is not due to light

[Urban Aquaria]

The java was growing well and I can see new growth. But after putting excel it becomes brownish 1 week later. So my guess is not due to light

That probably indicates that the java moss is not taking too well to Excel (the other mosses might just be slightly more tolerant to it)... is the java moss placed in an area where the Excel solution flows directly over it when you dose?

[Cmlee]

Excel shouldn't be directly following to java moss, the fissiden is just beside it too. So far fissidens are still growing well

[Urban Aquaria]

Excel shouldn't be directly following to java moss, the fissiden is just beside it too. So far fissidens are still growing well

Then it looks like the amount of Excel you are dosing isn't agreeing with the java moss.... so either decrease the Excel dosage or simply remove the java moss (or just leave it alone), not much else you can do.

[Cmlee]

Yep already dosing the recommended qty. it's strange that it turned brown

[stressed]

It could be heat or could be itself adjusting to a new environment. It typically will recover.

[Cmlee]

I See new shots coming out

[wuguidan]

Hihi,

i bought this Algexit from Easy-Life to tackle my hair algae, it really helps.
Also on the bottle, it also mentioned that you can dose 1 time every 2 weeks to help inhabit algae growth.

[raindropzz]

Never ending battle with green dust algae (so far the only and most problematic algae encountered). Tried everything from wait 3 weeks, brittlenose pleco, otos and nerite snails. Even added more phosphorus (but ended up with lots of hair algae). Nothing works. Did not try black out for several days. Did not try algaecide (except Excel but understanding from the Internet Community is that Excel does not affect Green Dust Algae).

Finally, although very hesitant, decided on using inline AquaEL 3W UV Light from Seaview (6 red notes). This is the lowest power UVC light I could find in Singapore LFS. Unable to find the LED UVC light from AquaEL (which is less than 1W but I do not know why no LFS is bringing these in). Saw some UVC LED from Aliexpress but unsure about their effectiveness and quality. Hence didn't try. I think a few years from now, UVC LED should be the way to go.

Install on outlet from Elheim Ecco 200, after Maxmix CO2 reactor. Appear to work well so far with the 3W LED on my 20gallon tank. Started with 24 hours operation, then 12 hours and now 6 hours a day.

Water clarity improves significantly (even better when compared to using Seachem Purigen alone) and green dust algae appear to be growing much much more slowly. Logically, this should allow time for the brittlenose pleco and nerite snail to munch on them.

[barmby]

Green dust - This algae is rather easy to get rid of and does not bother plants. It'll appears in high light nutrient rich tanks every so often but is not hard to get rid of.

Before, right before you do the water change, clean off all the green dust algae. Scrub after you remove the water, and rinse off the green algae into the buckets. If you have a micro filter or a fine mechanical filter, use it or UV right after water change. Try another water change in a day or two and leave the filtration/UV going.

The algae are scraped off, then float around and reattaches quickly then grows a little. It will appear to be new growth within about an hour. They often leave it for a week and then wipe it off again. But unless it's removed physically, it simply swims around and reattaches again and again

It shows up from time to time but is not hard to get rid of if you clean it all off good, remove it before it reattaches through filtration, water changes etc.

Nutrients don't seem to play a large role, it went away after normal water changes, dosing after about 8 weeks all on its own. Adding fish food and feeding more seemed to help. Akinoscendemus is the genus. The zoospores are flagellated and can swim around and reattach in hours/minutes even.

if you attack them and remove them, then go after them again the next day rather than waiting for them to have a chance to re group and grow,, you will have an easier time of getting rid of them for good. They seldom come back once you things going.

Generally harassing algae: Remove what's there, keep plant nutrient levels good, check CO2 no matter what, manually remove it and attack it before it has a chance to build up its reserves and blooms again. Large water changes can remove a lot of spores and leftovers after a pruning, scrubbing. You can do the scrubbing first then right away does large water change. Then the next day repeat this. This often will work. Adding an UV and a Diatom/micron filter etc can help also while treating