Can this plant help to prevent/kill algae?

[eGGS]

Got some dot/spot alage in my tank, can this plant help prevent or kill the alage?

Tks

http://www.tropica.com/productcard_1.asp?id=021

Ceratophyllum demersum is a genuine cosmopolitan found all over the globe. It has no true roots but can be planted in the bottom. In the wild it is often found rooted, with the lower leaves forming anchors. As a floating plant it provides a good hiding-place for young fish. C. demersum can be useful in combating algae because it consumes nutrients in the water and secretes substances that counteract algae. Some varieties are difficult to transport.

[eGGS]

If I'm not wrong, this plant is also known as Hornwort.

[Simon]

it doesnt kill algae, just absorb excessive nutrients from the water column

[PeterGwee]

Simon, I think he is referring to the allochemical thingy....doesn't work in my opinion. Imagine even algae attack it when your nutrients are heavily imbalance...verdict..it does not work.[]

[wks]

Peter, I don't agree with your view.
When we fight algae, we can't leave that to a plant alone to do the job and it definitely won't work. You need to clear some algae manually, change water regularly, clean the choked filter and make sure no over feeding. All these measures will help the tank to restore balance in water chemistry. The hornwort helps by suppressing further algae outbreak while the rest of plants begin their recovery process.

[lorba]

i am more towards wks' side. But can we say that the plant absorbs excessive nutrients or shld we say that plant absorbs them (the more critical and problematic ones that contributes to the well being of algae) much faster than any other?

[PeterGwee]

Okay...wks. Try it on a tank with no algae at all...add just traces and loads of CO2 without supplementing N,P,K. If that allochemical thingy really works, you should not find any algae after a couple of weeks when the stored N,P,K nutrient gets used up..

[timebomb]

Frankly, I don't think any of you are answering the guy's question which was:
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Got some dot/spot alage in my tank, can this plant help prevent or kill the alage?
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He wanted to know if Hornwort will prevent green spot algae from growing on the sides of his tank and not if the plant will prevent algae altogether. I'm pretty sure he meant "algae" and not "alage". I wouldn't have a clue what's "alage" []

I have Hornwort growing in almost all my balcony tanks where I keep my killies. The plant does help to prevent green spot algae although I don't think it's got anything to do with "allochemicals". This allochemical thing probably exist only in nature where you won't find different types of plants growing in one place. In our tanks, we have all sorts of plants growing next to each other so I seriously doubt there's any of this "allochemical" thing taking place.

Anyway, I rarely have to scrape green spot algae off the sides of my balcony tanks probably because the Hornwort cuts down the amount of light getting into the tanks. But that will work only if the Hornwort is floating on the surface of the tanks.

I may not have much Green Spot Algae but there are many other types of algae growing in my balcony tanks, one of which is a thread-like algae that clings to the Hornwort. So I would say Hornwort is effective against Green Spot Algae but it definitely isn't an all round algae-killer. I doubt there's such a plant but if you know one, let me know []

Loh K L

[naturetan]

In my opinion, when nutrients are imbalance or lacking, plants might not be healthy enough to give allelochemical? That could be one of the many possibilities we could find out if we really want to conclude that allelochemical doesn't work. Certain controlled parameters have to be maintained constant before testing for a variable, else any claim to invalidate years of research by biologists will be hard to justify.

I usually have spot algae near the end of the week before water change. Despite increasing/decreasing Fe content as suggested by AQ members, spot algae doesn't go off. That time, I dose everything except PO4 & NO3. However, things get better when I start dosing PO4. Now it has practically reduced to very few spots, some weeks can't even find any. You might consider this instead of Hornwort.

[geoffrey]

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On 6/10/2003 2:30:19 AM

....things get better when I start dosing PO4. Now it has practically reduced to very few spots, some weeks can't even find any. You might consider this instead of Hornwort.
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I am standing on your side.

[geoffrey]

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On 6/9/2003 10:22:04 PM

i am more towards wks' side. But can we say that the plant absorbs excessive nutrients or shld we say that plant absorbs them (the more critical and problematic ones that contributes to the well being of algae) much faster than any other?
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No one has a definite answer for how algae thrive. I don't think it has anything to do with how fast or how effective nutrients are absorbed. Don't forget while plants are absorbing their nutritional needs, algae are also doing the same and they do it with greater efficiency and some requires lower light energy to metabolise too. Algae are lower plants.

Plants love PO4 and NO3 and algae love them just as much. Both plants and algae take them in very quickly. In the end when NO3 or PO4 are depleted, it is always plants that deteriorate, not algae. Algae find this an opportune to thrive. Algae seem to do better with less, hence it is my opinion that nutrients for plants should be given regularly to ensure that they grow well.

Allelopathy, if it do exist will only occur when plants grow well. Plants can only synthesize allelochemical, enzymes and proteins etc when they have the raw materials and energy to do so.

You may want to do this to confirm : )

"Try it on a tank with no algae at all...add just traces and loads of CO2 without supplementing N,P,K. If that allochemical thingy really works, you should not find any algae after a couple of weeks when the stored N,P,K nutrient gets used up.." and I add, 3~5W per gallon of light.

[lorba]

No one has a definite answer for how algae thrive. I don't think it has anything to do with how fast or how effective nutrients are absorbed. Don't forget while plants are absorbing their nutrit

I am not saying whether will the rate of nutrients absorbed contributes at all, i was just trying to give weight to the word 'excessive' that is always being used.

[bclee]

Nutrient competition is out of the question. So excessive nutrients do not really cause algae. Lack of it does.

Oh no... are we going down that path again?

BC

[Allen_1971]

a bit of dejavu eh? or did someone just reload the matrix? hmmm...

Anyway, I agree with BC on this.

[Blue Whale]

BC, I added excessive Nitrogen in one 1.5ft tank, it encourages strands of algae forming whilst the 2ft one doesn't. However the 1.5ft is nearer to sunlight than the 2ft one. Whats ur view on this?

Ref: Seachem Flourish Nitrogen Supplement.

Others includes Alife Iron Supplement and Trace Elements in both tanks.

[PeterGwee]

Your remaining PO4 in your 1.5ft tank probably bottom out due to high rate of photosynthesis leaving you with algae...you never mention supplementing PO4 have you?

[Plantbrain]

If the tank has PO4 added routinely , often the tank has fewer spot algae issues.
Hornwort has no verfied allelopathic results in nature. I have not seen any significant alleopathic result from any aquatic macrophyte in the research literature.

Now if you grind up some hornwort and make some juice and add it very concentrated to a beaker with BGA or some alga of interest, and them measure before and after rates you may get some relative small effect. But allelopathic effects are very small and play a small role, so says my own oberservations, those of the top aquatic plant researcher here in the USA and the Editors of the journal Aquatic Botany, one of whom is a committee member of mine and the main editor is a personal friend of mine.

These experiments done on these plants are not field studies out in nature. Nor are our tanks natural for that matter.

I can say to everyone that allelopathic chemical interactions will not make or break anyone's tank. If you think adding hornwort will cure of help an algae problem, it's not from the alleopathic chemicals, that I can promise.

Give the plants what they want, NPK, GH, CO2, Traces, light. Add herbivores, clean the tank often, prune often etc

This is the way to control algae. Forget about the algae really.........just take care of the plants.
Regards,
Tom Barr

[Blue Whale]

well, when changing water that time then clear algae, they are not doing much damage. Its my snails I am more worried. The buddies are eating them up but it seem that snails just grow too many too fast so I am killing them by adding Anti Snails Solution cum "sucking" them by using tubings during water change. Very much under control.

Understand more abt this does aids me during my maintenance. Thanks people.

[loupgarou]

the key to snail control = loaches.
go for clown/pakistani or if you can afford it. botia sidthimunki (dwarf chain loach..) 20 in a tank will kill any snail (or for that matter, malayan shrimp..I have to top up 100 every 2-3 weeks)

[Blue Whale]

I am not familiar with names actually, do you have a photo for loaches?

I have grass shrimps inside, its only 1.5 ft so doesn't need to top up that much [:] The 2 ft one does enjoys both grass shrimps and yamatoes.