Hairline Algae

[jamesyeow]

Hi Guys,

Not too sure whether has this been brought up before. I have a issue with hairline algae.Even after changing water every 3-4 days according to some website, i still get them growing mostly from moss. I am just wondering by adding water fertiliser, will that add on to the growth of all this algae…

Really a pain having to clear them from every day and now i just do it before i change water...

Thanks

James

[AQMS]

Hi, when you mention hairline algae, i assume it is Hair or thread algae.
Hair algae occurs when their is high level of excess iron.
WC is another way of rebalancing the nutrients. You need to check on your fert dosing.
Here is a site that you can check the kind of algae that you have and the ways to remove and
reduce it.
http://www.guitarfish.org/algae

[barmby]

Do you have CO2? Please show the tank picture, thankssss

[jamesyeow]

Yes i have a CO2 Tank and how do i post the picture? Sorry I'm pretty new into this.

[jamesyeow]

Hi Zero, yes it should be thread algae. I use this fertiliser call Wonder grow. Its given by one of the bro here whom i have bought his tank from. Thanks for the help. Ihave just stopped adding fertiliser so far so monitoring the situation.

[barmby]

There is an icon "Insert Image" if mouse cursor over the icon under quick reply box

[limz_777]

once it goes full blown , quite a pita to remove

[jamesyeow]

So far its still under control. Its really not easy cos when it first bloom, i have to do gardening every day. Now that i do water change every 3-4 days, its lesser. Its my first time setting up this planted tank and its tough. Now i really admire the bros here that really put in a lot to beautify their tank...

[Suzerolt]

Doing water changes, as mentioned rebalances nutrients (i.e. just takes it away). Instead, consider adding less fertilizer.
Reduce the light level or hours accordingly. These could help.

[jamesyeow]

Thanks Suzerolt,

Now i only turn on lights 2-3 hours max a days. As for fertiliser, i have stop for a while also because my liquid fertiliser is empty, hahaha.. Anyway thanks all the bros here. Will try to enjoy while it last.

[AQMS]

James turning on the lights 2-3hours will not help your plant growth.Generally, around 8-10 hours per day of lighting is best.Lights timing can be staggered, such as 4 hours for half and 4 hours for the other half.This is known as "siesta" timing system.As for the light siesta, this is generally believed to have some impact on algae.I recommend using a timer for reliable lighting on/off time.

[jamesyeow]

Yes Thanks bro zero fighter, will try to get the timer back up. Used to turn on the timer but stop using after the algae start to grow rapidly. Still very new in this. Thanks a lot for your help.

[yan]

Hi,
Just use the same thread as it might be relevant for discussion.
This is my first low tech tank
45cm cube tank, place near to balcony.

Ive discovered
fuzz algae
free spot algae
and hair algae

water parameter as follow
tank is 2 months old

Base Fert: nil
Fertilizer: nil
Lighting: nil
cO2: nil (after discovery, 0hr lighting - initially 4/5hrs; 7pm-12am)

PH: 6
GH: 6
KH: 1/2
Ammonia [NH3/NH4]: 0ppm
Nitrate [NO3]: 0ppm
Nitrite [NO2]: 0ppm

Flora: Bucep, mini pellia
Fauna: Taiwan Bee Shrimp, 5 otos, 4 horn snail.

Please assist.
Thanks

[magpie]

Hi Yan,

Placing your tank near to balcony will risk your flora and scaping rocks/DW algae issues due to exposure to sunlight. Maybe you can add a few algae eating crews like yamato, otto fishes and manual removed those visible algae. How about your WC regime?

[barmby]

CO2 is the cause. There's 5ppm of NO3 from our tap water. Also, fish poo contribute to NH3 and NH4 then conversion to Nitrite. Ammonium and Ammonia are offenders : )

[yan]

Hi Yan,

Placing your tank near to balcony will risk your flora and scaping rocks/DW algae issues due to exposure to sunlight. Maybe you can add a few algae eating crews like yamato, otto fishes and manual removed those visible algae. How about your WC regime?

Would wrapping the tank with dark tracing paper help while i get the contractor to install the blind?

Water change, weekly 15/20 percent of the tank capacity.
Using RO water each refill

I've oto (5) and horn snail (5). Yamato suitable for CRS tank? hmmm

CO2 is the cause. There's 5ppm of NO3 from our tap water. Also, fish poo contribute to NH3 and NH4 then conversion to Nitrite. Ammonium and Ammonia are offenders : )

CO2? but its a low tech tank. NH3/NH4 is 0ppm tho.

[Urban Aquaria]

CO2? but its a low tech tank. NH3/NH4 is 0ppm tho.

I believe barmby means lack of Co2... but since your setup is low tech without Co2 injection, then no choice just have to reduce lighting to keep the tank in balance.

Algae have much lower requirements than plants and can still grow even in tanks with ammonia, nitrite and nitrate that seem to be measuring zero (they are not totally zero, just at amounts below measuring levels by test kits).

Especially in tanks with lower density or slower growing plants, algae will naturally grow to soak up any unused nutrients and light, hence algae usually takes the role of "fast growing plants" in such tanks.

[Urban Aquaria]

Would wrapping the tank with dark tracing paper help while i get the contractor to install the blind?

Water change, weekly 15/20 percent of the tank capacity.
Using RO water each refill

I've oto (5) and horn snail (5). Yamato suitable for CRS tank? hmmm

Covering the front and sides of the tank can help reduce excess sunlight from entering the tank... though your current plants in the tank would still need some light to grow, so its best to still run some tank lights to sustain them, otherwise the plants may start to suffer from lack of light if left in darkness too long.

You can add floating plants to serve as fast growing plants to outcompete the algae. Floating plants have full access to Co2 direct from the air so they are not limited by carbon supply.

In the meantime, just clean off as much of the green spot algae as you can, manually remove the hair algae and trim off any badly affected leaves.

Introducing more shrimps can help to deal with the remaining fuzz and hair algae... though you'll usually need a larger population of shrimps to get a more noticeable algae management effect (ie. > 50+ RCS or CRS shrimps for a 2ft tank).

Yamato shrimps are highly effective algae eaters, mainly due to their larger size and equally large appetites, 1 x full grown adult yamato shrimp can have the same algae cleaning effect as 6 x RCS or CRS shrimps... only thing is yamato shrimps are large in size so they tend to make everything else look smaller (especially in smaller tanks) and their greater appetites may also eventually extend to competing with smaller shrimps like CRS for food too.

[jiajuen900]

I have a set ups that I keep under natural sunlight.

When using natural sunlight to grow plants in a no tech set up, I find that it takes a far longer time for the system to reach a balance. Usually most algae problems will clear off once the tanks plants establish themselves.

i would suggest adding more plants to compete with the algae in the long run. You could try experimenting with a few plants to see which suite your tank conditions best given that everything is mostly up to the ambient environment in your house and you have little control over the tank parameters.

With these kind of set ups, I have experienced sudden outbursts of algae when the weather changes. E.g. Higher temps or long periods without rain. The algae usually clears of once the weather is back to normal.

[barmby]

NH4 and NH3 is not zero. I am very 100% sure. because shrimps need to take a dump