ALGAE -SAE,OTO,SHRIMPS

[raytan12]

Hi,
i have added 1 SAE, 2 OTOS, 5 shrimps (at the meantime) for my 10 Gallon tank. there are alot of algae at the front panel of my tank, green spots and some hair-like algae, pretty long. some of it seem to be cleared. I intend to add 3 more OTOS and about 30 more shrimps. can't see my shrimps becos they seem to be working at the backdrop where my mesh covered with xmas moss is. is it too much to have 5 OTOs and 35 shrimps in my 1.5 ft tank? please advise. what will help to clear all the algae on the front panel of my tank, SAE,OTO or SHRiMP?

[nizz]

Hi Ray

Wat's ur lighting specs light? & the hrs? It might be helpful if u try to minimize the lighting period for a while & limit ur fertilisation until the algae disappears. U may also wish to try splitting the lighting periods. (I'm assuming here it's a new tank with no other fish? Otherwise control feeding too.)

I have 72W in a 14G tank. It was on for 12hrs & had algae prob (including front panel). Reduced it to 10.5hrs, & algae was less but still significant. Now lighting period is changed to 4hrs/2hrs(off)/6hrs & so far the algae prob is under control. BTW, i only have 1 oto & a molly in the tank to fight algae. The molly's very gd at eating the hairy ones....even those on the glass!

Oh...I don't think it's a prob to add the qty of otos & shrimps u mentioned. Watever it is, u'd need to do it on a 'trial & error' method...gd luck pal!

Just my 3cents' worth...

Nizz

[budak]

Algae-eaters are neither a catch-all solution nor total duds. I do prefer a simple rough sponge scrub for cleaning green spot algae on the front glass. SAEs will eat BBA but frequently get spoiled on fish food. Otos and shrimps are good general workers, but adding too many IMHO just adds to the bioload and waste level, i.e. the more algae/food they eat, the more they re-fertilise the water with their shit.

Glad that you prefer biological control of algae to adding all manner of proprietary chemicals, though. But best if you try to determine what exactly is causing the algae bloom: too much light (or too long lighting time?), too little CO2 (leading to high pH, which algaes like) too much liquid fertilisation?, overfeeding of fish?, exposure to sunlight?, lack of fast-growing plants to outcompete the algae?

[raytan12]

Hi Nizz,
my lighting is only 27W (18W+9W). i on both for about 12 hours and then off the stronger light but the dimmer one for total 20 hours a day.

[nizz]

Hi Ray

I think you may wanna try shutting off the 9W light together wif the 18W one...& reduce both to 10hrs first...see how...like i mentioned (& budak as well), there cld be several parameters of the tank dat cld contribute to your algae prob. But fr what u've described, my prime suspect wld be the light, even tho' it's low, the period is too long. Maybe don add any more algae-fighters anymore for the moment & try tackling fr the lighting angle first...at least dat's wat i wld do.

Comments fr others?

Nizz

[budak]

27W is ok with some Co2, but i dun think leaving the dimmer light on for 20 hours is very helpful. 12 hours seems a bit too long too. best is about 10 hours. Plants need their sleep too... actually to convert the starches and carbohydrates they built up during the day into new tissue.

[ryan]

OOoohhh boy... the algae in your tank sure loves you... leave the lights on for them when your plants half dead from making food 20 hrs a day... i used to do that cuz i didn;t have timer and so i had to do mannual lights on and off... so when i fall asleep too early... hahaha[]

[bclee]

Any test kits? Important to test your PO4 and NO3. Very good indicators. Too high values and algae = overfeeding, or not enuf plants, or ... Zero or too low values + algae problem = plants are being out-compete by algae, or too much NH3, or...

Learn to differentiate different type of algae. Different algae thrives in different conditions.

With test kits & observations, you should be able to tell what's going wrong rather than making guesses... may make matter worse. (I learnt it the hard way.)

BC

[hwchoy]

BC, summarise your learning for us leh... I can tell the kind of algae I have, I can also do the tests, but need the correlation

[bclee]

I am still quite new and learning. I learnt mostly from the net. Here is one very helpful page.
After reading articles about algae, I made my own observations. Too much to squeeze in here. But this is my recent experience.
I used to have green algae on the glass. I added very fast growing Hydrilla. The N & P level dropped. Green algae also diminished.
Then I added some substrate fertilisers which contains P and I have BBA and green algae came back.[] Now controlling feeding and increasing K dosage to get the plants to "eat up" the excess P.

Will share with you guys when I learn more.

BC