algae control

[dinoegg]

Hi guys,

Need some advice.
I am having a 2 by 1.5 by 2 feet tank and I would like to know how many yamato shrimps, otos or SAE should I introduce to the tank to have an effective control over those nasty algae

I put in 30 yamatos about 1 week ago but now only left about half [] Initially the shrimps are very drying but now the survivors seemed to be ding their jobs now (eating the algae) [] []

I went to buy the barley straw from aquatechnic but I only put half of it (about 10g). Is it enough or I should put the whole packet it?
Guess what, I couldn't find a suitable net to put those straw into my filter so I ask my wife to give me her sockings. Haha I hope those shrimps will not get 'suffocated' [] [] []

[David]

hi dinoegg

since you have 10+ of yamatoes, perhaps you can have another 10. As for the SAEs, have 2 max and ottos about 6. As for the barley straw, i am guessing you got the refill pack. think half is enough as the whole pack treats up to 100liters of water.....if i remember correctly

[DEA]

what kind of algae do you have?

[scoobydoo]

I tried the barley straws too, put the whole bag in my filter, dun seem to work for me, still have alage in my tank. Sigh !

[dinoegg]

Hi stkhoo, You mean 1 whole packet can only treat up to 100 litres, then I don't think my half packet is enough as my tank is about 135 litres.

DEA, my tank is just a new setup, but I did see some hair algae and spot algae already, hopefully I will not get those deadly BBA that you all keep mentioning.[:]

[David]

sb

the barley straw works mostly on green algae...the browns and red does not seem to be affected by them. the bag of straw only last for about 2 mths before it needs to be changed.

[DEA]

different kinds of algae tend to thrive in different conditions
there is only ONE root cause of algae : excess nutrients aka nutrient imbalance
call it what you like, high nitrates, high phosphates, high organics, but they're essentially referring to the same thing a/m

there is no magic bullet for algae
ways to bring down algae include frequent small water changes to dilute the nutrients in the water column, by planting densely and also by having fast growing floating plants

biological methods like alleleopathy (plants producing anti-algal chemicals) are sketchy at best because there's no documentation about it, so you'll have to mix and match at your own risk
algae eating fish and shrimp are good, but there are some types of algae nothing will touch

so
what kind of algae do you have, and what kind of tank are you keeping?

[dinoegg]

[quote]
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On 12/22/2001 4:46:02 PM

sb


the barley straw works mostly on green algae...the browns and red does not seem to be affected by them. the bag of straw only last for about 2 mths before it needs to be changed.
----------------


[:0] Very expensive leh to change it every 2 months. I got it for $17/packet and it is damn far for me to get there (I am staying in Yew Tee). Is there any other LFS selling similar products? Any other brand or substitude which is cheaper?

[koon]

[quote]
----------------
On 12/22/2001 4:54:05 PM

----------------
On 12/22/2001 4:46:02 PM

sb


the barley straw works mostly on green algae...the browns and red does not seem to be affected by them. the bag of straw only last for about 2 mths before it needs to be changed.
----------------


[:0] Very expensive leh to change it every 2 months. I got it for $17/packet and it is damn far for me to get there (I am staying in Yew Tee). Is there any other LFS selling similar products? Any other brand or substitude which is cheaper?

----------------

Well, you do not need to spend so much to get rid of algae.

Besides whatever mentioned above, sometimes what we need is patience. This is very important especially during tank start-up.
For my 5 feet tank, after putting the base fertilizer + sand, I let the water circulate for 2 week until it is crystal clear. Then I put in a lot of riccia + some fast growing plants.

The plants will grow very quickly plus some algae especially the green filament type. This is the time I introduce my algae soldier - 60 yamatoes + 5 SAEs, + 10 otos. Within 1 week, 80 - 90% of the algae will be gone.
After 1 month, you can see that the riccia outgrow the algae. Within this period try to balance the liquid fertilizer you put in + changing of water.

This is the time that I start to introduce new plants for my aquascaping, take note that do not pull out too many plants out and disturb the balance that you have set up.
Patience huh !

After all the plants has set in, then start to introduce your favourite fish (do not overcrowd), remember that it is a hobby that we are supposed to enjoy unless you like to change water frequently.

Once everything is stabilized, enjoy your masterpiece !!

So, how long ??
2 - 3 months.

Well, hope this help. It is very difficult for your tank to catch algae once you have achieve the balance ecosystem that is needed.

rgds

[Marlin]

Hi

You mentioned about the Barley Straws and aquatechnic, can I have the address if aquatechnic ? and how much are they selling at ?

Many Thanks
Cheers
Marlin

[David]

hi merlin

it cost about $17 per refill pack if you dont want to buy the whole system which is 80+ bucks if i am not wrong....every pack is enough to treat 100 liters..and only up to 2 to 3 months tops before you need to change it.......

At the end...this is only a temp relieve.....i'm more incline to good water husbandry....as what DEA and Koon have mentioned

[AirStern]

hi all, i am new to this forum, would like to share my experiences with black brush algae

i had BBA attack three months back, affecting all my hairgrasses which i painstakingly cultivated to carpet my substrate.

it is really horrible to see those small black turfs pratically everywhere in the tank, my amazon sowrd, hairgrass, bacopa, and even my rain bar!

tried to introduce yamatoes, 100+ shrimps, black mollies, ard 8 SAEs, 10+ otos .... totally removed my CO2 setup ... all these helped to a certain extent, but the attack is still there and wont go away, had tried to change 20% every two days but to no help ...

finally tore down the whole tank and sterilize every single piece of wood, my rain bar, substrate .... now with new tank setup, the problem apprently seem to be gone, hope it will not come back

the baseline is that the moment you see BBA, take ACTION immediately, it is not something to be played around

[DEA]

apparently BBA thrives when the organics in the water accumulate
water changes, filter cleaning and manual removal of algae appear to be the best methods of combating this
use hydrogen peroxide at own risk
you never know what it'll do to your shrimp, fish and biofilter

[AirStern]

you are right, that time i put hydrogen peroxide, next thing i know is that all my yamatoes are lying all over the place

[Simon]

wat i did was stop fertilization for abt 6mths.. totally cleared.. oso important is u need to remove debris struck between plants, remove infected plants or leaves

[David]

what i did was remove as much infected leaves, bleach any hardware that has been infected as well....dumped in 80 yamatoes and 10 SAEs.......

[sherchoo]

Dinoegg,

Green spot - This algae is almost impossible to avoid. Most tanks have this and a simple weekly scrapping will remove them.

Hair algae - SAE should be your best choice to remove it. Be warned that these fishes can grow as big as 4". When they grow big they will start fighting for comercial food with the other fishes. Maybe for your tank you can try not mor than 3.

As previosly mentioned, water quality maintenance would be your best way to eliminate this problem.

[dinoegg]

Hi guys,

Thanks for the advice.

[scoobydoo]

What about using antibiotics ? Read that erythromycin will clear BBA in 2 days. Tried to stop fert but my riccia started turning brown. I can't use Yamatoes cos' they always end up "cooked" in my tank, SAE seems to eat other algae but the moment it encounters a tuft of BBA, it hits the brakes and moves elsewhere.

[vinz]

Most critters that will eat BBA will only eat it as the last choice of food. So as long as there are food sources in the tank (e.g. other algae, fish food) you cannot depend on them to eat the BBA...