Hair algae in new setup, old filter setup!!??

[torque6]

Hi guys,

Minor hair algae poping up dispite having a good plant growth in my new 1FT. Even without ferts dosing.

I've already bleach all my filter equipment! Can anyone comment if my filter is overloaded ? or is it carbon pad problem ? oceanfree wool sponge problem ?!!



sigh... i didnt change any water parameters or introduce any bioload. 8 weeks setup and suddenly they appear after i introduce the bleach filter 2 weeks ago.... so filter problem ?! Think i have a relentless problem with gex filter, since the newly bought dolphin filter served me well for 6 weeks with no problem....

http://www.aquaticquotient.com/forum...t=45336&page=2

thanks in advance for the help.

[torque6]

Im guessing no one knows.

I will perform some test adding and removing certain components of the filter media and post my results then.

thanks.

[PeterGwee]

What happens when you bleach your filter? Bacteria population drops substantially. What then? NH4 is the issue since nitrification rates drop and the only source of NH4 reduction is plant uptake. It is likely your plant mass might not be enough to reduce the NH4 fast enough or that your plant demands are not met (no dosing of nutrients? Bad idea really...).

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[torque6]

Hi again Peter Havent spoken to you since May, thanks for responding.

I have done a new 1FT giving credits to you.

Some serious notes now.

First thing first, the use of bleach was to removed the algae inherent filter. Along with the bacteria population. This is expected.

NH4 becomes an issue if bact isnt there to break it down or plant uptake isnt sufficient. This again has been highlighted previously in all my experimental setups and i have learn through many advises and comments from yourself as well as many other gurus. And i have based my new 1FT on these consolidated directions.

But my question is, with my current plant mass, is NH4 really a problem looking at my tank? Include the contribution of bioload considering my 2x 1.5cm characins in a 27L?

If it is then its something new i've havent picked up or learnt since day 1...

The rationale for not dosing is because my plants are doing very well like as ive posted. See for yourself, you've mentioned several times to watch the plants and i've been diligently doing just that. I mean.. why upset my system through introduction of excess nutrients which may or may not be necessary for an existing good plant growth.

[PeterGwee]

The plants might look well at that time doesn't mean they don't need to "eat" as they might be using the reserves which they can uptake during good times. It will turn on you over time if you continue to stop dosing. Basic fundamental of plant care is needed such as filter cleaning (not bleaching), pruning, dosing, CO2 monitoring based on plant health and etc. If you start questioning the basics of planted tank care, you will never get over the issue you are facing. Things occur over a time frame so be mindful of what you have done over the last few weeks and what is likely the cause and try to repeat that to see if it comes back again.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[torque6]

Thanks for the prompt response. Always enjoyed these discussions with you. Maybe i should just PM you instead of trying to get help from the community. Would have given up along time ago had you not helped. My appreciation and thanks again.

The bleaching is a 1 time off thing, wouldnt happen again. I just had to make sure i wasnt introducing algae from my previous setup to the new 1FT as both the inlet tubings were laden with BGA, and the outlets with hair algae. The biorings and biohome plus netting had green algae stains, so it was a tough call to preserve the bacteria or destroy them.

As usual, i will take note as i agree that things occur over a time frame and will be mindful. It just i tend to questions and experiments with variables. How i see things is that as long as we no longer have access to Pure KNO3 like Tom barr, dosing commercial ferts laden with unclassified nutrients could result in algae growth and this has proven in my 9months of ferts dosing as factual.

This is one of the areas of concerns which hasnt been addressed due to the fact that we are dealing with different products, parameters. So the usual " my way definitely works" methodology sometimes doesnt quite work out for some of us.

[PeterGwee]

Seachem Nitrogen is fine to replace the KNO3 part but can get expensive with large tanks though. CO2 is still a big issue especially with things over time. Just keep up on tank cleaning, pruning and good dosing of nutrients and the algae will go away over time. We neglect tanks when they do well don't we? It's only when things go wrong then we keep up on things. If we keep basic maintenance routine regardless of whether the tank is doing well or not, algae would have little chance. EI rules the nutrients out which makes CO2 and flow the real issue.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

[torque6]

Seachem Nitrogen is fine to replace the KNO3 part but can get expensive with large tanks though. CO2 is still a big issue especially with things over time. Just keep up on tank cleaning, pruning and good dosing of nutrients and the algae will go away over time. We neglect tanks when they do well don't we? It's only when things go wrong then we keep up on things. If we keep basic maintenance routine regardless of whether the tank is doing well or not, algae would have little chance. EI rules the nutrients out which makes CO2 and flow the real issue.

Regards,
Peter Gwee

, yup couldnt agree more. My sincere thanks again Peter.