green furry stuff growing on leaves and wood

**scyl** · 15th Aug 2011, 12:02

hi,
i have a 2ft tank with 55w aquazonic super compact pl light and pressurized co2 injection. i spotted some of this stuff(is it the black brush algae?) on part of some ferns and i cut them out immediately, slowly i see more growing on the mosses, now suddenly it seem to spread like wild fire, more on the mosses as well as the driftwood and even on leaves on plants. what can i do to eliminate this kind of algae? currently i've increased the co2 into the tank from 1 bubble per sec to 3, what else can i do to rectify this problem?

really need the expert's advice, thank you very much in advance

**shearerkk** · 15th Aug 2011, 12:06

We had this problem too.. and according to expert at Seaview, this is due to lack of lighting.

As for removal... we jus dont our best to pull it off or cut it off.

**Peanut8787** · 15th Aug 2011, 12:15

I would recommend introducing a few SAE into your tank. Problem will be solved

**scyl** · 15th Aug 2011, 16:54

thanks guys, but now it seems to be spreading even growing on the co2 glass diffuser... will dosing phyton git help?

**Shadow** · 15th Aug 2011, 17:09

photo would be great, black brush algae will be black in color, your is green so might be different algae.

You can try check with algae you having from the website below
http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm

**scyl** · 16th Aug 2011, 15:16

here's the link to the photos i uploaded on flickr of the algae. it is green and spreading on leaves
thanks for your help in advance

http://www.flickr.com/photos/phlye/

**Shadow** · 16th Aug 2011, 15:23

Look weird, look like BBA but green color. You can try spot treatment using seachem excel or H2O2 but excel and H2O2 will kill moss as well in close proximity

**scyl** · 16th Aug 2011, 15:37

i just got a bottle of excel, will try it, thanks very much for your help
is this common for newly set up tanks? my tank is 3 weeks old

**Shadow** · 16th Aug 2011, 15:58

It can happen but I wont say common. Green BBA is quite rare.

**scyl** · 16th Aug 2011, 19:27

hi shadow,
on another note, do you think that my 55w pl compact light is too strong, i am cutting down from 8hrs to 6 hrs, tank size is 60x20x28cm(appr 30l)
should i cut down on duration or change the light? will changing to not so stronge a wattage help to control the algae situation in the long run?
thanks so much for your help

**Shadow** · 16th Aug 2011, 20:09

55W for 2ft tank is not too strong, considering that I'm using 2x55W for 60x30x30cm

How do you inject the CO2? what is your filter flow? what substrate are you using?

**scyl** · 16th Aug 2011, 21:13

i'm using a pressurized co2 system with glass diffuser placed at the other end of the tank opposite the outflow pipe, currently at 1 bubble per sec, drop checker with 4dkh solution is yellowish green by the end of the day, i tried increasing it to 3 bubbles per sec but i couldn't bear to keep up with it as my 2 otos went slightly crazy darting up and down and my only amano shrimp kept going to the top of the tank to gasp for air.

filter is an eheim ecco 2232, how do you calculate the filter flow? during light hours i place the outflow pipe under the water level, night time i will raise it and use an air stone with a small air pump.

light is aquazonic 55w compact pl, how long would you advice i leave it on? with this green bba situation, i used to keep it at 8hrs

substrate is powersand topped with ada amazonia II, with green gain after water change and daily squirts of brighty K and green brighty step 1. is there other fertilizer i can use? i noticed tiny holes on some of my glossostigma, some online forums i read said it is lack of potassium but i think i should get that algae under control first before i add anything more. thinking of purchasing phyton git and green bacter or the bacter ball as well.

i measured ammonium today, it is yellow with a bit tinge of green, prob 0.25? don't think it's totally at 0 yet

have yet to get the nitrate or nitrite test kits

thanks so much shadow for your advice, i really like this hobby but it has got me more stressed than my otos! btw i love your blog, it is very informative, i learnt about using 4dkh from there! and i think your aquascaping is awesome!

**weijie1986** · 17th Aug 2011, 15:03

most common cause of algea is unbalance co2 in water.
What regulator are you using? manual or solenoid?
i been using manual regulator and keep getting BBA attack ( i never dose excel because it will harm my shrimps)
Solution would be get a solenoid regulator, and add in a few yamato shrimps.
I put 3 yamato shrimps in my tank last month and changed to solenoid, BBA straight get controlled. They are slowly eaten by my yamatos and SAEs.

Put your co2 diffuser at the bottom of outflow pipe. So water could push co2 to your whole tank.
bubble rate per second is actually depending on efficiency of the diffuser you using.

Hope this helps.

**scyl** · 17th Aug 2011, 15:10

hi Weijie,
yes i use a solenoid hooked on to a timer, used to be turned on same timing as the light but these few days i turn it on manually 2 hours before the lights come on, and the drop checker is yellowish green, i upped the output of co2 to a little more than before 2 bps there abouts, 2 otos, 2 cherry shrimps and 1 yamoto seem to be doing ok
for the yamatos shrimps do i need to get small ones? read in a forum that the big yamoto do not eat the bba? the ones at c328 are quite big, hope to find an SAE but my tank is quite small
thanks your your advice!

**weijie1986** · 17th Aug 2011, 15:32

yes, yamato and SAE smaller better.
Big yamato will take all your cherry shrimps algea tablets.
Big SAE (2inch above) will finish all your moss.
I usually buy babe SAE 1inch at KL. If possible to find small SAE, just get 2 or 3, they will eat those young algae that cannot be spot by us.