Hair Algae ONLY on Tonina

[anaconda]

Hope someone can enlighten me on this. I already check the articles and the FAQ and I dont think its covered in any of them

(pardon my spelling)
I got Tonina Sp and Tonina Flu, Hottonia Inflate, Cambobas, Salvinas, Frogbits and a couple more whose name I kinda for forgot

I get hair algae blooming only on my Tonina (Flu and SP). Every other plant in the tank doesnt have it growing on them. Every little spot alage or brush algae too. Only a lot of hair algae covering my Tonina

My PH is 6.6 and my KH is 4 , so my reading for CO2 is about 18ppm . Which is kinda of low i guess but should be alright. Dosing it every other day with 1ml of Seachem Flourish, once a week with Phosphate and Potassium . I think my nutrient level should be alright, all the plants including the Toninas are growing well. Its just the hair algae and only on the Toninas

Anyone know why the hair algae only grows on my Tonina and no other plant?

[PeterGwee]

You are at 30ppm of CO2 if your pH and KH readings are accurate instead of 18ppm. Something is not right here but I need more info to know what exactly is going on. Fill in all the info you can provide with this template. My current guess is you are using ADA substrate or similar stuff and that skew your CO2 readings or you are running out of nutrients.

Beginners Info Sheet
--------------------

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH):
Tank Volume (litres or gallons):
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) :
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) :
No. of Hours your light is on :
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) :
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) :
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor):
Substrate Used :
How Thick is your base fert :
How thick is your gravel :
Liquid Fertilizers Used :
Frequency of fertilization :
Tank Temperature :
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) :
Filter media used :
How long has your tank been set up :
Other equipment :

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------
Carbonate Hardness (KH):
Total Hardness (gH):
pH :
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------

<State what fishes and plants you have to the best of your ability>


Describe your problem :

<problem description. If you have picture which could help then please post them>

Regards
Peter Gwee

[vinz]

Usually, if algae only grows on certain plants, it means those plants are un-healthy or slow growing (like Anubias). Perhaps the conditions of your tank is not suitable for Tonina.

[anaconda]

Beginners Info Sheet
--------------------

Tank Dimensions (LxWxH): 2x1x1.5
Tank Volume (litres or gallons): 81 litres
Lighting Intensity(No of Watts) : 72 Watts
Type of Lighting (FL/PL/MH) : PL
No. of Hours your light is on : 8 hours (non continuous , 2 on 1.5 off)
CO2 Injection Rate (bps) : Not sure cause its DIY
Type of CO2 (DIY/Liquid/Tank) : DIY
Method of Injection (e.g. Diffusor/Reactor): Reactor
Substrate Used : Europet
How Thick is your base fert : 2 cm
How thick is your gravel : 4cm
Liquid Fertilizers Used : Seachem Flourish
Frequency of fertilization : 1ml everyother day
Tank Temperature : 27
Type of Filter (overhead/internal/canister) : 2213 Canister
Filter media used : Spounge, Bioring, Ehisubstrate,
How long has your tank been set up : 3 months
Other equipment :

Chemical Properties (Fill what you can)
---------------------------------------
Carbonate Hardness (KH): 5
Total Hardness (gH):
pH : 6.8
NH4 (ppm):
NO2 (ppm):
NO3 (ppm):
PO4 (ppm):
Fe (ppm):
===> KH/PH works out to be 23 ppm of CO2

Bioload (Your Fish and Plants)
------------------------------
7 Rasbora Hengeli, 3 Microrasbora Kubotai, 7 Sparkiling Gourami, 8 Badis Badis, 6 Corydoras Pygmaeus, 2 Cherry Shrimp, 5 Ruby Tetra, 5 Corydoras Hastatus, 2 Corydoras Habrosus 6 Otos Affinis ,10 Yamatos, 3 Guppy 2 Glowlight Danio, 2 Balloon Ram

Plants : Cambomba, Hottonia Inflate, Tonina SP & Fluviatis, Crypts, Diplis Diandra, Java Moss, Salvinas and a few more others

Describe your problem :

Hair Algae crawling all over my Tonina and only my Tonina....other plants have been spared so far

[anaconda]

Is it true if Nitrate level is too low, algae also blooms?

Just wondering because all my fishes are the real small ones and I been trying not to over feed them, maybe there aint enough nitrate ...read it form another thread

[PeterGwee]

DIY CO2 with high light setup plus loads of critters is asking for it. You are on the edge with this kind of setup and would really need to keep a very close watch on the CO2. Make darn sure it stays in the high range of 20-30ppm throughout the entire photoperiod and change the brew when you notice a drop in production. I bet you are running out of CO2 towards the end of the day...do a check on it.

Here is the solution
1)Trim and remove as much algae from the tank as possible...if necessary, add more plants.
2)Clean the filter
3)Do a large 50-75% water change
4)Ensure that the DIY CO2 is good and hits 20-30ppm range throughout the photoperiod.
5)Dose back fresh nutrients. (N,P,K and traces)
6)Repeat for 3 weeks and feedback.

Regards
PeterGwee

[anaconda]

----------------
On 12/9/2003 8:24:55 AM

DIY CO2 with high light setup plus loads of critters is asking for it. You are on the edge with this kind of setup and would really need to keep a very close watch on the CO2. Make darn sure it stays in the high range of 20-30ppm throughout the entire photoperiod and change the brew when you notice a drop in production. I bet you are running out of CO2 towards the end of the day...do a check on it.

Here is the solution

1)Trim and remove as much algae from the tank as possible...if necessary, add more plants.
2)Clean the filter
3)Do a large 50-75% water change
4)Ensure that the DIY CO2 is good and hits 20-30ppm range throughout the photoperiod.
5)Dose back fresh nutrients. (N,P,K and traces)
6)Repeat for 3 weeks and feedback.

Regards
PeterGwee
----------------

Been reading the forum for a while and this seems to be the remedy for most algae issues raised. So was the 1st thing I did 2 weeks ago

Clean the filter out. Change the sponges
Trim the alage infected plants
Did a 50% water change. Been doing weekly 30-50% since
Fresh bottle of CO2, the ppm been hovering in the 20-25 region during the times I checked during the past 2 weeks
CO2 bottle still bubbling
Been dosing my K and P on top of my liquid fert

Think I dont get is why does the hair algae only grow on the Tonina. Why none of the others are hit

[PeterGwee]

Check the CO2 levels just before lights on and just before lights off. Are they both within the range? BBA is still spreading? If it is, you definitely have too little CO2. Equipment errors does come into play and it would definitely throw off the CO2 levels by 5-10ppm which is pretty significant. Nutrients wise, you might be dosing too little for some..no nitrate added? How much K and P are you dosing? Flourish, you would only need to dose it every 3-4 days at 2-3ml.

Regards
Peter Gwee

[anaconda]

----------------
On 12/9/2003 4:23:50 PM

Check the CO2 levels just before lights on and just before lights off. Are they both within the range? BBA is still spreading? If it is, you definitely have too little CO2. Equipment errors does come into play and it would definitely throw off the CO2 levels by 5-10ppm which is pretty significant. Nutrients wise, you might be dosing too little for some..no nitrate added? How much K and P are you dosing? Flourish, you would only need to dose it every 3-4 days at 2-3ml.


Regards

Peter Gwee
----------------

Okay thanks for the help Peter, will try that out...just up my CO2 level with an additional bottom with an atomizer

[kadios]

hi!

Juz a suggestion, perhaps you wanna do away with the fiesta thing, meaning non-continuous illumination period. I guess you are adopting this fiesta to avoid algae growth right? If so, then the presence of algae may suggest this fiesta isn't working too well. Juz imagine if you are the plants, will you enjoy a break in momentum during photosynthesis?

Cheers!

[anaconda]

----------------
On 12/9/2003 7:22:22 PM

hi!


Juz a suggestion, perhaps you wanna do away with the fiesta thing, meaning non-continuous illumination period. I guess you are adopting this fiesta to avoid algae growth right? If so, then the presence of algae may suggest this fiesta isn't working too well. Juz imagine if you are the plants, will you enjoy a break in momentum during photosynthesis?


Cheers!
----------------

Hi Kadios, actually the siesta does help. The algae growth used to be worse in the tank when I on it 8 hours straight. Spot algae on the walls , brush alage on the gravel. I am not sure if it is completely due to the siesta but with the siesta lighting on, so far I only have problem with the hair algae on the Tonina. Not much spot algae on the walls or brush algae

Thanks anyway

[PeterGwee]

Stop the siesta thing as suggested by Kadios..You need to get the plants to start growing fast which the siesta is not going to help. Work on getting the algae out by prunning/scrubbing affected parts and then focus on plants needs. Once your plants start to grow strong, algae would take a backseat...it takes patience and loads of hard work to get a bad tank back into shape.

Regards
Peter Gwee