Massive Algae outbreak

[griffinkid]

Hi guys, my tank has been up since 22nd January 2012.
Tank size: 60cm x 20cm x 25cm with 3cm thick ADA Africana Soil
Running on Eden501.
Light: T5 24W (i only on 1 tube in the day for 8 hrs)
No fertilization (liq or solid) dosed
Flora: Java Ferns, Mini Fissiden Rock, Staurogyene, Bolbitis
Fauna: 9Nannostomus Eques, a pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus moliwe, 1 Oto, 2 angelfish, 2 pygmy cory.

Can help me identify all the types of algae and give me some suggestions what to do? I think i am going to tear down the tank (But reuse the soil) and rescape with new driftwoods rocks and plants. any suggestions or procedure can i use?
Could it also be due to insufficient circulation in the tank? i find the Eden501 a bit too weak. Should i add on a HOF for circulation?
Thanks in advance! Screen shot 2012-02-23 at PM 03.57.52.jpgScreen shot 2012-02-23 at PM 03.57.38.jpgScreen shot 2012-02-23 at PM 03.57.46.jpgScreen shot 2012-02-23 at PM 03.57.30.jpgScreen shot 2012-02-23 at PM 03.57.18.jpg

[eviltrain]

I think its due to the water flow in the tank and lack of water changes. Hehe.

Send from my GT-P1000 (Overcome 7 Series v4.0.0)

[Shadow]

BBA, Fuzz, BGA and brown algae. Do you inject CO2? what algae eater do you have?

[griffinkid]

I think its due to the water flow in the tank and lack of water changes. Hehe

hi! i do weekly water change of around 20%. I do think its the water flow as well!

Do you inject CO2? what algae eater do you have

hi! i have 1 oto and nope i don't inject carbon dioxide. But i do have it... will injecting CO2 work?

[diazman]

The water flow is kinda poor, need bigger horsepower

[Aquanoob]

I think you need some SAE to do the job of eating up the hair algae. I have such problem also, but after introducing 3 young SAE, the hair algae were gone in days. I also saw them eating up green algae on the tank wall and driftwood before but the effect is not that obvious.

[jonc711]

Hi, I have similar problems too, are SAEs peaceful with bettas? And what are they

[ralliart12]

Siamese Algae Eaters.

[griffinkid]

oh but i heard SAE grows pretty big and they can get quite aggressive..

[ralliart12]

oh but i heard SAE grows pretty big and they can get quite aggressive..

Am only answering your question "& what are they"; neither recommending nor advising against deploying them.

[Aquanoob]

oh but i heard SAE grows pretty big and they can get quite aggressive..

Yes, given the right condition, it can grow till very big. I have 2 SAE last time grown till about 13-15cm, no kidding. That is why i buy 3 young ones as they will be always hungry and searching for algae to feed on. I bought them weeks ago at Y618 and my wife commented that they have grow bigger, longer and fatter, but still always looking for food. One thing to note also is that they are very fast swimmer given their torpedo-like streamline shape. It took me a very long time to catch my grown-up SAE last time

[barmby]

Fauna: 9Nannostomus Eques, a pair of Pelvicachromis taeniatus moliwe, 1 Oto, 2 angelfish, 2 pygmy cory.

eh... too many fishes too little water change : ) oh that a 60cm tank. i thought it is a 120 cm tank. angelfishes!!!!?!!?!?!? oh man... Pelvicachromis taeniatus moliwe!!!!

Flora: Java Ferns, Mini Fissiden Rock, Staurogyene, Bolbitis

!!!!!! these plants never actually grow. before they grow - algae will grow on them : )

therefore, your tank attracted algae from all walks of life.

pretty straightforward situation : )

[tetrakid]

Overpopulation of the tank, giving rise to abundant fish waste caused by overfeeding, will facilitate good algae growth.

It is good to tackle the problem step by step in identifying the cause or causes.

But though algae is unsightly, the algae itself may be good for the fish.

[stormhawk]

I had these too, until I upped the water flow in the tank and added in fast growing plants like Hygrophila difformis. The plants listed are slow growers and will attract some insane algal growth. The presence of fast growers will out-compete these algae for the available nitrates in the water. Perhaps the use of Hornwort may be a step in the right direction. Ever since I added in the difformis, BBA, BGA and hair algae growth has been stunted somewhat, at least in my own tank, without the aid of algae eaters like SAEs and such.

Of the lot, I think the one growing on the Bolbitis will be tough to clear.

A single Eden 501 will not be sufficient to handle the wastes from your fishes. Add another Eden 501 or get a much bigger canister filter, or use powerheads to increase flow at the other end of the tank.

[Navanod]

I'm afraid the BBA is one of the hardest, if not outright impossible algae to fully eradicate.

IMHO The usual cause of algae outbreaks:

1. Lack of fast growing plants (pointed out by many).
2. High temperature. Plants do not do well in temperature above 27 degrees and algae will take advantage of that.
3. Lack of essential nutrients, especially the macronutrient potassium. This will also slow the plants down and algae will grow, as they can survive on very little nutrients. Fish waste normally provides the nitrate and phosphate so do not be too eager to dose these ferts if the tank is not high tech (chiller, high light and CO2 injected). Get a bottle of Seachem flourish and Potassium. These should cover the fert needs.
4. Poor water flow, which causes dead zones in the tank where nutrients and CO2 cannot reach.

CO2 injection may or may not help, as it depends on all the above factors as well.
For your tank, I would propose:

1. Cutting off all the BBA infested parts of the plants.
2. Introduce large floating plants like frogbits. These plants get their CO2 directly from the air and will out compete most other plants and algae for excess nutrients.
3. Introduce fast growing stem plants like hornworts to compete directly with the algae for CO2 and nutrients in the water.
4. Dose potassium and micronutrients to help the plants grow better and compete for ALL the other resources in the water. Restricting nutrients does not stop algaes, I repeat, restricting nutrients does not stop algaes!
5. Dose Seachem Excel directly onto remaining BBA clumps to kill them and also as a carbon source for your plants.
6. Manage the temperature if its more than 27 degrees.

Nothing will eat BBA, not even SAE will work (unless you starve them beforehand. Once they know there's fish food, they'll ignore the BBA).
Concentrate more on growing alot of plants, not only on trying to kill off the algaes using chemicals or algae eaters. In the long run, only having healthy plants will limit algae growth.

[griffinkid]

Hi! I have tore down the entire tank and rescaped. I have also done daily water change of 10% for the past few weeks. I've also changed the Eden501 to an ehiem Liberty 150 HOF for better filtration rate and flow rate. So far, none of these algae has surfaced and I'm keeping my fingers crossed. Once the bogwood sinks, I will tie moss to it and introduce carbon dioxide. Hopefully i can get away from the nasty algae T.T

[Navanod]

Good luck griffin

[felix_fx2]

You are growing plants, not killing algae for the hobby.

[barmby]

griffinkid, don't add so many fishes lor : )

[tetrakid]

Before, I used to hate algae, but not anymore.

By algae, I mean the type that makes the water a very nice green, and thick (but not the hairy type or spider web-like type).

That was since I came across a uTube video showing goldfish in a very green tank, almost opaque with algae growth. Though most commentators of that consider that madness, the fact that the goldfish are doing fine is something to think about.

You are growing plants, not killing algae for the hobby.