Looking for help/advice with the algae from hell.

[mcfly]

Hi, I've been having a problem with this algae for quite a while now. I think its Cladophora but when I crush it in my hands it does not smell or anything which I've read is characteristic of Clado?

The tank is 60litr and is running one T5 compact 24w bulb along with 6 3w high power leds. Dosed with 1ML of Aqua essentials neutro+ and 1.5-2ML of easy carbo every day along with a 2ltr diy CO2 setup and a Hagen ladder diffuser.

All plants are doing well, there is no other Algae in the tank, if it wasn't for this hair algae it would be prestine so far I've tried...

Double dosing liquid Co2, reducing the light, spot dosing liquid CO2 and 6% peroxide solution and upping water changes to 30% a week. All to no effect? The only thing that gets rid of it is manual removal, but its back a few days later.

Any thoughts or suggestions would be a great help, contemplating a tear down and nuking with bleach...

Thanks in advance.

Looks great form a distance, would be a shame to nuke it.

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
You don't need smell it to tell whether it is Cladophora, but it looks like it may be. All you need to do is take some strands and rub them between your fingers. Cladophora feels quite resistant and gritty, but Spirogyra is soft and slimy.

The problem with all these green algae ("Viridiplanta") is that they are photosynthetically and physiologically very close to the higher plants, so condition that suit the plants you want, are also going to suit those you don't. From <Green Plants>

Green plants as defined here includes a broad assemblage of photosynthetic organisms that all contain chlorophylls a and b, store their photosynthetic products as starch inside the double-membrane-bounded chloroplasts in which it is produced, and have cell walls made of cellulose (Raven et al., 1992). In this group are several thousand species of what are classically considered green algae, plus several hundred thousand land plants.

Personally I'd carry on picking it out and reduce the nutrient input, but other won't agree.

cheers Darrel

 

[mcfly]

Thanks, I've just had some out the algae is quite soft but not slimy so I think its Clado too. Though when I have had similar things happen in the past liquid co2 usually caused it to go pink and die.

This stuff stands up to overdosing liquid co2 and spot applications of co2 and 6% peroxide, amano shrimp wont touch it. strange!

Is the cause just good conditions for plants, I mean nutrient/co2 levels and such?

 

[G H Nelson]

Looks similar to Green thread algae....so have a go with this below....... i have had good results using it in my Hi Tec tank.
hoggie

 

[mcfly]

Not one for using chemicals like that but from what I can gather this algae is not sue to an imbalance as such, I've heard good things about that stuff too - thanks!

 

[NatureBoy]

I had an issue with cladophora a couple of months ago, i think i'd gone a bit nitrate deficient (clado is very efficient at low nitrate levels compared to some plants). An increase in nitrate led to it disappearing