Re: Help with Algae required, Hair or BBA not 100%
Hi Mike.
I fully support what Flyfisherman is telling you. Photoperiod too long.
I have 3 tanks in my house (don't ask,....... it evolved
). 1 is hi tech (hi lighting and full CO2) and 2 are lo tech (lo lighting and no CO2).
On the lo tech setups I only run the lights for 6 hours a day, but here's the important bit, make sure there is enough nutrients for the plants. I do, and my plants are healthy (just slow growing) and no algae in sight.
I'm not familiar with API leaf zones' chemical composition, but it is far better to overdose than underdose for sure. If you overdose, there will always be enough nutrients for the plants and therefore they remain healthy and will not be attacked by algae. However, if you are underdosing, your plants will suffer and they will be attacked by algae, at every opportunity, as they start to degrade. Any excess nutrients in the tank will not affect the livestock in any way, so don't worry about that.
This next bit may sound bizarre to you but trust me on this, because I'm now doing it myself. If your tank is planted and you are not injecting CO2, it will definitely help your plants if you reduce the water changes to 6 monthly (yes, once every 6 months
). Healthy plants = no algae.
Still keep up the filter maintenance and glass cleaning and definitely remove algae affected leaves.
I don't know what my water parameters are as my test kits went in the bin when I started dosing EI about 4 months ago, but that's another story. All I can say is they must be OK because my fish and plants are telling me that and I ain't got no algae
.
oswoldy said:
Ok I will just decrease the photoperiod then and will hopefully see an improvment. How long do you think it will take before I notice an improvement?
Remove all algae affected leaves, always remove any dead or dying leaves as they appear, keep on top of filter maintenance, get the ferts right, and you'll see immediately, that the algae won't come back.
Less work, lovely looking tank.
Hope this helps.
Chris