Anyone want to buy algae by the bucket load! PROBLEMS! HELP!

[aibo82]

Hi

I reset my tank 4 weeks ago planted it up etc but now I have BBA on wood, Staghorn on leaf edges and hair algae all over my plants and some on rocks and glass!

The tank:
Juwel Rio 125.
Mature 2yr old filter Eheim 2026 pro-II up full with spray bar 1 inch under water.
DIY co2 with clark 600g welding gas and drop checker maintained lime green on a solinoid.
Arcadia 4 x 24w plant pro luminair (got this cheap)
Colombo Flora base peat substrate

Lighting hours:
First 2 T5 plant pros on at 2pm till 10pm
Second Set of T5 plant pros on at 3pm till 8pm

Co2: on at 12pm off at 8pm

Dailey Doseingof: AE (aqua essentials) carbo 3ml, AE nourish Trace 7.5ml and AE Nourish+ NPK 12ml

Water change: 25 litre wenesday and saturday
as I have blue rams there sensitive to larger 50% as tank PH 6.8 in tank but my tap/HMA filter come out PH7.5 so split over 2 days

Im now in the 4 week attacked the algea with 3 parts water 1 parts carbo spray and a few leafs how shown damaged turning brown but the algae has turned red and white but wont shift!

Any ideas to get this tank back on track as im loseing ground?

 

[Steve Smith]

Re: Anyone want to buy algae by the bucket load! PROBLEMS! H

I think the first thing I would do is drop your lighting down. Try reducing the photo period to 5 or 6 hours. You would probably be fine using half the light as well. You don't say how heavily your tank is planted, and what plants you have?

Algae is very often due to an imbalance between CO2/light/ferts.

 

[aibo82]

Re: Anyone want to buy algae by the bucket load! PROBLEMS! H

I think the first thing I would do is drop your lighting down. Try reducing the photo period to 5 or 6 hours. You would probably be fine using half the light as well. You don't say how heavily your tank is planted, and what plants you have?

Algae is very often due to an imbalance between CO2/light/ferts.

Thanks

The Tanks substrate is 70%-80% planted and decor is sumatra wood and hagen black pebbles

2x Amazon swords (coverd in hair algea but still growing)
1x Cryptocoryne wendtii (old and large does well! some staghorn)
1x Anubias and java fern on bogwood (some going brown after carbo spray but was coverd in hair and staghorn!)
2x Bolbitus Heudelotii (made a stupid mistake of planting it now rotting! need to tie to stone)
1x Echindorus Rosea (Doing ok little hair algea)
1x Echindorus Parviflorus (grows perfect!)
1x Echindorus Compacta (grows fine but leafs have changed to long thin ones insted of the oval type)

 

[Steve Smith]

Re: Anyone want to buy algae by the bucket load! PROBLEMS! H

If you have leaves which are dying off, they need to be trimmed and removed. As they decay they'll be helping the algae out even more. I would also consider removing leaves which are badly covered in algae.

I'd be a little concerned about the small water changes, though I know this is for a reason.

 

[Rob Steer]

Re: Anyone want to buy algae by the bucket load! PROBLEMS! H

When do you perform your water changes? I find it helps either doing water changes before or after the Co2/Lights come on or after the lights have gone off. This will help prevent fluctuations with the Co2 levels during the photo period.