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Green hair algea/blue green algea

Jonny l

Jonny l

Seedling
Joined
29 Jan 2014
Messages
15
Hi I wonder if sum1 cud help me I have had my planted tank up and running now for nearly 4 months plants are growing gr8 but so is green hair algea especially on my rotala at the back of my tank , I keep removing it then it cums straight back also have had alittle blue green algea I no that's not really an algea though does any1 have any answers please wud much appreciate it
 
Hi jonny,

Mate can we have some spec of your tank please ?
Volume
Filter
Ferts
Co2
Light

We will more able to help you if we have these infos please.

We have the answer for your algae problem but we need a direction.
Cheers
 
Sorry about that my tank set up is
:240l 120x40x40 tank
:mad:2 canister filters fluval 305 and efx aquamanta 200 spray bar on 1 side of tank and a standard fluval outlet pipe on they other
:fluval sea circulation pump 2800 LPH turn over
:pressurised co2 with diy inline reactor piped up to my fluval 305 with no loss of water pressure in fact I've turned my fluval down alittle . Bubble counter at 2bps with the drop checker at lime green
: jbl aquabase plus 1st layer and jbl manado on top of that slopping from front to back
:ei dosing
:4 39watt t5 bulbs middle of tank 2 arcadia plant pros 6500k and front and back of tank arcadia fresh water pro 6700k . Bulbs were in the hood of the tank but I have raised them up they used to be 16" from substrate to light but now they are 20.5" .
I feed the fish every other day I have about 38 small fish tetras , I do a 40 percent water change weekly .
My lights are on a timer along with my co2 lights on 6.5 hours per day co2 comes on 2hrs b4 lights come on and an hour b4 lights out . Hope this is enough info for u by the way my tank is well stocked with plants as u probs can see on my profile picture any help would be gr8 as I am all new to this
 
Hair algae is due to poor CO2
BGA is due to poor nitrates.

I suggest immediately to reduce the lighting by 50%. Your filter output arrangement is no efficient and that is a likely cause of poor distribution. The filter outputs should be both mounted on the same side flowing water in the same direction and they might even be better mounted against the back wall strung out and spaced evenly pointing horizontally at the front glass.

Also suggest performing a pH profile check to assess distribution.

Cheers,
 
Thanks for the quick replie I've been recording my nitrate readings for a little wile now and it consistently shows up between 20-40 ppm . Last weekend I fitted my diy inline co2 reactor which I must say is working gr8 no leaks haha my drop checker since has been showing lime green to nearly yellow with no problems from the fish and I have been moving my drop checker around the tank to make sure co2 is getting around evenly which it has. I will move both of my outlet 2gether 2morow like u said do u think I should cut the light down to 2 bulbs if so wud u cut out the middle lights or the lights front and back of tank , from wot I have told u about co2 and nitrate tests wot do u think? And like I said thanks for your replie
 
Nitrate readings from a test kit are useless, so you really have no idea what the NO3 levels actually are. The dropchecker is also not accurate enough to tell you anything about the dissolution of CO2.

As I mentioned, a more accurate way to tell is to measure the pH at specific intervals, 30 minutes or 1 hour from gas on to lights off and that data will enable you to get a better vision of what's happening. Moving the DC around is meaningless.

Cut any lights you want. The plants do not care which. Light causes algae, so if you want to reduce your algae then reduce the light.

Cheers,
 
Thank you for that I'll give it ago how will I now if my no3 levels are right if the test kit is not accurate
 
Sorry to keep bothering u but going off other posts I have read that u have answered u certainly now wot your talking about if I cut the lights and sort the problem out I have can I then put the other 2 lights back on or not
 
Sorry for all the questions but av just been thinking of different things I use the ei dose from APF uk that I've been using for about 6 weeks now I've been mixing it as instructed
4tsp potassium nitrate
1tsp potassium phosphate
6tsp magnesium sulphate

Micros 1tsp chelated trace element all mixes are mixed with 500ml water.
My question is would you stick 2 that mix or would you change it . I dose 6 days a week first day on water change day starting with macros . Sorry to bomb bard you with all the questions it's just it's something I really enjoy doing and want to get it rite
 
Spell check enabled :D
If you have a deficiency in the tank, highlighted by a specific algae, or if the plants are showing that they're lacking something, then add more of what's required.
In this case if you've got BGA caused by low nitrates, then add more KNO3, and see if that clears it up.
Sorting out the flow as advised above, will also help getting the nutrients to where they are needed....Everywhere.
 
Thank you for that stu I have to mix sum more ferts 2day so I think I mite add an extra tsp of pottasium nitrate and see how it goes along with moving both outlets to the same side of the tank I also have my power head at the back rite hand corner pointing on an angle towards the left hand side of the tank so there should be quite abit of flow there
 
Hi ceg4048 I've been building some data up on my ph levels just wanted to no what you think .
1hour before gas on ph 7.2
1hour after gas on ph 6.8
2hours after gas on ph 6.4 it has stayed like that there after till lights out . I no it's early days I am going 2 carry on checking it for a week but if it stays like that would that mean my co2 level is ok . I used a pipets
 
I was going 2 say I used a pipet and got the water out of my tank beneath the spray bar near the substrate just to make sure the co2 was reaching there for my ph test
 
Wot do you mean by to much protein sorry if that sounds blunt
 
Jonny l said:
Hi ceg4048 I've been building some data up on my ph levels just wanted to no what you think .
1hour before gas on ph 7.2
1hour after gas on ph 6.8
2hours after gas on ph 6.4 it has stayed like that there after till lights out . I no it's early days I am going 2 carry on checking it for a week but if it stays like that would that mean my co2 level is ok . I used a pipets
Click to expand...
Hi,
You can use a pipette if you want. I'm not sure that you will get any added value in terms of accuracy, but it certainly won't hurt. Make sure you clean an rinse the pipette though, otherwise you'll contaminate the water sample.

Normally, you'd want about a 1 pH unit drop from the time you turn the gas on to the time you turn the lights on. If you have multiple bulbs, it's always a good idea to set your timers to turn on only some of them on and then wait a few hours to turn the rest of them on. Blasting plants with light first thing in the morning is not healthy, generally, especially if you are not delivering sufficient quantities of CO2. Gradually increasing the light provides less shock and it gives them time to get their engine running.

I cannot say exactly if your pH drop is good. The numbers look OK if, for example your water has a mid to high KH (like 8 or more). If you have soft water then you'll need a larger pH drop.

The fall in pH is a direct indicator of how well the gas is dissolving, however, soft water responds to small amounts of CO2 by dropping it's pH rapidly, while high KH water, due to the presence of alkaline buffers, neutralizes some of the acid, and so the pH does not drop as much.

So you can do an experiment where you pump exactly the same amount of CO2 gas in two tanks, each with very different KH and you'll find that even though the same amount of gas is dissolved in the two waters, the tank with low KH will drop the pH much more than the tank with higher KH.

So that's why it's difficult to say whether your drop is good. Without knowing how alkaline your water is, it's not easy to determine if the amount of drop is good or not. If you can tell us what your KH is we'll have a better feel for it.

Cheers,
 
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