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Overun with hair algae!

Cieran

Seedling
Joined
14 Nov 2016
Messages
3
Location
Salisbury
I really need some advice regarding algae as I'm fairly new to planted tanks & aquascaping..
Around 2 weeks ago I planted my 80 litre tank with the following plants & have been dosing Tropica Specialised 3ml daily:
Rotala Green
Ludwigia Palustris
Tenellus
Lindernia Rotundifolia
HC Cuba
Dwarf Hairgrass
Hairgrass

I've suddenly had an explosion in what I think is hair algae, all over my rocks, substrate, plants & driftwood. Also all my plants seem to be dying & turning brown. I realised that my CO2 inline diffuser was clogged up so had no CO2 entering the tank for 2 weeks, I've fixed the issue and now have plenty of CO2 in the tank. I've trimmed some plants and plan to remove as much of the algae manually. Also my LED light is on about 50% brightness and I've shortened the photo period.

Would the reason for the algae outbreak & plants dying/browning be from the lack of CO2 and high light?
If so will the steps I've already taken help my plants bounce back & eradicate the algae?

Any advice would be greatly appreciated as my scape looks dead & terrible
Thanks
 
Hi Cieran and welcome to UKAPS!

After reading your message I would say that you have answered your own question indeed.

From what you have said you seem to be on the right track in regards limiting light and 'increasing' CO2 or rather having it running :facepalm:, manually removing as much algae as possible with regular water changes should help a lot.

I had a similar issue recently and you just have to be patient with the results and not change too much all at once.

Very unfortunate that this had happened otherwise it could have been a different story, but there would be no fun if it was easy right?

Any pictures of this tank at all?

All the best of luck with your tank and hope you enjoy being part of UKAPS as much as I do!

Cheers

Matt
 
Hi welcome, I don't know how to post a link but if you type 'james planted tank -algae guide' into google you will find a very helpful guide to most algae related issues.
 
Hi Cieran and welcome to UKAPS!

After reading your message I would say that you have answered your own question indeed.

From what you have said you seem to be on the right track in regards limiting light and 'increasing' CO2 or rather having it running :facepalm:, manually removing as much algae as possible with regular water changes should help a lot.

I had a similar issue recently and you just have to be patient with the results and not change too much all at once.

Very unfortunate that this had happened otherwise it could have been a different story, but there would be no fun if it was easy right?

Any pictures of this tank at all?

All the best of luck with your tank and hope you enjoy being part of UKAPS as much as I do!

Cheers

Matt

Thank you for the fast reply! I don't have any photos as of yet, but will try take some later and post them.
Do you think that my plants will survive & start growing healthy after a while or will I need to remove them?
 
Hi there ; I'm sorry to hear about your problems ; I think that beside the corrective measures you've already taken you should stop dosing the fertiliser and perform large and frequent water changes, like 50% every 2- 3 days ; what kind of substrate do you have ?
I suggest you check the tropica site, they have a guide for the first 3 months which has proven reliable for me and others
Good luck

Envoyé de mon SM-G935F en utilisant Tapatalk
 
I would echo what's been said already but I wouldn't stop dosing completely - I'd say half the photo period, keep the CO2 consistent, and 1/2 dose. Stopping dosing completely will bring you far more problems than hair algae. I'd even go for a dark day, one with no light at all (just ambient room light) to give yourself a head start on it.

Otherwise apart from that, just keep manually removing it, regular water change, little and often.

Your plants will be fine - they might look a bit poorly which is normal but they have plenty sugars stored in them to deal with it until the algae is in remission. I've got a hygrophila in a corner tank here.... it's been in there with no light, no filter, and constantly evaporating water level for about 3 months - granted it is absolutely cripple. Bent/deformed leaves, literally no growth at all - but I bet you a pound to a penny if I chuck it in the high-tec, it will come back bushier than ever.
 
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