Hi all,
I have a persistent algae issue in my tank which really is getting me down now!
The tank is 450l, has been running for years and has a 90l sump. Flow is very good, the sump return pipe comes up through the base of the tank in the front bottom left, there is a powerhead in the top back right.
So this is the tank in November. I was getting some super long string algae in places stretching across most the tank from the power head etc, and small green hair algae on the hardscape, but had taken it all out and scrubbed it off. The plants were not thriving, but certainly doing OK.
Since then I thought I was going to be able to fix my issues by finally getting my EI and CO2 set back up. I'm dosing 90ml of EI, and getting around the 1ph drop for CO2. Lights are running 3pm-10pm daily. 50% water change weekly. I've added some root tabs, and the amazon swords have finally started to grow, and the crypts are bigger.
Whilst this has been added to the tank in the last few months I was expecting the algae situation to get better, but it seems to be worse. The short hair algae is now absolutely everywhere, and on everything. New growth is quickly either covered in the hairs, or some kind of brown muck type stuff. I also seem to be getting an amazing amount of algae on the glass in a short amount of time (Under 2 weeks the image where you can see it).
I don't really know where to go next on this. I feel like everything is set up "right", but for whatever reason I'm not getting the benefit. I want the algae gone, but don't really know what I should change next.
Any help very much appreciated.
I have a persistent algae issue in my tank which really is getting me down now!
The tank is 450l, has been running for years and has a 90l sump. Flow is very good, the sump return pipe comes up through the base of the tank in the front bottom left, there is a powerhead in the top back right.
So this is the tank in November. I was getting some super long string algae in places stretching across most the tank from the power head etc, and small green hair algae on the hardscape, but had taken it all out and scrubbed it off. The plants were not thriving, but certainly doing OK.
Since then I thought I was going to be able to fix my issues by finally getting my EI and CO2 set back up. I'm dosing 90ml of EI, and getting around the 1ph drop for CO2. Lights are running 3pm-10pm daily. 50% water change weekly. I've added some root tabs, and the amazon swords have finally started to grow, and the crypts are bigger.
Whilst this has been added to the tank in the last few months I was expecting the algae situation to get better, but it seems to be worse. The short hair algae is now absolutely everywhere, and on everything. New growth is quickly either covered in the hairs, or some kind of brown muck type stuff. I also seem to be getting an amazing amount of algae on the glass in a short amount of time (Under 2 weeks the image where you can see it).
I don't really know where to go next on this. I feel like everything is set up "right", but for whatever reason I'm not getting the benefit. I want the algae gone, but don't really know what I should change next.
Any help very much appreciated.