Recovering from low CO2

[nphsmith]

I have been running my 300 L tank since Christmas, using EI dosing. All went well initially, but the for the last couple of months, I have been unable to get CO2 levels anywhere near right, and have had fairly massive algae bloom. It's actually not that ugly, but is in several varieties and all over the tank.

Realised 2 days ago that my non-return valve on the CO2 line was actually preventing most CO2 going into the tank at all, which explained why I was getting nowhere near a theoretical 30PPM CO2. That aspect of things is now looking much better, with my checker turning pale green.

Assuming I have now resolved the CO2 issue, should I expect algae to gradually fade away of it's own accord, or do I need to do something dramatic to remove it?

 

[sciencefiction]

You have to remove the algae. Cut affected plants/leaves. If you've sorted the co2 and it's the only problem then the algae should stop growing/spreading but won't disappear.

 

[Claire]

If you have no fish in the tank then you will need to remove it manually. A lot of fish though will eat dead/dying algae as it becomes easier to get off of surfaces (e.g. BBA and staghorn). Types like green spot algae may be eaten by ottos.

 

[nphsmith]

Thanks. So a combination of manual removal, Amano shrimp, and ottos seems to be the way to go.