Struggling with staghorn algae

[hassafz]

Hi reefaddict,

Any update on the situation, I've got the exact same problem.
Some guidance would be great !

Thanks,
Hassan

Thank you JPC, there's a lot of useful information on Aquasabi site. Some info seems someway anecdotal, like the suggested Ca:Mg:K ratio 3:1:0.5 (never found any evidence for that, particularly for the Mg:K ratio) or like the staghorn/iron relation.
Unfortunately, I stopped from dosing Fe+micros for a couple of weeks, but I saw small effect if any on staghorn algae growth (btw, no sign of Fe deficiency too...)
I used to test for Fe with a test kit from JBL, but I never had the chance to see a fair color developing in the vial, so apparently no detectable free iron. I'm aware iron is tricky to detect as will very likely form unsoluble salt and precipitate out of solution.
Therefore, my micro dosing has always been based on a reasonable proportion with macros, which I can easily test.
I don't know if I have to try to do another 2-3 weeks without iron.

 

[eminor]

I think clives was right about staghorn and BBA, they really are co2 related, when i was using in tank co2 diffuser i had a hard time with those algae, with inline atomizer it's much easier. i've not seen BBA since almost a year i think

In my little but long experience with those crap algae, they don't care about nutrients, if you touch the soil often they tend to come even more if co2 is not perfect, that's the reason why i don't use layer of organic soil, i use plain inert silica soil, ammonia spike is rare when disturbing inert soil except if the soil is really dirty...
That's where sand is amazing, the dirt can't go really enter the sand so it's easier to remove the excess.

To achieve a perfect flow i now use wave maker when the plant density is really high, 40 times the tank volume of flow is not too much when you have a really high biomass. That's the only way i found to get co2 everywhere, plant lower leaves stay a long time in perfect shape, if you'r rich, can also buy a bigger filter but i love wave maker flow pattern

 

[jaypeecee]

Hi Folks,

According to the scientific research, Compsopogon coeruleus flourishes in water that has a high bicarbonate content. This would likely correspond to alkaline water with a pH somewhere from 7 to 10. It seems to me that this is where we should focus our attention, not on CO2 per se but pH. Here's a sample of the readily-available scientific research:

https://www.researchgate.net/publication/237437379_Inorganic_Carbon_Utilization_of_the_Freshwater_Red_Alga_Compsopogon_coeruleus_Balbis_Montagne_Compsopogonaceae_Rhodophyta_Evaluated_by_in_situ_Measurement_of_Chlorophyll_Fluorescence

JPC

 

[Qwedfg]

I hate to jump in with another question but do people find once a co2 problem is fixed that the stag horn or bba which already existed does not magically disappear?

I had a co2 issue which lead to my getting bba and stag horn all over the place. I think corrected the problem and removed as much as I could and have been using excel on the rest but I find it is still on my buce leaves. I have been hesitant to cut some of them hoping for recovery but even after excel treatment it will come back . Ironically the place where i see the most problems with stag horn is on a buce clump that’s in high flow and directly in the path of co2. Do you just need to cut ever leaf affected by stag horn to win?