Ick! Major algal bloom in my tank...

[Chu'Wuti]

It has only been set up a couple of weeks.

Yeah, we decided she doesn't need to stir up her substrate because it's a new set-up. However, I'm pleased to learn that the hydrovac is actually useful; such things didn't exist when I first began aquarium keeping and I only recently saw them. I hesitated to buy one without knowing whether it actually works, so I'm really glad you mentioned it, Waterkeeper!

As my aquarium has been established for a lot longer than Kristina's, I'm going to buy a Hydrovac to use. I needed to go buy some plant pots for a Bougainvillea and an Aristolochea today anyway; now you've given me a good excuse to spend even more money! (ach, my poor DH!)

[beckdg]

kry... NEVER stir that substrate in that tank... anaerobic areas stirred up can cause big issues also... your snails keep it from being anaerobic... it's their job... unless you have larger than normal gravel... if so just do your gravel vac and move any "decorations" every couple months... besides pulling out more than the vac will will take out food for the plants roots... new bulb maybe... add co2 maybe... dose flourish excel with a pipette directly onto algae maybe... very small doses of hydrogen peroxide (H2O2) with a pipette directly onto algae maybe... add root tabs and micros and k2so4 to equal out your nitrate intake so the plants can fight back and win some of the battle maybe... if your tap water is not balanced water changes could fuel the fire... not a bad idea, but it's always possible it could make it worse... i am thinking bright green threads or no... what furnishings do you have... lava rock can create algae pretty bad... you can reduce your light cycle... i have seen where people have had to reduce their light cycle to 6 hrs a day to beat algae... i have also seen tanks that were gorgeous and kept lit 14hrs a day... the 3 day blackout sometimes helps

if you have issues with under your decorations going bad you will need to "stir it up a little" but enough that anything decides to go elsewhere other than into your siphon can cause a bad morning the next day... so this is to be taken very delicately if this situation ever arises... also be very careful with h2o2 (peroxide) or excel... small overdoses can cause massive wipeouts

[froggsong]

Ok, this is somewhat on topic-ish...

Beck ,do you have any suggestions for BBA? I have one plant that ends up getting it on the leaves (I removed the leaves a couple of days ago), but otherwise it grows on the decorations. I haven't been able to scrub it all off of the castle or the BG that we have in the tank, though I scrubbed off the majority of it a couple of days ago from the BG. I've seen it written that BBA can be caused by high phosphates? Is there a measurement kit I can readily find to measure phosphates? I have a master test kit, but it doesn't have a phosphate test. What other testing things should I have now that the tank is planted?

I also get blue-green algae on the underside of the glass top. Is there any way to control this without scrubbing it off once a week? It's a pain in the butt and it STINKS!!! Gosh that crap smells bad. It grows under the light in the area where the glass gets wet from the bubble stone.

The fish tank is supposed to be my hubby's... He does NOT take care of it, and I don't want to just let it go, so I end up taking care of it. I don't really feel like taking the time to set up a co2 system or spend alot of money on ferts.

My newt tank is soooooo much easier to take care of, lol... Feed the fish every day or two and add water when needed. That thing is stability defined!

Also, you mentioned snails to kyryah. Should I add some snails to the aquarium with the new sand substrate? Will the snails be able to burrow into the sand? I don't know how many snails I have left, but I'm sure I can find a couple of adults in the newt tank I can add to the big tank. I had plenty of snails in the aquarium before we changed the substrate and planted it, but I don't know if any of those have survived. I threw all of the old gravel into the future newt tank, but it is only just covered by water and I'm sure it's stagnant. I'm doubting they are surviving in such conditions, though i haven't checked.

Admittedly, I don't know much about aquarium care, and I haven't taken the time to find out, lol, because it isn't mine!!! Stupid lazy husband, lol... If I had known that aquarium care was so complicated and that I'd be the one taking care of it, I wouldn't have let him get it.

[beckdg]

actually sounds like kry might have a form of bba also... on the plants and what not

bba takes over whenever it wants to once it's there... sorry... best bet is to make sure your plants have enough ferts or less light (especially time wise) i have to get my algae links together again... i have changed pc's back and forth and wiped out and cleaned up and was like damnit soooooooooo many times lately it's not funny... the pipette ideas up there will kill it... but are very dangerous if 1 extra drop is let loose... and any issues you don't correct will bring it right back... anything covered should be removed as fast as possible while still leaving enough leaves for the plants to survive... make your plants happy and you'll get the best results...

those test kits will most likely be off anyway... there are so many factors in your water it's unbelievable... i called my local water company about a year ago and got a printout and lost it b4 i could even grasp what was in the water that might need correction... as for the glass top i just let mine go, but mine don't smell too bad... i am going to have to find my links again so i will look up a couple good articles... definitely look into the h202 and excel for the bba... and if you guys don't have any vals you most likely can add excel for co2 in small doses every 3 days... that, traces and root tabs should start you in the right direction... you can also make your own ferts... h202 for aquariums... Hydrogen peroxide - The Free Freshwater and Saltwater Aquarium Encyclopedia Anyone Can Edit - The Aquarium Wiki

also... a must read... DFW Aquatic Plant Club Articles-- Beginner Basics: Introduction

to answer your snail q... yes... mts... they come in a few color patterns... Aquamaniacs :: View topic - What is this snail? Will it eat my plants?
root tabs for life... DIY - Root Tabs - Aquaria Central
ei dosing coined by tom barr... make it work for you... this is a general guide for tanks that need a lot and dump massive amounts of co2 and light... i dose my 50 gal like the 10-20 range, but even lower cause only 2x per week... this has really helped me with bba so far... for new tanks, new inhabitants, a well stocked tank you might not want any kno3... (nitrate) instead do k2so4... (phophates)... remember it's the equilibrium... and if you're over feeding than maybe neither until you get that in check... Estimative Index Dosing Guide - Fertilizing - Aquatic Plant Central

a good algae overview that helps to identify: PG: Algae - An Overview - PlantGeek.net

get back to me if you can't get it... it's ok... noone gets it right right away... just let me know what type it definitely is and i can figure a little better... just want to make sure it is what it is... you'd think they'd name them better... oh well... any way there are other things that can be done in some cases so yeah i'll be here... i know it's a lot... sorry...

[beckdg]

kry... if it aint black let it be as long as nothing's dieing for a couple months till your tank can settle itself unless i have covered it here and/or you figure it out quick... better to keep your plants and animals than kill your algae... and NO buffer additives EVER... stability is the key and adding most products sacrifice that first... a 24 hour cure is not worth a 3 month rehab from your cure... i don't even like phosphor pads... had a friend swear by them... had no pad for 3 days... instant can't see through green water and 4 months later he broke it down and sold his fish... all he needed was a uv filter... he spent the cost of one on water, additives and pads and nothing worked for more than a day or 2... i tried to tell him he was making it unstable and he said no... i added "x"... i said see- he said no cause i added "x" also... fun conversation for a month!

exclusions to "no buffer additives" are baking soda for kh... barr's gh booster... calcium carbonate... "epsom salts" and i think one other i can't think of... also for ferts:
Fertilizers For The Planted Tank | Ferts
or
gregg watson's old business: Welcome to Planted Aquarium Fertilizer

also check out the barr report from time to time

[beckdg]

oh yeah i read something (probably from tom barr himself) recently where someone had done some lighting research and the purpose was to find out what limits the transfer of light into your tank... the result was that algae on your glass below your lights really isn't an issue for light until it's really really bad... i mean REALLY bad

oh and tom barr beat that whole high phosphates theory too by purposely adding too much phosphates to like 30 tanks all with different parameters and got no algae... that bastard... his conclusion was that overdosing ferts will only kill fish if done too bad, not create algae... there is something limiting and or too much light... co2 usually helps alot!!!... make them plants grow and eat!... omg... i'm done... gotta go to bed... gotta be up in 1.5 hrs to drive up to the mountains for a baby shower... and i'm a dude... i should have not pushed for the guys to come to mine i was stuck with... lol

google plantbrain for very good info... that's tom barrs username everywhere... and you'll find advice from so many others who are doing great things including diana walstad... also you'll find many myth's busted b4 your eyes... especially if you can understand what he's talking about... for fun i sometimes pretend to rofl and say "you gotta see this" when reading one of tom's posts just to see friends and family pretend to act intelligent... then i get a real laugh and have to translate... i pull out my ferts and say "that means 1/4 tsp of this dummy" then catch my breath and wipe my tears... it's great!

[kyryah]

What I ended up doing was a three day black out. By the end of the three days the algae was 99% gone (I don't mind a LITTLE, it was just getting ridiculus) and my baby mystery snails and my baby ramshorn snails had tripled in size, lol. I was leaving the lights on for about 14 hours a day, and I cut that down to 9 and leave them totally off one day a week and it has been staying under control. I noticed some clinging to the cabomba that was directly under the light and pulled it off last night, but other than that the tank has been doing great.

The only type of algae I have seen was the thread-like stuff and it was on the tops of the cabomba and on the glass. I have trumpet snails in the substrate (They would be great for your tank with the sand, Frogg!) so I didn't really want to stir up the substrate anyway. So I didn't

Thanks for all the research beck, it is great and I am sure I will come back and read it over when I set up a bigger tank!

Kristina

[Chu'Wuti]

Hooray! Glad your problem is solved. At least--THAT problem is solved. Now it's time to solve your other (multiple) little problem(s).

[kyryah]

LOL, hungry Axies could solve it REAL quick, but I think I'll just dig one of my other tanks out first.

Kristina

[beckdg]

fuzz algae


beard algae


hair algae


staghorn algae


brush algae/bba

"The only type of algae I have seen was the thread-like stuff"... not too easy to narrow down kry... and i did not research for this thread... just some things i had lying around... except 1 link i wanted to get back anyway... and your welcome of course!

oh and froggy... keeping that glass dryer should keep that stinky algae from recurring too bad... lower the water or raise your glass... you can even raise your lights a little to keep it down some (a little will effect the glass more than the water)... alot will effect both pretty good... api makes a phosphate test kit sold seperately... i paid $8.99 for mine and i used it like 5 times... it is more of a general guide thing though as they are rarely near exact...