# algae



## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

There is some green green algae on my rock, and there is some starting to appear all over my sand but its like light brown in colour.
Is there a way i can get rid of it witout vaccuming half my sand up? and also how to i stop it growing on the rock?

Help aprreciated


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## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

here is a great site for algae and what the causes/fixes are. once you see what kind it is, let us know.

http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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## Winkyee (Feb 17, 2003)

It's going to take some time to get things sorted out. White sand has a way of showing debris like birdshit on a black car.
Do you have a test kit?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Sounds like diatoms. But without any pics, it is hard to tell.

If it is diatoms, manually remove it whenever it shows up. Do weekly LARGE water changes, and make sure you are cleaning out the mechanical filtration in your filters weekly.

It should go away after a month or so.


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

maknwar said:


> here is a great site for algae and what the causes/fixes are. once you see what kind it is, let us know.
> 
> http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


 The algae on my sand looks like the blue green algae, because it has recently began to start turning from light brown, to this blue green colour, also on my rock i would say its pretty much the same, although its just dark green, no blueish colouration to it.

My water params are as follows:

Nitrate 20
Nitrite 0
ph 7.5
ammo 0

I'm not sure about kh gh etc.. because i havent bought a test kit for these yet, should.
I do regular 25-30 % water changes weekly.

Does the algae really cause any problems, or is it just an eyesore? because i dont really mind, but i would rather not have to go through half a bottle of waer conditioner eack week, as it tends to be be quite expensive were i live and im a student running low.

Thanks for all the info and advice folks, much appreciated.


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Algae is mostly an eye sore more than anything. But it can also mean you have too much left over food or other things contributing to it. Direct sunlight, your tank lights are on too long, not enough filtration to remove fish waste. Several things can cause it. Ive been battling what I thought was algae until Dippy or one the gurus identified it as a bacteria. I spent over an hour picking the stuff out of my tank as I was informed the best way to remove it was manually. My water params are spot on. As stated by others. Take a pic. My problem probably wouldnt have been diagnosed correctly until I posted a pic.


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## maknwar (Jul 16, 2007)

Algae can destroy a tank, and kill plants if it is really bad and spread all over the tank. But for that to happen, someone would have to be really negligent. Algae is a good indicator that something is off balance in the tank. It could be CO2, nutrients, something rotting, sunlight or other things. You should say what is causing the algae instead of how can I get rid of the algae. If you fix the problem, the symptoms go away. Post a pic of the algae and someone will help you with it. Looks like your tank reading are good. Where at on the tank is the algae? Is it right next to the glass on the substrate?


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

There is algae on three parts of my tank, on the rock, on the driftwood and on the sand. The algae which you can see on the sand is pretty much starting to appear all over the sand, but only very lightly, whereas the bit which you can see is where it seems to be more concentrated. (this look like the blue green algae)

The algae on the rock, i would say just looks like the green spot algae.

And the algae on the driftwood which i forgot to mention, you can clearly see is just like brown hair, but its just very very fine.
I just looked on plantgeek, and just compared them.

The watersprite and cabomba plant have grown unbelieveably quick, if it wasn't for the current of my filter outake then it would easily be out of the water. and plus i've read thatthe cabomba requires high to ver high lighting.

Once again help,info and advice much appreciated.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Looks like diatoms and/or cyanobacteria to me.

Not a bad problem. Just a little work could potentially destroy the eyesore for good.

The greenspot algea is usually always from a lack of phosphates. Check them, make sure they are somewhere around .5-2ppm, and you are golden. I would be more disturbed if phosphate is at 0 than at like 3-4ppm or something.

Cyanobacteria (green slime) is mostly from a lack of nitrate, and the diatoms is mostly from excess silica (sand is high in silicates)

Both of these need to be manually removed first and foremost. Both can be eliminated from simple 50-60% weekly water changes, coupled with weekly mechanical filtration cleaning.

The green slime can be a bit more of a pain to get rid of. Sometimes people do the above mentioned remedy, coupled with dosing nitrates, then doing a 3-5 day blackout.

Hope that helped


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Thanks for your info Dippy. I dont actually own a phosphate tester, i shall go and get one asap. I have never tested for kh or gh either, is it neccessary?
And also, any idea why these plants are growing so quickly?

EDIT: I manually removed the hair slimy stuff on the wood, yesterday, its starting to grow rapidly again








Oh and there is java moss aswell as the algae on the wood, just in case you were wonderin


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## Ibanez247 (Nov 9, 2006)

Hopefully you dont have cyanobacteria like I do. That stuff is a pain in the butt. Anytime Ive had something growing on wood I remove it and just wash it. A tooth brush will do wonders to clean drift wood. Im going to have to take out all my deco except my plants and do a huge cleaning to get rid of my cyanobacteria. Ive had enough of it and I really hate treating with chemicals. Dippy you said cyanobacteria is from a lack of nitrates? Mines at about 40ppm, phosphate at around 1ppm. I know I have another thread and you've helped out immensly but is there another cause I may be overlooking. Thanks and GL Murphy.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

The stuff, and quite a number of other problems unfortunately show up from time to time, for reasons unknown to me, and most people.

That's why I try to do my best to keep my tank clean and check params to be sure. It cuts down on problems. For me, anyway


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## 65galhex (Nov 5, 2008)

what would be the best way to get rid of green spot algae. It is all over my glass about midway up the walls. water params are good.


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

DiPpY eGgS said:


> Looks like diatoms and/or cyanobacteria to me.
> 
> Not a bad problem. Just a little work could potentially destroy the eyesore for good.
> 
> ...


My nitrates are actualy now the best part of 40. It's strange i've done nothing to raise them, theyve went from 20 to 40 or maybe even over 40. And yet the green slime continues to spread. Also when you say blackout, what do you mean exactly, ahould i just leave my lights off for a few days?
Any ideas why nitrates have suddenly increased? Ive added some phosphate, and i am going to dose some excel, see what happens.

And also i just scrubbed the green spot algae off my glass. Will it grow back?


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

65galhex said:


> what would be the best way to get rid of green spot algae. It is all over my glass about midway up the walls. water params are good.


Green spot algea usually comes with a lack of phosphates. I had it from a lack of phosphates b4. If you do have good phosphate levels, I have no idea. Just wipe it off really good, and it shouldn't return. If it does, try doing larger water changes, and clean the filters more often.


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## DiPpY eGgS (Mar 6, 2005)

Murphy18 said:


> Looks like diatoms and/or cyanobacteria to me.
> 
> Not a bad problem. Just a little work could potentially destroy the eyesore for good.
> 
> ...


My nitrates are actualy now the best part of 40. It's strange i've done nothing to raise them, theyve went from 20 to 40 or maybe even over 40. And yet the green slime continues to spread. Also when you say blackout, what do you mean exactly, ahould i just leave my lights off for a few days?
Any ideas why nitrates have suddenly increased? Ive added some phosphate, and i am going to dose some excel, see what happens.

And also i just scrubbed the green spot algae off my glass. Will it grow back?
[/quote]
Hmm
I would try to get those nitrates down to a comfy 20ppm again by doing frequent smaller water changes during the week.
The green slime got me when nitrate levels were fine for me too. It was bafling to say the least. I used the antibiotic that is supposed to subdue it, and it didn't work either. 
What did work for me was the manual removal, the upped tank & filter maintenance, and a 3-4 day blackout.
Meaning no lights, and maybe even a cover so no light comes in.

If you have piranhas, nitrates suddnly spike quite regularly. -When they go to the bathroom and/or don't eat something and it gets lost in the tank. It's normal.

With the greenspot, try scraping it off with an algea scrub pad, and adding phosphates like you did. Should work. If not, I'm sorry, algea happens for seemingly mysterious reasons sometimes.

Ask any planted tank owner in here..lol


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## Murphy18 (Oct 17, 2008)

Ok, thanks alot for the info, ill see what happens and post the results.

Thanks again


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