# [Wet Thumb Forum]-What kind of algae do I have?



## Todd_J (Feb 28, 2004)

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I frequent many plant bbs', but I have found this one to be the most informative.

I have looked through many of the Algae indentification pages and have not found a match for what I have. It is dusty grey/green. It grows from a single point on my slower growing plants (Java fern and Lilaeopsis novae, esp), but branches profusily and resembles a tree without leaves. It is anywhere from 1/8 to over an inch in length. It is beginning to take over the tank. I does not look like Beard or Brush, from the pictures/decriptions I have seen.

20 gal @ 3.75 wpg (75 watts for 11 hours, 20 watts 1/2 hour before and after main photoperiod)
DIY co2 @ ~20 ppm
Dose 1.5 ml CSM+B (std mix) following 50% weekly water change.
Dose 20 ppm K @ weekly water change
Maintain 10 ppm Nitrates via kno3
I do NOT dose P (and I sparingly feed EOD)
One month ago, I poked a total of one Jobes plant stick deep into the sub surrounding a sword and one of my large established cryps.

I have not dosed significant amounts of CSM or K since the outbreak. Have maintained Nitrates, as they have been utilized. I Been feeding very sparingly every two days. I have been changing 50% of the water twice a week. and have not futzed with the photo period. 

A Seachem Phosphate Test kit is on the way, as I shrewdly suspect it is the jobes comming back to haunt me.

First, what type of Algae do you suspect this is? and, Anything else i should be doing different or additionally?

Thanks

TJ


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## Todd_J (Feb 28, 2004)

Thanks for all the great info everyone. I frequent many plant bbs', but I have found this one to be the most informative.

I have looked through many of the Algae indentification pages and have not found a match for what I have. It is dusty grey/green. It grows from a single point on my slower growing plants (Java fern and Lilaeopsis novae, esp), but branches profusily and resembles a tree without leaves. It is anywhere from 1/8 to over an inch in length. It is beginning to take over the tank. I does not look like Beard or Brush, from the pictures/decriptions I have seen.

20 gal @ 3.75 wpg (75 watts for 11 hours, 20 watts 1/2 hour before and after main photoperiod)
DIY co2 @ ~20 ppm
Dose 1.5 ml CSM+B (std mix) following 50% weekly water change.
Dose 20 ppm K @ weekly water change
Maintain 10 ppm Nitrates via kno3
I do NOT dose P (and I sparingly feed EOD)
One month ago, I poked a total of one Jobes plant stick deep into the sub surrounding a sword and one of my large established cryps.

I have not dosed significant amounts of CSM or K since the outbreak. Have maintained Nitrates, as they have been utilized. I Been feeding very sparingly every two days. I have been changing 50% of the water twice a week. and have not futzed with the photo period. 

A Seachem Phosphate Test kit is on the way, as I shrewdly suspect it is the jobes comming back to haunt me.

First, what type of Algae do you suspect this is? and, Anything else i should be doing different or additionally?

Thanks

TJ


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

Welcome to the board, TJ. The algae sounds like staghorn by shape. But staghorn is normally grey or black.

I had some algae that fit that description in my 150 during its break in period. It grew almost entirely on a piece of wood. Eventually I just took the wood out. Where it got off the wood I found that I could just take it off by hand it and it didn't reappear all that quickly.

The odd thing about the algae I had was that it surrounded itself in a blob of water-clear musilage. No other alge would grow near it, and when I took it out of the water it came out surrounded in a glob of clear slime. Pretty weird algae, all in all.

That and the other algae disappeared once I had the nutrient levels up to where they were supposed to be.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Planted Engineer (Jan 15, 2004)

Hi,

1.5 mL CSM+B * 7% Fe / 80 L =~ 1.25 ppm 
Isn't it 10 times what's typically recommended???

Any special reason for 3.75 WPG???
Any special reason for 20 ppm K?

PE.


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## Todd_J (Feb 28, 2004)

No mucilage here Roger... but it is defiantly antler-like and is more gray then green. It does not grow on any of the equipment or on my driftwood. It is taking over the micro swords and my Java fern bush, and is beginning to get a hold of my crypts.

I guess the Fe is a bit much. Until this outbreak, I have not had a big problem with any algae. I've had hair algae pop up now and then, but then I back off on the dosage of CSM, and the hair disappears. When I have used lower amounts of Fe via CSM, the plants begin to look yellow and sad... 

I've recently upped the WPG, hoping to get better growth on my micro's and I have future plans of glosso introduction. Also I have a stand of Alternanthera reineckii that was not doing so well under the 55 PC. I did not think this amount of light was out of hand. Am I wrong?

I have read about the recent hullabaloo concerning the addition of K in concentrations generally accepted (20+ ppm). I was having problems with wholly leaves and this amount seems to be working. Do you think it is a good idea to cut the straight K dose, and rely only on what is available in the KNO3?

Thanks for the suggestions and the help

TJ

Oh, can you direct me to the instructions on how to post pictures...


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

> quote:
> 
> Originally posted by Todd_J:
> No mucilage here Roger... but it is defiantly antler-like and is more gray then green. It does not grow on any of the equipment or on my driftwood. It is taking over the micro swords and my Java fern bush, and is beginning to get a hold of my crypts.


Manually remove what you can for now. Address other problems as they become clear.



> quote:
> 
> I guess the Fe is a bit much. Until this outbreak, I have not had a big problem with any algae. I've had hair algae pop up now and then, but then I back off on the dosage of CSM, and the hair disappears. When I have used lower amounts of Fe via CSM, the plants begin to look yellow and sad...


I've never used CSM. Could it help reduce the overall CSM dose if you used a separate source for iron?



> quote:
> 
> I've recently upped the WPG, hoping to get better growth on my micro's and I have future plans of glosso introduction. Also I have a stand of Alternanthera reineckii that was not doing so well under the 55 PC. I did not think this amount of light was out of hand. Am I wrong?


You aren't necessarily wrong, but you aren't cutting yourself any slack, either. Bright tanks are more difficult to care for than moderately lit tanks, and there isn't all that much gained from the extra light.



> quote:
> 
> I have read about the recent hullabaloo concerning the addition of K in concentrations generally accepted (20+ ppm). I was having problems with wholly leaves and this amount seems to be working. Do you think it is a good idea to cut the straight K dose, and rely only on what is available in the KNO3?


The KNO3 by itself is enough. I've decided that "holes in leaves" is a bad diagnostic for potassium shortage. There are other causes for the same symptom. If you are already dosing K with KNO3 then a potassium shortage is unlikely. Damage by rasping fish, shading of older leaves and possibly a magnesium shortage are other alternatives.



> quote:
> 
> Oh, can you direct me to the instructions on how to post pictures...


There are two ways. Either way you have to put the photograph somewhere on the net where it can be addressed either as a web site or as an image file.

If you have the photograph on a web site somewhere then use the "URL" button on the editor and provide the internet address for the web page and for the title give whatever text you want to appear for the link. This will place a link to the web page in your text. You can also just enter the URL in your text (starting with "http://") and the editor will automatically create a link to that address.

If you have the photograph where the image file can be accessed directly then use the "Image" button on the editor and provide the internet address for the image file. Usually the image file is a jpeg image. This will embed the image in your text.

You can use the address of an image file in the URL dialog and the editor will create a link to the image file. If you use the address for a web page in the image dialog then it won't work. The web page with your image will not be displayed in the text.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Todd_J (Feb 28, 2004)

Thanks again for the great info Roger.

I recieved my seachem phosphate test kit. It reports that there is 0.75 - 1.0 ppm of phosphates in my tank currently. Not out of hand at all; correct?

The algae continues to amass...What is the cause??? Hmmmm...

I have not dosed in over two weeks, and have cut off the nitrates as they have been hovering @ 5 ppm for a week.

I have (finally) buckled down and figued out a doseing schedule that I will put into action when the time comes. I figure that a 20 gallon moderately planted tank amounts to .6 ml of CSM+B over the course of a week. I intend on doseing .2 ml mondays wednesdays, and Fridays. I do a 50% water change religiously on mondays.

I Just added 10 ml of Seachem's Flourish as I have read it converts iron to a usable form and is a ready source of carbon. This is in hopes of invigorating the plants and withholding from the algae. This is in addition to the DIY co2 i have running currently.

I have tried to remove as much of the stuff as possible, but gall-dang if is not in every nook and cranny.

Here's a link to a pic of the offender

Conformation on Staghorn?

Should I begin my new and improved dosing schedule, or wait a bit?

Thanks again for the suggestions.

TJ


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

I can't see the picture. When I follow the link it kicks me out because I'm not the owner of the album. I suspect there's some nuance in the url that you need to change to get us to a publicly viewable version of the page.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Todd_J (Feb 28, 2004)

Shoot!

I'm working on it.

edit:

Try #4 

[This message was edited by Todd_J on Tue March 02 2004 at 08:52 PM.]

[This message was edited by Todd_J on Tue March 02 2004 at 09:04 PM.]

[This message was edited by Todd_J on Tue March 02 2004 at 09:06 PM.]

[This message was edited by Todd_J on Wed March 03 2004 at 10:58 AM.]


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

That worked.

I can't really say about the algae. I'm used to seeing it under water. It looks like it *could* be staghorn. I don't see any in the aquarium photos, so the infestation can't be too far out of hand.

Nice looking little tank. Given good health some of your plants will quickly outgrow a 10 gallon tank.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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## Todd_J (Feb 28, 2004)

The 10 gal does not have an algae problem, and yes, the swords are beginning to dominate. Perhaps they will be better suited somewhere more commodious. All in good time. I'm working on authorization for an additional tank ;o)

The algae is not pervasive in the pictures posted. I have worked at removing a good deal of it from the Java fern and crypts. I simply removed the affected micro-swords.

Should I resume dosing ferts and hope for the best???

Fun times.
TJ

BTW I have just uploaded some recent pictures that show the offender submerged. Follow the working link above.

[This message was edited by Todd_J on Wed March 03 2004 at 10:53 AM.]


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## Roger Miller (Jun 19, 2004)

I would probably call that staghorn, but it isn't an exact match to what I usually think of as staghorn algae.

You probably do need to go back to regular fertilizing and make sure your CO2 is up to snuff.

I have something like that growing in a few spots on the rocks in my 10 gallon that I showed in the picture gallery under "10 gallon tank revisited." I use an algae scrubber pad and remove it every two-three weeks. It isn't very aggressive and it isn't very easy to see.

Roger Miller

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_"The indispensible first step to getting the things you want out of life is this: Decide what you want" -- Ben Stein_


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