# alot alot thread algae



## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

i am so worry!!!
my tank is full of stragorm thread and fuzz algae, what y do??


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## stepheus (Jun 13, 2006)

Here is some info at Aquarium Algae. You can browse around the blog to tackle other algae if you please


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

nerita14 said:


> i am so worry!!!
> my tank is full of stragorm thread and fuzz algae, what y do??


It would be helpful if you gave us some info to go on: tank size, type, intensity and duration of light, densely planted? CO2? fertilization? etc etc.

Algae in a planted tank is caused by an imbalance somewhere.


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*a lot of algae*

thanks for your replies!!!
my tank is 250 liters, my light is 300 wats of HQI 7 hours a day,
it has co2 , ph 6, kh 4, gh 5, no3 10-15, po4 0,1.tª 25c.
my ferts are cano3 , micros, alkaline buffer.
my filtration is 2 filters 1000l/h. 
my substrate is akadama .
the tank is working since august 06.
there are full of rareplants.
for the algae i don´t add micros and don´t change.
the excel don´t do anything.


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Nice looking tank! 

From the pictures, I'm wondering if that algae is Cladophora?

You have a lot of light (4.5wpg) which may be making it more difficult to keep enough nutrients in the tank for the plants. From the picture, it looks like you have two HQIs, each of 150w? Normally I would recommend a "noon burst" photoperiod: for example 2 hours with one light, 3 hours with all the light and then another 2 hours with one light again. But with your HQI this may be difficult because with only one light only half the tank is well lit  ...

So with that much light you need to make sure that you are keeping up with the fertilization. First, and this is very important, calibrate (test) your test kits to make sure they are working correctly (especially the NO3 test kit)!

Manually remove as much of the algae as possible.

At 4.5wpg I'd try to keep NO3 in the 20mg/l range. And your PO4 is low in my opinion: add KH2PO4 to keep it between 1-2mg/l. Don't stop with the micros and water changes...

If it is Clado, it will probably take time to get rid of it. When I had this algae I kept removing it manually and making sure there were enough nutrients for the plants. After several months it finally stopped coming back.

If you haven't seen it, here is one method of fertilization that works for many people:

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/...zing/15225-estimative-index-dosing-guide.html


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*a lot of algae*

thanks laith !!!
I can´t put k ( potasium) in my aquarium because if so my plants are twisted.
I have observed that if i put in more micros than (10-15 ppm no3 , 0,25 po4 ) the algae grows a lot.
can i reduce my fotoperiod low than 7 hours ?, do you think my tonina and eriocaulom will die ? 
if i put in excel at the recommanded dose , could kill my fishes ???
las time when I put in twice dose I killed some of my fishes..
a lot of regards !!!
nerita 14.


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## Intros (Apr 26, 2006)

nerita14 said:


> I have observed that if i put in more micros than (10-15 ppm no3 , 0,25 po4 ) the algae grows a lot.


 It could be a little confusion in terms you use. By micros most of us understand iron, molibden, etc., macros being NO3, PO4, K. So Laith noticed you mentioned above you don't use micro (ex TMG, Tetra Plantamin, Sera Florena, to mention just a few products with micro ferts), so if this is truth, you should start using a product of this type, because plants need micros for a healthy growth and alleviate your algae problem (but as I said before I believe it was only a misunderstanding of terms and you do use micros because except the algae you mentioned, you have difficult plants and they look good!). If you use micro, there are indeed opinions that overdosing of iron could be a cause of hair algae.


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*lost*

I use micros for the plants all the time but for the algae I stop use micros.
i am lost !!
what is the reason the algae grows???


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## Avalon (Mar 7, 2005)

Green algaes like yours are a result of macro nutrient imbalances. Most of the time, you will notice algae growth when one either N or P is low. I see some green spot algae on the glass, so that tells me your P is low, or your CO2 is low, but I'd lean towards P being the problem. I wouldn't stop dosing your trace fertilizers--they are rarely ever the cause of algae.

I would 'reset' your tank by performing a large water change and manually removing as much algae as you can, even if you have to prune some plants. From there, dose your fertilizers by amount such as 4ppm per day of N and 1 ppm per day of P. These figures are average 'safe' uptake rates, and probably more realistic since you are using HQI. Be sure to add this much daily, or double the dose if you wish to dose every other day. Be sure not to get lazy! These are minimum amounts, and even skipping one day will allow green algaes to grow.


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*a lot of reason*

avalon yo have reason !!!
I am going to do your methode.
best regards!!!


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

Nerita14, to clear up any confusion:

mIcros (with an "i"): Iron and trace elements.

mAcros (with an "a"): Nitrogen, Phosphorous and Potassium... as well as Calcium and Magnesium.


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*alot*

ok laith!!


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*the algae grows mor !!!*

please help me!!!
i add more po4 (1mg/l), and the algae grows mor thwn in the past, and grows together rodofita and stragorm.
what hapen????


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## Squawkbert (Jan 3, 2007)

You may have more than one issue here...

As far as I've read, staghorn & rhodophyta (bba, red algae) like unstable and/or low CO2, so the increase in PO4 may not be to blame.

I've been fighting thread algae in my 46g and noticed that I had a lot less to remove the day after a big water change & pretty full dose of ferts, so I think there may be something to the amount of ferts... which makes sense in your case.

If you have plants and regular ferts additions, same amount evry week, then, after a while you have 3x or 4x as much plants in the tank because they've been growing. If you have not been increasing your ferts additions... ALGAE because you are now under-fertilizing. (I think this may have been my problem).


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## nerita14 (Oct 24, 2006)

*thanks*

ok alot thanks !!!
my algae dont disapears...


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