# Algae in my NPT. Please help!!!!



## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

i recently have just started getting algae, green spot, and some brown web-like/cotton, as well as green webby/cotton like algae. Currently i have my tank on for 5 hrs 4 hr siesta then another 5 hours. It gets indirect sunlight, and is a 6 gallon with 2 10w spiral compact florescent lights. I have some plants that get nutrients from the water column (anubias, and java fern) but thats it. Whats a way i can reduce the algae before it starts to over take my current tank like it did my last one?

Would dosing excel help it out? I dont mind dosing excel every so often if that means no algae.

thanks!


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## baos (Jul 3, 2009)

It should just go away on it's own. A regular dose of excel is good enough to help algae go away.


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## Tuiflies (Jan 21, 2010)

Add floaters and CO2.


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

would adding a bunch hornwort out compete the java ferns that i have in the tank for nutrients? I like both, but i like java ferns way more than hornwort. 

I added a good sized portion of hornwort and just threw it in the back of the tank where it is almost completely shaded from a piece of drift wood. But there still are some bits near the top that are getting light.


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## Jark (Feb 6, 2010)

I have used excel to spot treat some staghorn and spot algae and it worked well. I have not used regular doses or overdoses of excel for fear of killing snails. 

I also keep hornwort and salvinia to shade and soak up nutrients. Once algae is under control I slowly remove the hornwort back to a few small manageable strands. If algae returns I let hornwort take over again.


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## mommyeireanne (Oct 24, 2007)

Hi. May I ask if the 10w spirals are actually the equivalent to 40w regular incandescent bulbs? If so too much light may be a problem. The 2 to 3 watts per gallon guideline is based on regular bulbs. 
When my tank was new, I actually ran charcoal in a HOB filter for a month or so. If you have algea, you have more nutrients than the plants need. The main way to beat algae is by encouraging plant growth: monthly trims if you have established plants, plants that break the surface to get CO2 from the air, fast growing plants, even floaters should help (Eliocaris, duckweed) even if they are temporary. I have not found gluteraldehyde (sp?) to be a solution. If you use it enough, the algae acclimate to it and some plants are harmed by it.


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## ddavila06 (Jan 31, 2009)

i agree with the "too much light " , use one bulb for now and see how you like it. i used ecxel before and killed a lot of fish by overdosing  so be carefull, but the algea was gone...! red root floater is pretty and stays maneageable, take care


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

mommyeireanne said:


> Hi. May I ask if the 10w spirals are actually the equivalent to 40w regular incandescent bulbs? If so too much light may be a problem. The 2 to 3 watts per gallon guideline is based on regular bulbs.


On bulb wattage, go with the watts the bulb actually is rated at, not the equivalent. Example, a 10 watt spiral that has the equivalent output as a 40 watt incandescent is still a 10 watt bulb. The PAR doesn't increase because the main difference is in lumens. That said, you've still got 3.3 wpg plus indirect light. I run 6 wpg with indirect light over my picotope, but the lights are set high and I have emmersed growth plus lots of Salvinia to keep the algae at bay. While the tank is free of algae, the water is never crystal clear in that tank (a hint of free water algae), and I am certain it's due to the lighting.


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## Jark (Feb 6, 2010)

I didn't notice your light level before. I only have one 11w spiral over my 5.5 and everything grows fast.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

of coarse, another sure fire way to eliminate algae in that size tank would be to add a cup of bleach to the water. You'd be algae free, plant free, fish free...(obviously just kidding).:banplease


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

i also have that much light because my tank gets very little/no sunlight (window is shaded by a huge tree). But i added a bunch of hornwort in the tank +am doing an everyother day dosing of excel, and a 4 hr photoperiod siesta and it seems to be working! no algae so far! just a ton of marselia death ><


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## aquabillpers (Apr 13, 2006)

mommyeireanne said:


> Hi. May I ask if the 10w spirals are actually the equivalent to 40w regular incandescent bulbs? If so too much light may be a problem. The 2 to 3 watts per gallon guideline is based on regular bulbs.


The spirals put out about 60 percent of the usable light that the "same as" incandescent bulb does. For example, a 100 watt incandescent bulb produces 450 lux at 35 inches while a 23 watt spiral ("same as 100 wats") produces 260 lux (initially), using the same fixture. ("Lux" is a measurement of the light that falls on a surface a certain distance from the source.)

As an aside, I can read quite comfortably with the 100 watt bulb; I can't with the "same as 100" spiral. If the governemnt forces the bulb manufacturers to cease manufacturing incandescent bulbs in 2012 or 2013, as is planned, a lot of people are going to have to buy new two bulb fixtures.

Bill


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

kilfrg7864 said:


> I have some plants that get nutrients from the water column (anubias, and java fern) but thats it. Whats a way i can reduce the algae before it starts to over take my current tank like it did my last one?
> 
> Would dosing excel help it out? I dont mind dosing excel every so often if that means no algae.
> QUOTE]
> ...


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

dwalstad said:


> kilfrg7864 said:
> 
> 
> > I have some plants that get nutrients from the water column (anubias, and java fern) but thats it. Whats a way i can reduce the algae before it starts to over take my current tank like it did my last one?
> ...


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

Thanks for posting the pictures. Nice tank. You've certainly got a lot more plant species than Anubias and Java Fern! I like it that you've got Water Wisteria and Hornwort and the Cabomba (or Limnophila). These are good growers, and they look like they're doing well in your tank.

Frankly, I don't see a problem. I don't even see any algae.  

A blemish here and there... This is nature. Don't try to compare your tank with magazine pictures that have been "air-brushed". Or get talked into potassium or CO2 dosing because of a spot or two on your plants. 

I'm glad you're on to the Siesta period and Hornwort. Make sure that the driftwood isn't rotting on the bottom where it contacts the soil.


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

thanks! that really means alot coming from you! I will be sure to check out your book as soon as possible! yea i have multiple water wisterias in the tank but for some reason that one seems to be the only one that is growing, while the others are still growing emersed leaves even though they have been under water for more than 4 months. 

Also that picture was a few days old, and over the course of a few days 90% of the marselia has died, and has turned brown like you seen in the picture. i only have 2 patches left one on the right side and one on the left. Any suggestions/ theories as to why marselia doesnt seem to be doing well in a NPT?

Also i think there may be some deficiency, because upon looking at my ludwiga on the right hand side, some new leaves have little round hole in them. I have no clue what could be causing it since it is a stem plant, and its planted in the soil. Shouldnt the soil be providing the amount of nutrients required for the plant to grow healthy without small holes in its leaves?


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## dwalstad (Apr 14, 2006)

kilfrg7864 said:


> Shouldnt the soil be providing the amount of nutrients required for the plant to grow healthy without small holes in its leaves?


Hard to say. You need to have a certain amount of water hardness (GH greater than 4) to eliminate deficiencies of calcium and other "hardwater nutrients". It's in my book.


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

so i went on a 2 week vacation, and somewhere in the last week this happened to my tank










i have no clue what happened but things went very bad. There is ton of brown debris on the leaves that can be shooken/rubbed off but the tank just looks like a mess right now. I have no clue why :-/

I think the only thing that changed from the first week to the second week was that the blinds got closed, could this have caused my tank to turn into this brown mess??

On a side note, i am looking at getting a 15 gallon or 10 gallon tank, to try to start a new NPT. I was wondering how much light would be required to light the tank up, as well as does anyone have any suggestions on any kits, or possibly any certain type of cheaper light fixtures?


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## Dr.Awkward (Jun 6, 2010)

The brown stuff looks like diatoms to me. I almost always get them sometime during the first month or two after I set up a new tank, or sometimes if I make a major change in an established tank. If you have good water quality they go away on their own but you have to keep cleaning them off until the tank stabilizes. Otherwise, they'll choke your plants. I like to keep snails in my el natural tanks anyway and they do a good job of eating diatoms.


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## kilfrg7864 (Sep 22, 2009)

do diatoms look like esentially dirt that just covers your plants? most of it falls off if i shake/rub the plant but some still sticks even after i do that.

is this a result of too much light? how can i get rid of these? I keep puffers in my tank so i cant add snails other wise i would


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