# Algae and aeration issues



## erikahana (Jan 25, 2010)

I have a 75 gallon planted tank with crypts, anubias, hair grass, E.tennellus, C. helferi, and some corkscrew looking stuff that my mom gave me but the name escapes me. I have well water and have been having some continuing algae problems, hair algae specifically. I've treated the driftwood a few different times with both white vinegar and apple cider vinegar, and I purchased a trio of American Flag Fish, only one of which survived  First one and then the other just wasted away, getting hunched backs and looking like they were starving to death, but they had plenty of hair algae to eat plus I was feeding the tank Hikari Micropellets. 

When I do water changes, the well water is apparently not as well oxygenated as could be hoped. In response, I've been doing doing aeration during water changes for several hours afterward, plus I've been running a pump to aerate overnight when the plants are not photosynthesizing and producing oxygen. Since aerating at night on a timer, I've stopped losing fish (kept losing random fish occasionally). However, I'm still having algae blooms, and so now I'm wondering what kind of tests and treatments to do to monitor what levels are what in my tank and to get this darn hair algae to quit growing? I do know that I have rather hard water, and I typically have a lot of iron in it, but I have a whole home filtration system that catches a good bit of the larger particles. Doesn't take care of all of it, though. So, educate me, what tests do I do, how do I treat, and what's the acceptable range for each of these test values that I should be looking for?


----------



## Yo-han (Oct 15, 2010)

Due to the heavy aeration you loose all the CO2 the fish produce. Low CO2 attributes to hair algae. Can you tell something about the lighting and fertilizer dosing you do? Maybe other causes attribute.


----------



## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

What is the home filtration unit?


----------



## erikahana (Jan 25, 2010)

How do I set this forum up to email me notifications when there are replies? I will figure that out later.

I just have low lights. T something... I'll ask my mom. Just low lighting over a 75 gallon, with a single strip instead of both strips so I don't have to CO2 inject. 

I periodically dose with Flourish, but I stay away from Flourish Excel if I can because one of my grasses apparently doesn't like Excel. 

I don't know that I would call it heavy aeration... I aerate at night on a timer because I was losing fish. My well water is not well oxygenated, so I would wake up after a water change and the fish would all be gasping for oxygen at the top of the water or floating around dead, so I set up just a simple pump to suck a little water and air through at the surface and make some bubbles, and it comes on after the lights go out and turns off when they come back on. I increased how often I did water changes, which resulted in more fish dying and less algae, so that's why I added the aerator, but if I slack off for even a couple of days over the weekly date, the algae blooms again. 

My filter is a canister filter by marineland, a magnum 350.


----------



## majorwoo (Dec 22, 2012)

erikahana said:


> How do I set this forum up to email me notifications when there are replies? I will figure that out later.


At the top of the thread you want to subscribe to click 
Thread Tools
Subscribe to this Thread
And then select the type of e-mail notification you want (instant is what I use, it sends it as soon as someone posts)

I used to have a tank on well water back in PA - is it possible something is in your well water that stresses the fish, which is why more water changes caused problems? Have you tested your well water?


----------



## jackal148 (Jan 12, 2013)

Hi all, new to the forum but I noticed a possible omission here regarding well water and oxygen. I too have a well and that water comes out mighty cold especially this time of year. I am assuming that you let the well water either come up to tank temp naturally or use a heater. Adding different temperature water will change the temp in the tank and if sufficiently different, stress the fish. If you suspect that the well water has insufficent oxygen airate it while you bring it up to temp. If the problem continues, it isn't the oxygen value of the well water that is the problem. Just a thought!


----------



## AaronT (Apr 26, 2004)

How much light are you running on what size tank?

Are you running CO2?


----------

