# Persistent Algae



## algae-king (Dec 23, 2007)

Hi guys,

This is my first post here and am in need of a bit of help.

I've readDiana's book "Ecology of the Planted Aquarium" and have tried to follow all the advice supplied there, with the only exception being that I have more artificial light and less natural light. This is because it is not convenient for me to put the tank near a window.

Thus I have the following equipment:
- Coralife 24" - 65 watts of 6500k light
- Coralife 24" - 24 watts of combination 6500k/10,000k light
- quick filter
- 1.5" of soil on bottom, 1" of gravel on top
- 20 gallon tank
- a heater

I have a great variety of plants (about 10 species) and they're all growing fabulously and quickly. Even difficult plants like glosso and rotala macrandra are growing great. Unfortunately the algae is also growing fabulously. It's kind of like a hair/matt algae combination. 

I have a fair number of fish, perhaps a little overloaded - about 19 1.5" fish. However they are all very happy, active, and healthy and I have had no deaths.

I have tried the following techniques to get rid of algae as recommended in Diana's book:
- added floating plants (duckweed)
- used soil base
- added lots of plants
- added charcoal to the filter

I have not tried the following steps that Diana recommends:
- adding tape around the bottom of the tank to cover the soil (because the tank gets no direct sunshine)
- substituting the full spectrum bulbs for "cool white" bulbs because my manufacturer does not sell "cool white" bulbs that will fit in my fixtures. The only cool white bulbs I have seen are low wattage and that won't due because of the lack of natural light.

I'm getting rather frustrated and am thinking of tearing the tank down yet again. But of course the algae will probably just come back again.

Any advice is appreciated.

Thanks.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

I haven't tried an el natural tank yet, but the thing that stands out about your parameters is the massive amount of light you are using. El natural tanks need low light, maybe 30-40 watts on a 20 gallon tank, not extremely high light 89 watts. The high light drives the plants to grow faster than the natural nutrients can be replaced, and that slows the plant growth and encourages algae growth.


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## chagovatoloco (Nov 17, 2007)

I don't believe this is the book for you. With this kind of lighting you have a hight tech tank in need of co2 and a regular fert dosing regiment. What the book you red is about is a natural low light low tech tank, a more natural approach. Here book is very good and does work but is not meant for this type of setup that you have.


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## Homer_Simpson (Apr 2, 2007)

I agree with the other posters here. I suspect that your light may be high You can always reduce photoperiod or try split photoperiod to see if it makes a difference. You will likely have to increase water changes, which is not normally endorsed by ELNaturalists, manually remove as much algae as possible, try dosing Fluorish Excel(2-3X the dose), and get your self some algae eaters like otos, bristlenose pleco, and nerite snail to help temporarariy contain the problem until you can clean up the mess and rebalance the tank. For hair algae, your best best is a black molly, Rosy Barb(though some claim it will eat plants), and Florida Flag Fish.

You can also try dosing with Hydrogen Peroxide as described in this article
http://www.gpodio.com/h2o2.asp depending on how desperate you are and how much you are prepared to stray from the ELNatural Planted Tank perspective.

****Edit**** If you decide to tear the tank down and start over. * Jam pack your tank with lots of plants right off the bat, especially fast growing stem plants and some floating plants.* I have yet to see algae develop in tanks that I experimented with where I jam packed them full of plants from the start, this was regardless of c02, no c02, substrate type(although rooting plants did not do as well in Schultz Aquatic Soil) and whether it was high light or low light.


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## copperleaf (Oct 1, 2006)

I agree with the others about the lighting, however, IME following the 1" of adult fish per gallon idea has usually kept me out of trouble with algae.
Just a thought.


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