# Terrible Algae (Oedogonium) outbreak after starting EI. Daily...



## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

Before I had been using Brighty step 3 and ADA lights. Substrate is just river gravel. It's a several month old tank, but the filter was from a previous tank and was a "seasoned" filter I guess you could say. ADA superjet ES-600. 

I switched to dosing 2 ml of CSM+B (dissolved about 30 grams in 250 ml water, some crystalization) And 2 ml of the E.I. macro mix for daily use (from memory, 15 grams kno3, 3 grams KH2PO4 and another 3 grams K2SO4) per day. 50% water change weekly. 

Lighting is an ADA aquasky 451 (eight hours), co2 cranked up as high as I can safely go (Ottos are pretty lethargic and drop checker is bright lime green, ..scared to turn it up more...Using it nine hours per day) 


I had some minor Oedogonium issues before and I was hoping to wait it out, but it has EXPLODED over the course of a week. I am dosing Algaefix 20 drops perday and am having little results, but this could be because I've got residual activity from the activated carbon I added a week ago (was hoping to get a fresh start and beat the Oedogonium...)

I feel like if Tom Barr read this, he would tell me to up the co2 and ferts. I literally am almost gassing my fish and I feel like all of these ferts are causing the algae (despite what E.I. proclaims....) 

I am at my wits end. I never had these problems when I used all ADA ferts and Aquasoil. My bolbitis has been slowly battling this algae for months but this past week it has been slaughtered. I'm not sure I an save it. 

Almost no mulm... great flow... I am at my wits end. All else equal, E.I. seems to be destroying my plants and rocks....


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## JustLikeAPill (Oct 9, 2006)

So even though I had cleaned the filter a week ago, I decided to break down the filter anyway, especially since the carbon was exhausted. 

I had placed sheet of cheese cloth over my bio rio media to separate it from the carbon. I didn't think it would decay so completely in one week. I figured it would take a few months for the cotton to break down. It was brown sludge and couldn't even be removed as a whole piece. It was just... dissolved. 

So that hidden source of organics could have been my problem. It goes to show I was blaming the method when there may very well have been another cause. 

This forum seems a bit slow/dead but I figured someone might benefit from this post. I cleared up all the existing algae manually, overdoses H2O2 then did massive water change (fish fine!) and trying to raise my co2 with more surface agitation, and will be dosing Algaefix daily until I think my tank has stabilized.

I have got very soft water with almost no GH. I made a 250 mL solution of CaCl2 and MgSO4 (3 grams each) and am shaking the precipitate up before dosing three ml's daily. I am not sure if this is enough calcium (as calcium sulfate) and magnesium but it can't hurt. I just wanted to rule out that extra possible source of nutrient limitation. (I am leery of messing with GH during water changes). I have also heard excess iron can cause hair algae. Am I dosing too much CSM+B? I was actually going to start dosing extra iron since most people seem to but am now reconsidering if this is true. I've heard as many people say it isn't.


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