# Hair algae/When to add CO2



## C_perugiae (Feb 26, 2004)

I figure this is probably the best place to ask this, so here goes...

Some of you may remember my questions about a 50 gallon tank that had issues with cyano growth... those went away, everything was going well, but I had to move to a different place, so I tore the tank down for a couple weeks and kept the plants in a different tank. A few weeks after setting the tank back up again, I noticed hair algae growth on the Bolbitis where it was exposed to direct light. There wasn't much I could do for about six weeks because of my personal life (lots of extended trips to the parents' house, working long hours, etc.) I didn't really have much of a chance to fight the algae issue, so it got pretty exciting in there... this is what I've done so far to help control the issue:

*50 B tank (36x18x18) with 2x96 PC light available(for the time when I was gone from the house, I only had one light running)
*Eco Complete Gravel
*Kent "Grow" Formula & Flourish "Excel" on days when I don't add Kent
*Flourish "Nitrogen", about 10 mL twice a week (seems like it's helping... Bolbitis pearls like mad when I add that after a water change)

It seems like I'm really making progress toward kicking the problem; the algae is brittle and doesn't cling to the plants at all, so ripping off what I can is really easy. It's still growing a little, but not in huge amounts.

Okay, my question is about the pressurized CO2 that I'm going to have available for that tank in the next few days. It's on a tank I'm going to tear down, so I'll move it to my 50. Should I go ahead and add it right away, or should I get rid of the hair algae completely before I add another ingredient to my brew? It seems like all the CO2 can do is help, but I just want to make sure before I screw everything up... I'm really not used to working with large tanks that have a huge amount of light over them. 

Thanks for the help.
-Sarah


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## Gomer (Feb 2, 2004)

adding CO2 will increase plant growth rates. This means that you need to keep on top of your ferts more (NPK & Trace). If you do this, then it will help


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I would add the C02 and keep it between 20-30ppm. This will help the plants defeat the hair algae.


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## C_perugiae (Feb 26, 2004)

Yeah, that's what my instincts were telling me. Just wanted to double check.

I would like to switch to KNO3, since a friend of mine brought some to me from his workplace... how pure does it have to be? I don't want to stick something in my tank that's going to destroy everything, but I have heard of people using stump remover; I wouldn't think that product would be all that pure. Lemme know what you guys think.

Thanks,
Sarah


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

C... I use Green light stump remover which is pure potassium nitrate and it works great. Here is a link for dosing... http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_nitrate.htm


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## C_perugiae (Feb 26, 2004)

Thanks a ton. I think I'll bypass the stuff that he brought me and just grab some Green Light from a hardware store on the way to work. Better safe than sorry.


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