# check out this crazy algae



## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

It's taken less than a month for this algae to turn into a well established organism in my tank. I almost have more algae than plant mass at this point. 

I'm using phosban, 2.5 w/gal(set at 40 w for 3 hours, 80 w for 3 hours, 40 w for 3 hours) of coralife 6700/10000k. dosing seachem iron, excel, flourish, every other day, and n and k almost every 3 days. seachem substrate, fluval 105, 

The algae is pearling about half an hour after the second light comes on. 

I kinda have a feeling it has to do with the plants not getting enough sleep. My plasma tv stays on till around 1 am(it's right next to my tank), and the sun comes up here around 7 am, then the lights come on at 2:30 and stay on till 11. So, if blue and red spectrums wake the plants up they're only sleeping about 5 hours per day. But I could be way off. 

I'm sure someone has a fast fix for me. I have stuff growing on the glass and all over the plants in the tank, and a few spots of BBA. I was thinking of going for the prize of best algae growths. 

I've been reading about imbalances, is there a clear answer to what causes the algae I have? Thanks.


----------



## davemonkey (Mar 29, 2008)

You are not dosing any phospahates, and on top of that, you are absorbing any available Phos with the phosban. Plants need ALL the macro nutrients (N, P, K...not just N and K). I think it might also be a good idea to try dosing the Iron only once per week or less (when you see deficiency in the plants) since the Fourish Comprehensive has Iron in it. Over abundant Iron can cause algae outbreaks.

The algae may need to be manually removed so you can monitor further growth or decline.


----------



## DanD5303 (Oct 12, 2004)

I'd also recommend getting rid of the phosban. Your growth looks like hair algae. Along with getting your nutrients balanced, you can use Excel or glutaraldehyde to slow that stuff down. There is a thread on APC regarding this. Run a search for glutaraldehyde.


----------



## drongo12 (Nov 25, 2008)

yes, take a toothbrush to it, add a little phosphate and see what happens, getting some shrimps might help.

David


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Or... Do a blackout (lights off and tank wrapped in a blanket) for 3 days.

When you unwrap the tank there will be no trace of the algae.

Then, if you don't change anything, in another 3 days the algae will be back.

Lesson is - pay attention to the nutrients and the light.


--Nikolay


----------



## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

Awesome! Thanks! I started using the phosban a few months ago when I had a big brown diatom issue all over the place. That's gone now. I really need a better test kit...


----------



## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

Oh no no.

No tests.

The tests that you get at the store are kids toys. Unless you calibrate them they will play tricks on you. Don't be chasig numbers and concentrations. Pay attention to what the plants tell you, how the tank looks like etc.

--Nikolay


----------



## James0816 (Oct 9, 2008)

Definately scrap the phosban [ It doesn't work for diatoms anyway ;o) ] and try to add phosphates for your dosing schedule.


----------



## heydude819 (Mar 25, 2009)

You should definitely physically remove as much of the algae as possible before you treat it


----------



## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

Check! No Phosban. It was a major issue for a while, my phospahtes were 8-10ppm and my ph was around 5. I had brown and green and bba growing all over the place. I read that plants can't absorb a whole lot when the ph is so low. Then i put in the phosban and removed the phosphates, ph went back to normal, then added crushed coral and ph was then 7.5 ish. And the plants started growing like crazy. I haven't tested anything in quite a while. But now that the phosphates are at a manageable level and i'm not feeding the fish with phosphate food, things should be good to go. I went on a cruise and still haven't gotten back in the habit of doing anything other than feeding my plants and animals. If the phosban's messing me up so bad, why doesn't seachem have instructions to remove it when the problem is over? I've been dosing w/ seachem's phosphates at the recommended amount on a weekly basis. Balance is so hard!


----------



## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

As far as reading the plants, is there a great book or guide on exactly that? I've seen a few, but, I haven't found one that is just the bees knees. This one's decent: http://www.aquariumslife.com/aquascaping/fertilizers-and-co2/aquarium-plants-deficiency/

But it doesn't seem that descriptive of mild to severe symptoms of each deficiency.


----------



## rpmsongs (Aug 22, 2010)

no?


----------



## HeyPK (Jan 23, 2004)

APC has a section in the photo gallery devoted to plant deficiency symptoms. 
Check out http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/aquarium-pictures/browseimages.php?c=12&userid=&t=


----------

