# Need some help with this one guys



## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Ok, let me give you the specs of the tank first and then my problem.

40 bdr
pc light 2x96w 65k
pressurized co2
ph is running around 6.8
good circulation on co2 through tank
flourite and sand (I rinsed the sand some when new getting some dusting from plecos)

OK, the problem.

It first started on my driftwood with peacock moss, got kind of some nice brwonish tan stringy algae. I took the driftwood and moss out and did peroxide dip. Helped for a day or 2. Now it is moving to all my plants. Kind of looks like a spider web on the moss and then on the plants kind of like hair. All of it is a brownish tan color. I run the lights for roughly 8hrs a day. And do a water change once a week at about 20-30% And then dose with seachem ferts. Tank has been up for roughly a month or so. In the past my planted tanks would get a green algae when cycling, never had this before.

Any ideas?


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Also forgot to add, I do not have a drop checker in the tank. I do have a monitor on the tank though, and if I count the bubbles coming out of bubble counter it is in that range of 3-4 bps.

I did some reading on other post, and have come to conclussions it is brown hair algae. And it seems like alot of the post I have read, they are on newer setups. I turned my ph set point down to 6.5. My ? is, do I unplug one of the 96w bulbs in my fixture and only run one? Also what about running the lights for a few hours, and then shut them down and refire up for a few hours?

I have some ammano shrimp coming buit they wont be here for another week. I have heard they will eat on that stuff.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

SGM,

A few things come to mind regarding the algae. First is the driftwood. Where did you find/buy the driftwood? Sometimes bringing in new wood from the outdoors can bring certain "algae's" into our tanks similar to what you have described.

Secondly, your light may be an issue like you mentioned. I would suggest only running one for a few weeks and see how the tank reacts. You don't want to change too many things too quickly or you could end up with completely different problems. A word of caution though, anytime you mess with your lights, watch your CO2. The last thing you want is to kill any fish/shrimp in the tank from CO2 overdosing.

Also, your tank is very new and these kinds of algae are common in new tanks. I'd start with the light and make sure your CO2 is high enough (get a drop checker!!!). 

What filter do you have on the tank?

Try those things and keep us updated!


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Filter is a HOB, I got a canister today. GOing to hook it up tomorrow. Just a rena xp1. Not going to run any carbon. Just the pads and the ceramic.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

Sounds like a great upgrade. I would suggest using red lava rock from home depot or walmart instead of the filter floss or ceramic. Lava rock is very porous and allows for bacterial development and won't break down over time like filter floss. I recently started using it in my canisters and love it.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi SGM,

That is a lot of light. I have 2X36 watts on a 30 gallon (36" long) and 1X96 watt on a 45 gallon tall (24" deep) and I only run them for 6 hours a day (split period 2.5 hours + 3.5 hours).










Seachem makes good ferts, but I don't know if you can keep the nutrient level high enough with that light intensity and photoperiod. Do you check your nitrate level? If not, most LFS will test water conditions, call and see if yours offers that service. I target 20 PPM of NO3.

Algae, being a less evolved form of plant life has trouble adapting to changing water conditions compared to the "higher" plants. When I have an algae outbreak I find 2X week 50% changes help me to clean up the problem faster.


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## neilshieh (Jun 24, 2010)

just because you have 3-4 bps doesn't mean theres enough co2 being diffused. get or make a drop checker. 
like stated before, target nitrates and phosphates


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

neilshieh said:


> just because you have 3-4 bps doesn't mean theres enough co2 being diffused. get or make a drop checker.
> like stated before, target nitrates and phosphates


OK, got it on the drop checker!

I will see about getting one.

Tank is looking much better so far, did a 50% water change, took one light out of the fixture.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

There's someone on plantedtank.net selling drop checker's for $8 i believe. Also, ebay has some cheap one's, it's where i got mine.


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

http://www.fosterandsmithaquatics.com/product/prod_display.cfm?pcatid=4608

How about this one?


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Ok, got a drop checker coming.

Also was looking around and found a 36" T-5 light with 67k bulbs, puts out 78 watts or so. I thought about buying that and then using a couple of my regular aquarium lamp fixtures with plant bulbs in it as well. THink this might help out on the over powered light issue? I am mainly going to stick with med plants as far my choices of plants


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi SGM,

It sounds like you are making some good adjustments. I would just try the one 96 watt and adjust your photoperiod down so you still get good plant growth. I would probably start with 5 hours (either all at once or split) and see how things go for a week.


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Well, I went ahead and ordered the light. 

This is my plan of attack to start with once I kind of get this algae out of here.

Run the t-5 for the majority of the time (will havet to play with times.)
Use the pc with one 96w bulb in spurts ( thinking of like 20-30min time trials) Maybe just to use this light in spurts of when plants are maybe in there prime point of the day.


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

OK, here is the update.

Still waiting for drop checker and new light to come in.

I have done 2 50% water changes in the last 4 days. When vaccing water out I have use a tooth brish to kind of pull the algae off the plants. So far seems pretty good, I do see some new growth of the algae.

What I am doing for lighting is running a regular quarium light with a 65k, which is like maybe 20w or something. I have been running that light most of the day, and then I also took one bulb out of the fixture of the pc. I have been running that fixture for about 4hrs a day, in hour spurts.

Until I get the new light and drop checker, does anybody have any ideas on what else I can do with the algae?

I have not redosed the tank yet with any seachem ferts.


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi SGM,

Do you have a good "cleaning crew" in place. I use 1 true Siamese Algae Eater (SAE) per 15 gallons and 1-2 Otocinclus per 10 gallons. I also have about 1 Corydoras aneus per 5 gallons.

The SAE are good on hair algae types while Otos are good on the softer flat algae. Also moderate dosing of Seachem Excel acts as an algacide, especially on hair algae types. Here is a thread that discusses using Excel to help combat algae.


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Clean up crew consist of bn plecos only. I got some amono shrimp coming, but waiting for the ship date yet.


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## niko (Jan 28, 2004)

My take on problems like that is that the first 2 things to be looked at are the filtration and the water flow pattern.

Even if you dislike ADA for some reason you could look into 3 things they do in every single tank (with very, very few exceptions):

1. ADA does not use mechanical filtration. Just lava rock - like FlashBang said.
2. ADA does not maintain a low pH - it is usually 6.8. That helps the bacteria function properly as I understand.
3. ADA always provides gentle U shaped flow along the front glass. There is a lot to say about that - look in 2 threads here for more info - "An (exited) word about filtration" and "Turbulent vs. laminar flow"

So, I don't see a reason to not try at least these 3 things before changing the fertilizing, light and what not.

Your new filter should be internally setup in such a way that it does not clog easily. Forget fine filter pads, unless you want to rinse them every day (even if your tank is crystal clear they will clog in 1 to 2 days). Keep in mind that lava rock gets populated by bacteria and other organisms relatively slow. So in the first month or so after hooking up the new filter with only lava rock (if you go that route) keep in mind that it is not working at its full potential. Best thing to do is to fill the filter with mulm vacuumed from the bottom of your tank to jump start it - the mulm coming out of the filter will mess up your tank for about 1 day but the first water change after that will take care of the problem. Still - only after a month or so the lava rock will reach its full potential, remember that.

The inflow and outflow of your new filter should be setup in such a way that the plant leaves gently wave. By placing the pipes in a certain way you can achieve more or less flow with the same filter so be wise about placing the pipes. ADA's way of placing is apparently very smart, but it can not be the one and only way to do it.

Finally the pH. You don't need to keep it at 6.8 like ADA's. But make damn sure that the CO2 gets all over the tank. That means one thing - good flow involving the water from the entire tank in a constant circular pattern. No jets, powerheads, Koralias that shoot against or perpendicular to the main flow. You get the point - flow should be gentle, strong, and directed. Water should flow from the outflowm, throughout the tank, to the inflow, that's it. Period. No "help" with additional angles of flow, sidetracking, and stirring intentionally particular area with a dedicated powerhead.

Ah yes - Amano shrimp - you have no idea how well they can clean. But their number needs to match the task at hand. If you expect 5-10 Amanos to take care of your visible algae you are mistaken. Be reasonable about it and also do know that 50 Amanos will not really be an eye sore in your tank because they hide so well that you will never guess you have that many.

--Nikolay


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Good points Nikkoo. I changed the filtration. Canister is now being used adn there is lava rocks in it. The HOB was just a filter until I got my can.

As far as ADA goes, I have no problems with there setups and how they look. They actually look really sweet. But for what a full setup of ADA is and all the accessories. I could probably build a 125gal sweet azz tank for that price. Like I said nice stuff, but there over priced.


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Also where I have my ph probe is right next to the intake of the canister. Everybody think that is OK? I guess the reason I choose that spot is, water going in should be water that is getting cirulated by the filter. I am also in the process of building a reactor for my canister as well. Mainly cause I have made them before and they work great. And they are a lot less expensive than name brand ones, for example ADA or any others.


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## flashbang009 (Aug 6, 2009)

I agree with Niko, however with your light amount and ferts still need to be corrected in order for the filtration to "shine". Give your tank a few weeks with the changes you've made, and you should be rewarded.

Oh, and check out my newest DIY thread for alternatives to true ADA while still utilizing the 'most important' concepts (inflow/outflow, aquasoil, lava rock, etc).


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

flashbang009 said:


> I agree with Niko, however with your light amount and ferts still need to be corrected in order for the filtration to "shine". Give your tank a few weeks with the changes you've made, and you should be rewarded.
> 
> Oh, and check out my newest DIY thread for alternatives to true ADA while still utilizing the 'most important' concepts (inflow/outflow, aquasoil, lava rock, etc).


I will definetly check it out.


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## SGM (Apr 4, 2010)

Well everything has turned out for the best, it is gone.

I dont know if I know exactly what fixed it or not. Because I did alot of changes.

Changed my lighting fixture, did massive water changes, doesed excel heavy.

One of the things that I think mainly helped, is my neighbor has a reef tank. And he says the phosphates are high in our water. And his hi phosphates occured alot of algae. Granted I know this is salt water he is talking about. But I thought what the heck. So I went to petsmart and they had some phos out for ponds on clearance. So I bought a bottle and dosed it lightly on the tank, it didnt kill anything or hurt anything. So any time I do a water change I go ahead and use it.


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