# What algae and how to treat?



## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

Hi, here are a couple pics of the algae that seems to be taking over my plants:

































Thanks for the help


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

What size tank, with how much light? Are you fertilizing? With what? Are you using CO2? DIY or pressurized? It looks to me like you need more CO2, but without the other information who knows?


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

Unfortunately it is DIY CO2 on a 115G tank. I am working on being able to get a pressurized CO2 system. What type of algae is it?


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

I think it's the beginning of BBA (Black Brush Algae). If all your nutrients are at good levels, it is usually a sign of low CO2 in a high light tank.


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

Supposedly I am low light, I have been dosing ferts so why would I get this?


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

What can I do until I can get a pressurized CO2 system?


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## Laith (Sep 4, 2004)

How much light do you have? what type? on for how long?


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## danepatrick (Sep 18, 2006)

i had that in my tank. that is staghorn algae. not BBA. i got rid of it by removing ALL of the infected leaves. i cut my plants down to almost 2". also, raise the CO2 up a good bit. this worked for me. only now, i face a new kind of algae. :frusty:


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

Laith said:


> How much light do you have? what type? on for how long?


I have 4 40W power glo bulbs on it. I just realized they were running for about 10 hours, I think my kids got ahold of the timer. I backed it down to 8 hours, do I need to go less?
Also can anyone identify the algae for sure?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

One problem with DIY CO2 is that the amount of CO2 can vary so much over the life of the "charge". If you use two or more bottles, with the refill times staggered, you can get both more CO2 and much less variation in the amount of CO2 in the water. Some algae are triggered to bloom by big decreases in the amount of CO2 in the water, even at low light. The low light mostly just slows down the algae growth enough so you have time to fix the problems befoe the whole tank is engulfed with algae. As far as the type of algae goes, it could be BBA or it could be staghorn. Try Aquarium Algae to see which you think it is.


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

I will be going to get my CO2 system tonight so hopefully that will help out.


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

Got my Co2 I am going to have it run on the timer with my lights, what is a good amount of time a day to have your lights run?


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## Bstuver (Jan 27, 2006)

Ok well CO2 has been running and I pulled all the leaves off that had this algae, looked good for a few days and now it's coming back. Any other suggestions?


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

If you want to reduce the probability of algae growing in your tank you need a way to be sure you are dosing enough CO2. One way, and the only accurate way I have found is: http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/do-it-yourself/32100-diy-drop-checker.html. Once you know you are dosing about 30-40 ppm of CO2 you can forget that as a problem and look seriously at other possibilities.


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