# Staghorn help



## skewlboy (Jun 9, 2006)

This stuff sucks - just started seeing it in my new scape - 1 mo old. I would usually just blackout or OD on excel but I just stocked the tank w/ some nice yellow shrimp and amanos and don't want to kill them off if I can help it. Filter was started from another tank (no stag in there) 

Currently over my 40 gal breeder --
Aquasoil w/ powersand
96 W dual daylight (was at 192) on 8 hr cycle
pressurized co2 2 bps
Flourish and flourish iron
Started excel at 2 capfulls every other day (initially did 4 to start)

Any suggestions?


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## FernMan (Jun 4, 2006)

Take a look at this posting... it's a judgement call, but I thought it was interesting. All animals adjust... read>

http://fins.actwin.com/aquatic-plants/month.200602/msg00305.html


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## mistergreen (Mar 3, 2007)

remove or prune... and do a water change.. It's sometimes cause by ammonia floating around.


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## XRTech (Jul 15, 2007)

I've been regular dosing excel in my 2.5g with baby green shrimp and they've been doing great. Growing very fast. Only time they seem to freak out is when I do water changes. Hope that helps.


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## skewlboy (Jun 9, 2006)

curious, if its usually caused by ammonia - could i just use Prime and bind it to help eliminate the problem?


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I would remove it manually & do weekly 50% water changes. The water changes will help remove the ammonia, also will more fast growing plants.


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## hoppycalif (Apr 7, 2005)

Any fish, shrimp, snails, etc. in the tank will be dropping waste products around the tank, and that means they are adding tiny amounts of ammonia constantly. Unless you were to add Prime every day, which I suspect would eventually be a problem, I can't see it controlling the ammonia. The nitrifying bacteria on the plants, substrate and hardscape will be using up the ammonia as it appears, but only at a steady rate - the bacteria colonies will be balanced with the availability of ammonia, so a sudden increase will be too much for the bacteria to handle. The plants also absorb the ammonia as plant food, and if the tank is heavily planted, any ammonia will be used up very fast. But, if the plant load isn't great enough, and something releases a surge in ammonia, that is probably enough of a signal to the algae spores to start growing.

I'm trying a new idea now - I'm using zeolite sand as a substrate in a 10 gallon tank. Zeolite absorbs a lot of ammonia, and is used in filters for that purpose. It is possible, but not probable that the zeolite will keep ammonia under control for me. This tank was started without mulm, just to start it minus the nitrifying bacteria.


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## skewlboy (Jun 9, 2006)

I'm excelling the tank at 2x dose. Have some pregnant yellow shrimp in there and don't want to kill them off w/ 3-4 times dose. I'm directly applying the excell in the area of the staghorn i'm trying to kill and it does turn it red, i'm pulling out as much as possible (very odd algae - curly and tough). The excelled staghorn turns pink/red but does not wither away, just stays attached. Shrimp won't eat it. Doing water changes and above changes to light (though am trying 2 hrs of peak light). Not sure if i'm just not doing it long enough or if i'm still not dosing enough. 

Thoughts?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

This is a frustrating problem with a very simple solution. Up your macro nutrients. Water changes and manual removal will accelerate its demise but won't address the root cause. The appearance of this algae is nearly always linked to a dearth of nitrates and phosphates. Up them and it goes away.

I think that ammonia can indeed contribute to this one. Plants usually prefer ammonia over other nitrogen sources. If there is much at all, that means that it's not being used. Adding more macros will improve plant growth and ensure that it is.

For whatever reason, the Powersand isn't cutting it. Not enough? Worn out? Whatever the case, you'll need a macro supplementation strategy. There are several ways of doing that of course, but you are in the right place.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

After thinking about this, I'd like to add a few things. 

First, doubles 96s on a 40 breeder is a whole lot of light. I've done it myself and know that it can be done with great results, but not without substantial fertilizing to back it up. It's no wonder that the Powersand isn't enough. 

Also, you don't say how much Flourish and Flourish Iron you're adding, but I ended up adding about 10mls a day of each to a setup like that. Excel on top of that can certainly help.


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## skewlboy (Jun 9, 2006)

Got my calculation to 2.5 to 3 ml daily of flourish and flourish iron. Excelling still at 2x dose. Switched up to a CO2 reactor last night -------- "HOLY COW" ------- you would have thought that I carbonated my tank today (even only running at 1 bps) Only running one 96 watt bulb at the moment and have done a few days w/ a 2 hr burst in the middle of the day (really kicks up the pearling). All plants in the tank are happy and lots of new growth but the staghorn is still around. 

going to do another 50% water change tomorrow. We'll see.... Any other thoughts?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

skewlboy said:


> Got my calculation to 2.5 to 3 ml daily of flourish and flourish iron. Excelling still at 2x dose. Switched up to a CO2 reactor last night -------- "HOLY COW" ------- you would have thought that I carbonated my tank today (even only running at 1 bps) Only running one 96 watt bulb at the moment and have done a few days w/ a 2 hr burst in the middle of the day (really kicks up the pearling). All plants in the tank are happy and lots of new growth but the staghorn is still around.
> 
> going to do another 50% water change tomorrow. We'll see.... Any other thoughts?


Put the other 96 back on. Double or triple your micros. Start dosing lots of macros. Problem solved.


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## skewlboy (Jun 9, 2006)

So basically go to 4 ml of flourish and flourish iron a day? Do you think that doing the pulse of 2-3 hrs of all 192 Watts is not enough - I should do the full 192 for 10 hrs?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

I'd see how that goes for the Seachem stuff and add more if necessary. 

The lighting is something you'll have to experiment with. You could go one on for ten and the other for maybe 4 and see how things go. Some experimenting may be necessary before you find the 'sweet spot'. 

What do you plan on doing regarding the macros?


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

Whatever happened to this?


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