# Help! Stringy invasive algae...what is it and how to get rid of it?



## JustOneMore21 (Mar 19, 2007)

I have some algae in my 40 breeder that at first I thought was Spirogyra. I manually remove it, dose some Excel (around 0.5ml/gallon) and even squirted it around the algae, although its hard to get it all spot dosing like that....its everywhere in the tank. I did this for a week and each day the algae came back overnight with a vengeance. I've done water changes every few days as well...no luck.

Here are the tank specs:

40 breeder
39wx4 t5ho fixture....lights on for 9 hours total with all 4 bulbs on for only 4 hours per day in the middle of the lighting period
I dose KNO3, K2SO4, KH2PO4, and CSM+B...every couple days...I'm not great at dosing every day but I do alternate what I dose....I've been doing it this way for awhile...like over a year.

It is heavily planted, with pressurized co2....Aquasoil substrate that is around 2 1/2 years old.

2 of the bulbs are less than a month old...and 2 are almost a year old. I will be replacing them after I get paid on Tuesday.

Water changes are normally weekly, 50%.

Fish load is average or heavy, depends on how you look at it....~10 Ember tetras, 7 Rummynose, 3 Furcatas, ~20ish Pygmy Cories, 6 Habrosus Cories, 5-6 Otos, handful of Amano shrimp, and a pair of Apistogramma njisseni (I don't see all of these all the time, so that is why I have estimations). The most recent additions were 15 Pygmy Cories...otherwise it has been stocked like this for 2 years.

The algae looks grey in the tank, but when I pull it out (usually by swirling a toothbrush around) its dark green looking. It's stringy, though I'm not sure anymore if its Spirogyra or not.

Pics of the beast:










































(sorry for the crappy pics...taking pics of algae isn't my strong point)

What is this? Should I try a blackout? What can I do to rid my tank of this nastiness?


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## Seattle_Aquarist (Mar 7, 2008)

Hi Kristin,

It is a little diffucult to tell from your photos. I usually check out the APC AlgaeFinder or Jame's Planted Tank Algae Guide when researching algae problems.

It could be hair algae or it could be Rhizoclonium. If it was my tank I would: clean my filter; stop doing ferts; and do a couple of 50% water changes over the next 3-4 days. After that I would check my CO2 and re-start my fert dosing.

I have found that most of the "stingy" algae have responded well when I have dosed Seachem Excel. I do the Initial dose as directed (5 ml per 10 gallons) and then I dose at 2X the daily dose (5ml per 25 gallons) for a week. After a week, I do another 50% water change, dose the intial rate and see if I am making progress or not. Vals and Sags may not appreciate the Excel treatment.

Let us know how it goes!


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## JustOneMore21 (Mar 19, 2007)

Thanks Roy!

I will try what you suggested. I have recently cleaned my filter (last week) so that is done. I haven't dosed ferts in a couple days, so I will continue that and do a couple water changes.

I'm getting my co2 tank refilled tomorrow (its not empty, but almost).

I'll give Excel another try and dose what you recommended. Its possible I wasn't dosing enough. 

I think your Rhizoclonium ID looks right. I'll read up on it and check out the algaefinder. I forgot there was one here!

I will surely let you know how it goes.


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## Cavan Allen (Jul 22, 2004)

That's not actually algae at all: It's my old nemesis, gray slime, a cyanobacteria. It comes back with astonishing speed when removed and can be devilishly hard to eradicate (sorry ). It's caused (at least it was for me) by a chronic nitrate shortage. Just fixing that doesn't always do it though. I either had to do a blackout or really shock it with a series of big water changes. A UV can do it too. Just make sure you stay on top of the dosing when it's gone. If you know what cause it, it's easy to prevent. Good luck.


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## albirdy (Jun 12, 2010)

What kind of bulbs did you get? Do you think that the increase in light intensity from the new bulbs may have caused an imbalance in your system? 

I don't know much about lights, only hearsay, but I personally would try to shorten my photo period to say 7-8 hours.

Also, I would definitely straighten out my dosing schedule in order to control variables to see what's up.


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