algae problems

8 posts

Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


burtonboarder
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:33 am

algae problems

by burtonboarder

for some reason there is green hair algae growing everywhere in my tank, on the plants walls, everything. Theres a canister running, and not any bit of high amounts of light. 65 watts in a 30 gallon tank. and the lighting is on for 10 hours (8am-6pm). The plants dont seem to be growing very well either, just grow slowly, yellow, and slimy looking....

any suggestions would be awesome


a1k8t31524
 
Posts: 939
Joined: Sat May 26, 2007 5:10 am

by a1k8t31524

do you know what kelvin rating you lights are, and how often do you do water changes
also what are your water parameters? how old is the tank?


burtonboarder
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:33 am

by burtonboarder

kelvin rating...?
they are power conpact aqualights
and about 1 week I will do a 20% water change, the plants are live by the way...

the tank has been running for about 1 year now


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

kelvin refers I guess to how ''white'' the light is. <6500k is generally yellow-ish and referred to as soft white. 6500k-10,000k is referred to as ''daylight'' and is generally more bright white. Anything over 10,000k generally only benefits saltwater setups. Most bulbs are marked (including ones you buy at home depot/lowes/etc) with a kelvin rating on the package. 6700-10,000k is usually optimal for the freshwater planted tank. Many power compacts have one bulb supplying 6700k and the other 10,000.

Japonica or Amano shrimp (particularly young specimens) will annihilate hair algae. Just thought I'd throw that out there.


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

I also wrote quite a bit about algae control here (ironically the thread was titled the same)::

http://www.ratemyfishtank.com/phpbb/viewtopic/2307


burtonboarder
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:33 am

by burtonboarder

LOL
i actually had 3 amano shrimps, but they decided to jump out of the tank because i have no hood :P
but ya, I will try and get some more
and it is a 6700K

thanks :)


Tmercier834747
 
Posts: 887
Joined: Wed Feb 13, 2008 8:33 pm

by Tmercier834747

They can do that..I've pulled my driftwood out of my 16gal so many times (really freaking slowly) and for some reason the little morons refuse to jump ship until I get it out of the tank then its a 30 second scramble fest trying to get them back in.

I would ask whatever LFS you buy them from what their pH is. If its .5 or more off of yours I'd drip acclimate them before you add them to your tank. Jumping ship is common if they haven't been well acclimated to the tank, or sometimes just when they're feeling young and acrobatic. You could also just lower the water level a few inches..but who wants to do that. -.- Another key indicator is if most of the shrimp you just bought shed their skin in the first 24hrs. Could be a bad sign..


burtonboarder
 
Posts: 49
Joined: Wed Jan 07, 2009 12:33 am

by burtonboarder

lol i know its suprising too
thanks :)

algae problems

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