Floating Algae problem

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Discuss all topics related to freshwater and planted tanks.


natalie265
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Floating Algae problem

by natalie265

There is a slimy, dark green algae that is attacking my floating plants, turning my fish tank into a swamp and managing to kill my frog bit and duck weed! I didn't think ANYTHING could kill duck weed!

I've already taken all the frog bit out, rinsed it off, pruned the hell out of it and thrown most of it away. Also threw out most of the duck weed. This didn't solve the problem Am i going to have to just throw it ALL out? Any suggestions?


a1k8t31524
 
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by a1k8t31524

how old are your lights? what are your water parimaters? and all that good stuff?


Tmercier834747
 
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by Tmercier834747

Sounds like cyanobacteria. When you first noticed it, was it blue/green in color, then became darker over the period of a few days? I'm struggling with it myself. I blame the new filter and my change to filtering without carbon.

If it has a potent nasty pondwater/fishy smell associated with it that sticks on your hands when you come in contact with it, it may be cyanobacteria. Most of the information i've found for elimiating it is written in botanist language so basically what I derived is that overwhelming the tank with oxygen and being sure you have strong activated carbon should help out. I'm considering getting a UV filter if I continue to have problems with it, or possibly even a phosban reactor (to remove phosphates) -- either of which I'd only use temporarily to try and fully eradicate the bacteria quickly.

I re-added carbon to my filter today and removed most of the slimy 'mats'. Cyanobacteria isn't algae but bacteria feeding on dissolved organics and phosphates much like plants do. CB will choke the hell out of your plants, too...It appears to be algae because it photosynthesizes like plants and algae giving off that blue/green color.

It shouldn't show up in mature aquariums but I think changing my filter completely and removing carbon simultaneously caused it to appear since my tank is overstocked.
Sadly whatever route you take its gonna hurt the plants a bit in the process of ridding the bacteria. There are chemicals that work very well but as in most cases could pose harm to inverts and fishes.


natalie265
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by natalie265

I hope it isn't this cynobateria stuff that you're talking about. There isn't a potent smell. Could it just be algae? I'm also having trouble with it growing on my amazon sword plants, but they're surviving. The duckweed and frog bit are not.

A little more info: the lights are about 6 months old. The Ph is about 6.5, extremely low nitrates, i can't remember what i keep my temp at, i'll have to check when i get home. Lights...i think i have about 8wpg, but have floating plants and filter through peat which kind of darkens the water. The lights are on about 13 hours a day. No CO2.


Tmercier834747
 
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by Tmercier834747

in that case I'm inclined to think you're getting algae growth from excessive lighting...with 8wpg you probably need to light your tank for only 8 hours. I've been led to believe anything over 5 in FW is regarded as excess. CO2 would really help your plants out-compete any algae growth in your tank with that much light...

If you don't notice a potent smell that stays on your hands even after washing with soap (if you come in contact with it) its not cyanobacteria and you're more fortunate than I. Adding carbon has only slowed the growth so at this point I'm considering removing all my plantings and starting over once its been completely eradicated. :(


aaronnorth
 
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Joined: Fri Dec 26, 2008 4:49 pm

by aaronnorth

Causes:

low nitrates (keep them around 20ppm)
ammonia spike - not always detectable with hobby test kits
dirty filter - can cause an NH3 spike
organic matter in tank - again they can cause ammonia spikes
poor circulation - aim for a minimum of 10x turnover, BGA cannot gorw aswell when there is fast moving water.

Tmercier - a UV filter will not work, they only work on free flaoting organisms such as green water (algae blooms) andparasites etc where the actual organisim comes into contact with the UV light.


natalie265
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by natalie265

Today i added one of those little DIY CO2 kits that you can buy at Petsmart. Hopefully it wasn't a complete waste of money. I'm going to start shortening the time the lights are on as well. I DO think that's at least a part of the problem. I'm using test strips to test for nitrates and nitrites, which i know is not accurate, but i don't get any pink coloration at all. Anyways, i know how to fix ammonia in the tank, but not enough nitrates? How would i go about fixing that? (Assuming that's the problem. I'm not doing anything until i get a more accurate test kit)

Thanks for the feedback!


Tmercier834747
 
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by Tmercier834747

was it the nutrafin CO2 system with the little canister and bubble ladder? If it is check the packets before you add them in the mixture to make sure they're not out of date. Mine were. I use a DIY solution now which is the same except I don't use the baking soda (''stabilizer'') and i use store bought yeast (about 1/8th tsp). I think you only need the baking soda if your water is really soft.

The pain is maintaining steady levels of CO2 as it begins to run out. I think that may have held a part in my cyanobacteria going freaking nuts. The only bonus to going out and buying the packets they sell at petsmart for like $10 for a 3 month supply is the yeast is more stable and lasts longer because its champagne yeast or something, and not bakers yeast like I get at the grocery store. I've been meaning to check out some local breweries which is I guess the only place you can really get your hands on it, but I have yet to try.

More nitrates is as simple as doing less water changes or adding fish, but I think he was actually telling me the possible causes of cyanobacteria. Thats really the only part that would make sense in the list since I changed out my marineland bio-wheel for an aquaclear 70 and tried seeding it with the bio-wheel but I don't think the bacteria held, which probably caused a mini cycle even though the tank has been running for nearly 2 years. -.-


natalie265
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by natalie265

Yep, and i ended up adding store bought yeast to mine too. I couldn't find an expiration date on the packets, but the box was covered in dust, so i kinda wondered about it. I'm going to look into the champagne yeast thing. I'll let you know if i have any luck with it.

Floating Algae problem

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