Black Wavey Algae

[Debo]

I have a 125 planted tank . All plants are doing well. But I have this feather black maybe type of algae that grows on the edges of the leaves and on some of the intakes and out puts of my filter system . It seems to be gett worse. Is there anything that I can do about this?
Deb

[RAWesolowski]

Hit the tank with AlgaeFix from Aquarium Pharmaceuticals. The thread algae that you have will not be controlled by natural predators.

I recommend a 50 to 75% water change and scraping any areas clear of algae before the initial dose that would be 1/2 a teaspoon. Do not change the water for three days. Repeat the water change and dose the tank again. It should resolve the problem.

[carsten]

Hi

I had the same problem. I have a 75 Gallon planted tank, and a lot of beard aglae growing on the edges of my leaves and wood. I found out later after talking to someone else that a high phospahte level can cause these outbreaks. The only way I was able to get rid of it was by buying 4 siamese algae eaters (only algae eaters known to eat beard algae), and shortly after I put them in they went straight to work.

Now the algae situation is pretty much under control.

Hope this helps,

P.S. If you buy SAE, buy them small, cause they grow quick.

Carsten

[ronrca]

I tend to agree with carsten! Another way to keep algae under control is trimming/manual removing majority of the algae. Not fun but worth it in the long run. Id rather stay away from chemicals especially 'algae killer' chemicals. Algae is a plant therefore what will kill algae, can harm your plants. Believe me, I used Jungles Velvet guard when I had green water. The labels says safe to use on plants. A month later, most of my plants are dead. Therefore, only use chemicals as a last resort. Try other methods first like nutrient control, lighting duration, fish, manual etc! Another tip is be patient. Do not expect the algae to be gone in a week and only change one varible at a time. Plus documentation!

[SoloDiscus]

I definately agree with Carsten. I had the same problems and learned that my phosphates were off the charts. #1 I was doing water changes with tap and my tap water is loaded with phosphates so I switched to r/o water. #2 I didnt have a densly enough planted tank to use up the extra phosphates. Ive had great luck with the Algaefix not Algae destroyer. Not many of the algae eating fish will touch the beard algae If your discus dont eat them another good devourer of it are ghost shrimp--a lot of them.
Hope it helps

[ChloroPhil]

If you keep your Nitrate levels at 5-10ppm and your CO2 at 18-24ppm your plants will use up all available phosphate and help keep your algae in check.

SAEs and Ancistrus sp. pl*cos work well on BBA.

Here are two really good sources for plant info:

www.thekrib.com
www.sfbaaps.com