aglae problem

[squall99e]

May i know what type of aglae is this?
Also the solution to it.

Thanks

Squall

[b3dlam]

That looks like brush algae to me... :-\


Its quite a difficult algae to remove. There is no quick fix with most algae, especially this particular variety.

What are your water parameters?
i.e.
pH
kH
nitrate
Fe
PO4
and lighting wattage/gallonage...?

If your plants have the necessary nutrients and doing well, algae will find it hard going....

[ChloroPhil]

SAEs will eat it, but you need to correct your water parameters to make sure it stays away.

[squall99e]

tank 1200 x 600 x 450mm
lighting: 4 x 36w white lamp
Illumination 11 hours daily
water change 1/2 tank weekly
pH 6.0
temp 28 deg C
kh 4 dH
gh 3 dh

I just add 60 yamato shrimps to the tank but not sure if they eat this algae.

Really need help to know the name of this algae and the way to attack it.

[squall99e]

may i know SAEs stand for?

[squall99e]

May i know if UV lamp kill algae?
If yes, any side effect on a planted tank
One of a fish farm owner recommend this method to me

[dreamer]

Siamese Algae Eater :)

[squall99e]

I have add 5 SAEs to the tank
hope they will help me solve the problem.
Thanks for your advise.

[squall99e]

2

[squall99e]

3

[squall99e]

4

[squall99e]

5

[squall99e]

6

[squall99e]

7

[ChloroPhil]

Squall,

GORGEOUS TANK! I love the moss background and your use of Echinodorus, very well done.


The only problem I see with your tank is the CO2 level. It's waaaaay high. With a KH of 4 your pH should be in the area of 6.8(start of light cycle)-7.0(end of light cycle) You might do well to increase your lighting by 30 watts to get close to 2.0watts/g (.53 w/L) as well.

Tell me, how much fertilizer do you add to your tank? What do you feed your fish? Is it all frozen/live food? How old is that tank? Your plants look like they're doing pretty well but aren't growing fast enough to deal with the nutrient load in the water.

If you feed your fish lots of frozen/live food chances are really good that your Macronutrients are out of whack, especially Phosphate. That's likely the reason for that brush algae, I've seen in it other discus tanks very similar to yours.

With your lower lighting, high CO2, and high phosphates you're going to get algae. Increase your light, lower your CO2 supplimentation and add some fast growing plants or some sort of floating plant such as Salvinia. Some groups of Rotala rotundifolia (indica) or Ludwigia repens would look nice and absorb some of those excess nutrients as well.

I just noticed that many of your plants are new, if you're dosing fertilizers try holding off on the Nitrate and Phosphate and concentrate on the Potassium and Traces until the plants have adapted. Your fish should be providing enough NO3 and PO4 for this stage of the game.

Good luck!

Check out this link for info on SAEs
http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/

[Ralph]

How did you do that moss backdrop? I thought it was a photo!

Very well planted. What is your substrate? It looks layered, sand on something.
Your fish look great and I like the cardinals.

Your pH is impressive too, is that out of the tap and if not, how do you get it down?

I'd be proud to have that tank in my living room.

Great post, Phil, again.

[peety]

Wicked tank....
Love the layers, are you gonna let them merge or keep them separate?

UV doesn't control algae, SAE's do though :) :) if you have added 5 you should see results pretty quickly.

I haven't seen that algae type, but I do get black, and dark green algaes, both get eaten by my SAE's and bristlenose. If i feed too little my plants get thin, if i feed too much my algae grows. JUst a matter of watchin the tank......

Again, cool tank. How long has it been running?

peety

[squall99e]

Biotypical,
you are right, when i believe that the algae boom is due to the feeding of bloodworm and beefheart. I have switch the feeding to dried food for the past two weeks. And try trimming every day. But don't know that the high co2 dosage will promote the algae. I thought that having more co2 will make the plants photosynesic more thus taking more nutrients.
Will try your advice.

[squall99e]

I have also redue the liquid fertilizer to once a week dosage.

[squall99e]

The moss wall is done on grid, the wall has been around for 4 month plus, as the tanks has been affect by this algae, i have replace some badly affected plants.
The substrate in between is fertilizer there the reason for the layer seen.

[ChloroPhil]

Squall,

Your plants can only use up so much CO2, adding more than that is just feeding your algae and is potentially harmful to your fish.

Unless you had planned on it previously, there's no need to stop feeding frozen foods. In fact, I've enjoyed happier plants since I added my discus and their frozen food by products..:) I've also got a tank full of fast growing plants and enough light to blind the sun.

Also, there's no need to trim your plants daily. Doing so usually keeps them focused on repairing rather than growing and can result in dead plants and algae. I had the same problem when I was moving mine every couple weeks.

What type of liquid fertilizer do you use? Does it contain Nitrogen and Phosphate as well as Potassium and Trace elements?

[squall99e]

Ludwigia sedioides, my new floating member to the tank.
hope the two of them will starve the algae of nutrients.

[ChloroPhil]

Where'd you get that? It's awesome!!!

[b3dlam]

Squall99e,

Its a bit of a catch22 situation.....

By putting floating plants, you may not be allowing the plants underneath to fully grow (hence absorb nutrients).... Its a nice looking plant, but IMO, it may not be the answer to your problem....

[squall99e]

I will monitor the growth of the submerge plants while doing potassium and iron test to ensure that they get suffient nutirents. But right on the pirority go to the ALGAE.

[ak]

Squall,

Great tank! Especially the idea of the backdrop!!

Just wanted to give you a word of caution regarding algae eaters. Make sure that you do not get the chinese alage eater. They keep the tank absolutely clean, but as soon as they get bigger, they will try to attach themselves to the discus. Also, they are extremely fast, so catching them in a planted tank is a challenge. I am speaking from experience.

ak