Still got Algae...?

[bubabui]

Hi,

Been fighting staghorn algae for the past month now. It is so frustrating! I also have blue/green algae growing as well. Here are my water parameters:

Temp: 84
Nitrate: > 2 mg/L
Phospate: >.05mg/L
PH: 7.8


Water changes are done every other day @ 30%

Stopped using my electronic CO2 generator. It made the water kind of cloudy and the algae seemed to thrive more with it running.

The subtrate is Red Sea's Florabase. I have about 3.5" subsrate of it. I think I need to put a layer of std. gravel on top of it to prevent any leakage into the water column. It's just frustrating though that the water tests pretty clean.

I will use Maracyn to treat the blue/green algae & pull out all the plants w/ staghorn.

I don't understand how the algae is thriving though. If you see something that is the cause of the algae growth, I would greatly appreciate it.


Thanks in Advance,


Joe

[ChloroPhil]

It looks like your Nitrate may be the culprit. You want it a 5-10ppm in most aquariums.

I have problems with staghorn too at the tops of my tall plants. I think it's more of a Phosphate problem than anything else. It wasn't there before I put the discus in the tank. I've been able to get rid of most of it elsewhere my increasing my trace elements and stopping PO4 supplimentation. My fish are providing more than enough of that.

As far as BGA, it's an interesting creature. Cyanobacteria as a whole are Nitrogen fixing creatures, meaning they take gaseous Nitrogen and convert it to a form useable by plants and animals. I get it on occasion in areas where there's a buildup of organic materials and not much current. My take on that is (without any experiments to prove it) that the decomposition of those organics and the resulting production of Ammonia (NH3-) and Nitrate (NO3-) releases some Nitrogen gas (aqueous solution) into the water and the BGA start attacking it with a vengeance. Areas with higher current tend to disperse the N2 (aq) before the BGA can get to it.

Seachem Excel will get rid of BGA, I wouldn't use medications on it. The best cure for any alge, but especially BGA is to get your plants growing again. It'll be hard, but forget about the algae for a little while and force yourself to suppliment at a higher level than you were before. That's worked for me very well in the past.

Capping the substrate with sand or gravel wouldn't be a bad idea either. It could help keep the nutrients in the substrate from recycling into the water as quickly as they may be.

Best,
Phil