Sick Of Algae....!!

[dannysnow]

Hey Folks,
Aren't you folks afraid of the Ottos and Plecos becoming addicted to the slime coat on the Discus, especially when they run low on algae? I'd rather battle the green slime than to look at a hickie.
Danny

[Kindredspirit]

Hey Danny ~

I am not sure how to address your concern as I do not have any Plecos and Ottos ~ nor is my algae as bad as some I know ~

But I know a lot of members who do have these creatures and most have a planted tank with lots of deco so there is quite a bit of the green carpet to go around ~ if there is not then some get those algae wafers....I think!! So I suppose one must pay attention and make sure they have plenty to suck up and they will perhaps leave the discus slime alone ~ ugh!!


hth,


M~

[Alight]

While some have had confirmed problems with otos latching on to Discus, this may be species dependent (there are a bunch of different otocinclus species). I've never seen this happen, and neither have a bunch of others. BN plecos also very rarely pick up this habit. Other plecos may be another story, but I'd not recommend them anyway for other reasons.

Plants can help the algae situation, but 3-4 watts/gallon in a low tech tank is asking for algae problems. More like 2 watts/gallon if you don't want to use pressurized CO2.

Potted plants do look nice, and will help, but not solve nitrate problems in a low tech tank. I'll post some pics of my grow out tank later.

Al Light

[Kindredspirit]

I'll post some pics of my grow out tank later.

Al Light

That would be great, Al !


Marie ~

[AmazonRainbows]

I have corycats, otocynclus and pen fish. They all drop eating alguae and go for brinshrimp & blood worm like pigs. Put them out not doing ther job. No syndicat in my tank

[Tad]

Increase WC percentage and frequency, and move tank away from window or natural light might help....

JMO,
Tad

[Alight]

Pics of grow out tank. Note that any algae you can see (on top of the potted red temple for example) is from being in the show tank. I pull the plants out of that tank and put them in this tank to get them cleaned before I put them back!

[Alight]

Left side-

[Alight]

Right side

[lhforbes12]

Marie,
I agree with Tom and AL, potted plants are definately a better solution for algae. btw a BN *is* a type of pleco and I have personally seen them trying to attach to my discus, so I no longer keep them together. The one thing I'd like to re-state, that AL already said, is to not put too much light over your tank, you'll just be asking for even more algae. Also you never mentioned what type of alga you have, if you can figure out what it is, either I or someone else could probably help you better.

hth,
Larry

[Kindredspirit]

Increase WC percentage and frequency, and move tank away from window or natural light might help....

JMO,
Tad

Hey Tad ~ I do a 50%wc daily ~ Im so not doing anymore than that! And I close the blinds before light/sun hits the tank~ Thank you!!!


Al ~ great picturs and awesome tank! Thank you for sharing ~ I missed this.... So....to recap ( and be nice ) plants keep algae under control becuz .....of a scientific reason or cuz the light hits the plants instead of everything else?

Larry ~ I dont think I will get any alage sucker uppers!
they are ugly for one and my algae isnt that bad ~ thanks Larry!!


Marie ~

[AmberC]

Plants can help the algae situation, but 3-4 watts/gallon in a low tech tank is asking for algae problems. More like 2 watts/gallon if you don't want to use pressurized CO2.

Potted plants do look nice, and will help, but not solve nitrate problems in a low tech tank. I'll post some pics of my grow out tank later.

Al Light

I am confused. I have heard a couple of times now that plants help algae issues because they fight for the same nutrients that the plants need. I had a planted tank before.. heavily planted.. no special lighting. .just the bulbs that came out of the box when I set up the tank. I had major algae probs. It was all over my substrate (gravel) and plants. I even got green water! Then I went BB because I was having water issues.. (thats all been taken care of)
When I went BB.. no algae. Occasionally in a bottom corner, but that was it.
Now I have replanted (sand substrate) and I have algae again. All over everything! Plants, driftwood, rocks, sand. I got a BN and that is helping. My lights are on a timer. No direct sunlight, but the room is very bright. Same on the lights.. whatever wattage came out of the box. I am assuming its the lowest.

So ... I am confused.
Help me understand guys!
Amber

[tpl*co]

Do you have live plants? Even with bare bottom, I recommend some potted plants to help keep algae under control. Plants will compete with the algae for nitrate and other nutrients, especially if you provide good light (3 - 4 watts flourescent per gallon).

Algae almost drove me out of this hobby, which is why I switched to planted tanks.

I've noticed the same thing too (of course I still have algae forming on the cover glass though, ughhh. Bristlenoses and other small plecos won't get everywere, and they still need to be fed (cucumbers, algae discs etc). I've found they need to be acclimated slowly to the discus temps and like a lot of airation (I've lost a few to this). They also tend to hide. They also require some driftwood in their diet too. And another warning is that I once had some bristlenose introduce some red worm parasites into my tank! Had to drive way out to get some sheep dewormer to clear that up! In one of my cooler tanks though I do have pleco/plant combination that keeps the algae down and my discus tanks currently just have some plants .

Tina

[tpl*co]

I am confused. I have heard a couple of times now that plants help algae issues because they fight for the same nutrients that the plants need. I had a planted tank before.. heavily planted.. no special lighting. .just the bulbs that came out of the box when I set up the tank. I had major algae probs. It was all over my substrate (gravel) and plants. I even got green water! Then I went BB because I was having water issues.. (thats all been taken care of)
When I went BB.. no algae. Occasionally in a bottom corner, but that was it.
Now I have replanted (sand substrate) and I have algae again. All over everything! Plants, driftwood, rocks, sand. I got a BN and that is helping. My lights are on a timer. No direct sunlight, but the room is very bright. Same on the lights.. whatever wattage came out of the box. I am assuming its the lowest.

So ... I am confused.
Help me understand guys!
Amber

The lights "out of the box" I've found is cr*p! I had the same problem too. The plants languished and didn't grow, algae, etc. I trick is to find the right balance of light, duration of light, and the right amount of plants (and type of plants to go with the temps and the amount of light) to outcompete the algae. I had to do a lot of trial and error (and I don't know if I still have it right) to find out what to use in my bowfront. I have a coralife aqualight on that tank about 3 watts per gallon and growing swords and stuff. My other discus tank is a work in progress and has java fern and moss and about 2 watts per gallon. Still have some algae, but a lot less than before the java fern! One thing I noticed is that I've been having trouble with the wide leaf java in the discus temps (or some javas tolerate discus temps better than others)?

LOL, of course my tank is a low tech, fish have priority over the plants, tank, no CO2 and I don't add fertilizer to the water anymore (especially after what happened to Sampson). I do add fertilizer tabs to the pots though. A lot of high Techies probably have more to add .

Tina

[Alight]

Marie, I find the plants look nice, but only help the algae situation a small amoutn in a low tech, bare bottom tank. The plecos and otos do much more. As to ugly, it's in the eye of the beholder. Sort of like bulldogs. Some think they are very cute, others very ugly. Otos are pretty small, hide most of the time when the lights are on, especially if you have plants for them to hide in.

You don't need driftwood for otos--actually, even my BNs in the bare bottom tanks have been growing quickly and having no problems without driftwood.

The pots have 100% flourite in them, so I don't supplement them.

Really, I have to clean the glass only once every week or two. The Otos and plecos do the rest.