Algae Algae Everywhere

[Sang72]

Well, I installed my CO2 system and 65W CF light about 5 days ago. The good news is my plants are flourishing.

The bad news is that so is the brown algae.

It rubs off easily enough, but it's on the decorations, leaves, airstone, panes, everything. I've cleaned my front pane twice in 4 days.

I don't have an algae eater, well I had one but it had a heart attack. (I swear, I was cleaning the gravel and it just jumped, twitched and died. All my other fish were fine) and I don't really want to get one b/c they are aggressive and get huge.

My snail is trying hard, but it's a losing battle.

I've reduced the light duration from 14hrs to 12 hrs. My LFS suggested some Algae Destroyer by Aquarium Pharmaceuticals, but given my experience, I trust their experience about as much as I trust my cat to give me advice about my fishies. (cat says "let me solve your problem, just give me an hour alone with the tank uncovered")

What I need to know is;

Is this or any algaecide safe for my live plants?
Is it harmful to my invertabrates? (shrimp/snail)

Thanx all

 

[handsomeboy]

i have white algae

someone told me they were single celled organisms, and i was like "ooooooooooo"

i have snails eating it up..... unfortunately they're eating up all my other vegetation as well! grrrrrr darn snails!

*edit* lol i just realised i didn t answer your question. lol. it shouldn't. unless it says on bottle. or, if you wanna be really safe, buy one that says it "wont damage plants or inverts" on the bottle!

 

[Bol]

If the "algae" looks more like brown slime than a plant, then you've probably got diatoms, often called "diatom algae". It's a relatively common occurance in newer tanks, and generally goes away by itself after a couple of weeks.

Can't help you on the chemical questions; I've never used them.