Algea Problem Solvers.... Heres One For You. (7 Pics )

[cuda]

Co2 will definately give everything a boost. I thought of a DIY but spent the money on a regulator and PH controler, glad I did. With Co2 the plants will use the ferts and outcompete the algae. Made a world of difference for me. Everything in a planted tank works in relation to each other, light,fert,Co2,circulation. Too much or too little of one or the other throws it all off.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Fire extinguisher is the way to go mate, but above is wrong, algae is faster to react than plants so your more than likely look exactly the same and maybe get a little worse, most of your algae is caused by flow/CO2, lack of each and your flow of powerheads needs to compliment the flow from the filter. P.S. your lighting s absolutely fine, it's powerful enough and for tank size I'd say go pressurised or the yeast will cause fluctuations. What ferts are you using? How much and how often?

 

[watertown28]

Fire extinguisher is the way to go mate, but above is wrong, algae is faster to react than plants so your more than likely look exactly the same and maybe get a little worse, most of your algae is caused by flow/CO2, lack of each and your flow of powerheads needs to compliment the flow from the filter. P.S. your lighting s absolutely fine, it's powerful enough and for tank size I'd say go pressurised or the yeast will cause fluctuations. What ferts are you using? How much and how often?

For the ferts I am using Florish excel and Florish.
I was dosing the excel with 30ml per water change and then 5 ml every day.
Flourish was 6ml every water change and then one more about 3 days later.

I cut back the excel to 5 ml every other day and still no clearing up. Water changes were = 30-35 gallons 1x a week.

Co2 will definately give everything a boost. I thought of a DIY but spent the money on a regulator and PH controler, glad I did. With Co2 the plants will use the ferts and outcompete the algae. Made a world of difference for me. Everything in a planted tank works in relation to each other, light,fert,Co2,circulation. Too much or too little of one or the other throws it all off.

I thought that if too little CO2 would cause algae and then more CO2 kills it.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

The flourish fert you use doesn't have macro nutrients meaning your phosphate levels are probably low mate, high CO2 doesn't kill algae it just helps prevent it or stop it providing the algae you have is caused by low CO2 or fluctuating levels.

 

[snazy]

What type of filter is that? Is it a hang on filter? They don't provide any flow and may not be good enough to actually process the ammonia perfectly, so there maybe low undetectable levels which is feeding the algae. As Ps£teveo said, you need micro and macro when dosing CO2 ferts. What size is the tank in gallons/litres and what type of powerheads are these?

 

[Lunar Jetman]

How long are you lights on for? I can see you've been asked a couple of times above but I can't see the answer.

 

[Alm0stAwesome]

I'd run a blackout on this tank (or pull it all out and start over lol).

To blackout the tank:
Clean tank and filter really well, manually removing as much algae from leaves as possible. Remove any dying leaves.
Do not dose ferts or carbon.
Do not feed fish.
Cover the tank so that zero light can get in.
Leave the tank covered for 4 days - no peeking
Uncover and do a large water change and clean filter as it may have become clogged with dead algae.
Resume dosing schedule.
Only run your lights for 4-5 hours a day for a while afterwards, slowly increasing over several weeks.


You may lose some leaves on your plants that are in really bad shape but it'll be worth it IME.

You can repeat the process as often as needed while giving time in between to let your plants/ fish bounce back.

As for what caused this it looks like too much light and not enough flow to me, possibly a lack of good tank maintenance as well

aaaand this is an old thread *doh!*