Frustrated with algae killing everything

[FishFinatic77]

Alright, so I ordered the Ultralife blue green spot remover. It should be here in a couple days. Fingers crossed it works and my tank can go back to the way it looked before.

 

[Uberhoust]

@FishFinatic77 I raised baby angels in a tank with constant BGA, they are not worse for the experience. I am curious how well the Ultralife product works for you keep us posted.

 

[FishFinatic77]

@FishFinatic77 I raised baby angels in a tank with constant BGA, they are not worse for the experience. I am curious how well the Ultralife product works for you keep us posted.

I will definitely keep you posted.

 

[Hopfrog]

Alright, so I ordered the Ultralife blue green spot remover. It should be here in a couple days. Fingers crossed it works and my tank can go back to the way it looked before.

I hope it works for you. It 100% worked for me.

 

[FishFinatic77]

I hope it works for you. It 100% worked for me.

I hope so too!

 

[StevenF]

Okay, sorry this took so long. Here are the pictures of my tank.

Looking at your photos I looks like some other leaves are rippled . Instead of the leaf being flat the edge goes up and down. This is commonly cause by low magnesium levels. monitoring your water GH levels and keep to a weekly water change.

Most fertilizers on the market don't have calcium or magnesium in the fertilizer even though plants need both to grow. Calcium and magnesium just down't dissolve well when mixed with pottasiujm and phosphate which is in all fertilizers. So for a successful planted tank you need to make sure you maintainin a stable GH. The GH value of your tap water may change with seasonal wether changes. if it gets low you can boost it with a GH booster. However the GH test has a limitation in that it can't tell you if your water has mostly calcium or a mixture of calcium and magnesium.

However the biggest issue is that you reduced yourfertliization frequency. So you likely now have mutilple nutrient deficiencies.

Sorry I didn't reply earlier Personal issues kept me a way for a few days.

 

[TallPaul]

Hi all. Just throwing my two pennies in the hat.

I've had issues with BGA/cyanobacteria in my tanks before and have just started to see a slight bloom of it again in my current tank. I'm not a fan of using chemicals personally but when my previous tank was struggling I used Easy Life Blue Exit and it worked a charm.

I've used Easy Life Blue Exit on BGA and I've used Algexit on BBA with very good results.

I had a hunch all along that my lighting was the problem. I have a 110 litre Aquael Leddy which came with the stock lighting. I found this to be very overpowered for the tank and have recently replaced it with a Fluval Aquasky that I now manage through the app and have it ramping up and down through the day.

The result of this is that I can have the light on much longer at a much lower light level as it gradually goes up and down through the day. I've noticed immediately that the red/purple algae that completely covers my wood has immediately started to die back. Additionally I no longer have an oil slick on the surface of the water. I believed all along that the oil was from my hands, from overfeeding, from excess waste. With the lower light levels it's just gone. Now I'm just trying to save my java ferns which have gotten brown with what I think is "sunburn" from the old light

 

[StevenF]

Additionally I no longer have an oil slick on the surface of the water. I believed all along that the oil was from my hands, from overfeeding, from excess waste. With the lower light levels it's just gone. Now I'm just trying to save my java ferns which have gotten brown with what I think is "sunburn" from the old light

The il film on top of the water surface was probably a protein film. It is caused by bacteria and the release of oil from fish waste or decaying plants. The simple way to get ride of it is to create more water flow at the surface to break it up and mixit with the rest of theater in the tank. Protein film can prevent gas exchange with the air. IF there is no gas exchange with the air oxygen levels in the water could drop and harm the fish.

Sunburn is not possible in submerged plants. If you put a light meter on the ground at noon on a clear sunny day it will read about 20,000 lumens o flight. Indoor lights and aquarium lights are often 1000 lumens or less. Even a high light tank is only going to reach about 3000 lumens. Now at 20,000 lumens the sun can dehydrate the leaves of a plant causing they to die and turn brown. However aquarium plants are completely covered in water that is frequently kept at a constant temperature. Brown spots are most often caused by nutrient deficiencies in the water. if only one or 14 nutrients a plant needs is missing the plant tissue is damaged and will eventually turn brown.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Looking at your photos I looks like some other leaves are rippled . Instead of the leaf being flat the edge goes up and down. This is commonly cause by low magnesium levels. monitoring your water GH levels and keep to a weekly water change.

Most fertilizers on the market don't have calcium or magnesium in the fertilizer even though plants need both to grow. Calcium and magnesium just down't dissolve well when mixed with pottasiujm and phosphate which is in all fertilizers. So for a successful planted tank you need to make sure you maintainin a stable GH. The GH value of your tap water may change with seasonal wether changes. if it gets low you can boost it with a GH booster. However the GH test has a limitation in that it can't tell you if your water has mostly calcium or a mixture of calcium and magnesium.

However the biggest issue is that you reduced yourfertliization frequency. So you likely now have mutilple nutrient deficiencies.

Sorry I didn't reply earlier Personal issues kept me a way for a few days.

Thank you for this! I've already upped the fertilizer. I'll see what I can do about the magnesium.

 

[FishFinatic77]

Update! So, the Ultralife Spot remover seems to be working beautifully! I cleaned out the tank really well before putting it in, and the bacteria did not grow back. In the places where there was some left, that has now died off. The only place with some left is under the sand, by the glass. The spot remover must not be getting down there. Any ideas on how I can fix that?
I also wanted to add that I've been keeping a really close eye on my fish, to make sure that they aren't bothered by the spot remover. I have not seen any signs of sickness of distress, and they all seem to be very happy that their home is actually staying clean for a change.

 

[Uberhoust]

@FishFinatic77 it is great news that the Ultralife Spot works. I will be ordering some tonight. I have a tank that has been totally torn down and rebuilt and the cyanobacteria has started up again, small amounts but present. I am thinking that the material might be coming from the nauplii that I have been using for feed in the tanks. I suspect the cysts have spores/cysts on them. I don't have the cyanobacteria in my main display tank, but nothing in that tank would bother to eat the nauplii so I never feed them with it.

 

[FishFinatic77]

@FishFinatic77 it is great news that the Ultralife Spot works. I will be ordering some tonight. I have a tank that has been totally torn down and rebuilt and the cyanobacteria has started up again, small amounts but present. I am thinking that the material might be coming from the nauplii that I have been using for feed in the tanks. I suspect the cysts have spores/cysts on them. I don't have the cyanobacteria in my main display tank, but nothing in that tank would bother to eat the nauplii so I never feed them with it.

Yes, do get it! It has really done a great job of getting rid of the cyanobacteria. Let me know how it works for you!

 

[Hopfrog]

Update! So, the Ultralife Spot remover seems to be working beautifully! I cleaned out the tank really well before putting it in, and the bacteria did not grow back. In the places where there was some left, that has now died off. The only place with some left is under the sand, by the glass. The spot remover must not be getting down there. Any ideas on how I can fix that?
I also wanted to add that I've been keeping a really close eye on my fish, to make sure that they aren't bothered by the spot remover. I have not seen any signs of sickness of distress, and they all seem to be very happy that their home is actually staying clean for a change.

Great to hear. That is basically what happened with me too - cleaned my tank really well and then dosed it with Ultralife and I have been BGA-free ever since.