Green Hair In Tank!

[abbiebrown]

I've suddenly got lots of green 'hairy' stuff in my shrimp tank, it's appeared overnight almost, what the best thing to do? The shrimp are all hanging about on the filter at the top of the tank, they all look ok, still red!

Should I just do a water change and clean? I've done a water test and it's all ok...

Thanks

 

[joefish72]

Is the tank near a window? Is the light on for extended amount of time? It sounds like string algae, the kind that forms in outdoor ponds. Water changes will help but you need to figure out the cause.

 

[StandbySetting]

The cause is generally too much light, too little flow and stagnant ammonia, increase your circulation and limit your lighting to 6 hours a day, a black out and full removal may be needed to get rid of it.

 

[abbiebrown]

It's not near the window but it is in a light room, it's a Fluval Chi so there is not too much flow, how would I increase it?, I only have the light on for about 4-5 hours a day..

 

[StandbySetting]

Any plants in the tank? I'm unfamiliar with the lighting on these things, what type of light is it? and how many watts is it?

You could increase flow with a powerhead.

 

[abbiebrown]

yes i've 4 live plants, it's only a very small tank 19ltr, it's open at the top with a little waterfall type thing ( it was a return at work, I paid £1 for it! ) not sure i would fit a power head in it.. the light is LED, not the faintest what the wattage is! I might try taking the waterfall thing off the top, that might improve the flow...I've cleaned it all this morning, the shrimp seen quite happy... I'll see how it goes for a few days.

Thanks

 

[neonnewbie]

The cause is generally too much light, too little flow and stagnant ammonia, increase your circulation and limit your lighting to 6 hours a day, a black out and full removal may be needed to get rid of it.

By a blackout do you mean like cover the tank with a towel or something so its in total darkness??
A neighbour just asked me to clean her tank for her so went and had a look and it has lots of algae in it so i did a water change and cleaned the glass told her to reduce the lighting to 6 hours(she was on 10).Should I get ger to cover up the tank??

Cheers
NN

 

[StandbySetting]

Yes, it must be in total darkness, cardboard works well. If the algae is hairy yes, but she'll still need to increase circulation as do you in order to prevent its return.

 

[neonnewbie]

Yes, it must be in total darkness, cardboard works well. If the algae is hairy yes, but she'll still need to increase circulation as do you in order to prevent its return.

Ive also redirected her filter outlet to direct into the tank as she had it going against the glass..thanks for the quick and helpful reply apprechiate it.

NN

 

[waterdrop]

There are some types of algae that can be dealt with by using blackouts (you are right, it involves blocking the light as totally (but safely - you don't want to wick water or cause fires from cloth touching equipment) as possible for some suggested period of time (three days springs to mind but don't take it from me.)

If you look at the articles we have at the top of the planted tank section of TFF you should easily find links to a nice web site on algae created by one of the TFF members. Although the triggers for algae are simply light and ammonia, the ways to deal with algae after you've got an excess vary greatly depending on which species of algae it is. The fix for one species is often not the fix for another.

You sound to be proceeding correctly - gentle, determined physical cleanup using sponges, fingers or whatever just prior to a water change are important and of course reducing your lighting period is the most important of all. Identification of the problem species and then figuring out what the fix is and how to apply it are then also important.

~~waterdrop~~

 

[AvidD]

Hey StandbySetting, I also had a problem with green hair algae. As a result I did some research & came across some info stating that an excess of nutrients (especially iron) in the water could contribute to GHA as well as excess light. As it so happened I was dosing ferts & one of them was comprised of Iron & Manganese, so I stopped dosing that particular fert & it seemed to cut down a lot on the GHA. I also just simply manually removed a lot of it with a coffee stir (just twirled it around the GHA wrapped itself around it).

Have you ever heard of excess Iron in the water contributing to GHA?

 

[StandbySetting]

GHA isn't caused by Iron or Manganese, plants require Iron and Manganese in order to grow, a lack of nutrients is more likely to cause it, GHA is always flow and CO2 related in set ups with plants.

 

[AvidD]

GHA isn't caused by Iron or Manganese, plants require Iron and Manganese in order to grow, a lack of nutrients is more likely to cause it, GHA is always flow and CO2 related in set ups with plants.

Ah ok, thanks for the reply I'm annoyed that the info I read was bogus but I'm glad to get it sorted out now. Thanks.

How exactly does CO2 affect algae blooms? is it the ppm of CO2 present in the water or is inconsistent levels of CO2 (i.e. fluctuations) that plays a role?

 

[StandbySetting]

It's the fluctuations, but obviously if you aren't dosing it then it will be a flow related issue as well as there being too much light.

 

[AvidD]

It's the fluctuations, but obviously if you aren't dosing it then it will be a flow related issue as well as there being too much light.

OK thank you for the clarification. Like I said before, I manually removed a lot of GHA. But without understanding the causes for it manual removal is just a temporary solution at best. Thanks again.