More Alage Issues.

[Jaymz]

Me again, don't worry I'm probably as sick of problems as you are of hearing about them, basically my tank has lots of algae which will not go away. The tank's the same 190 litre w/ 2x24W T-5s and a pressurised c02 system. I got 5 Tropica Ludwigia repens ''Rubin'' and two crypts from AE's Easy-Grow section just to see how they went, and while the Rubins were growing fast they grew with pale leaves and dozens of them dropped off. Also the crypts are sprouting long black-green algae strands which I heard were curably with more or more stable c02, however increasing that to 2.5bps has made it worse.

Much appreciation for any help, sorry I must be getting annoying by now.

EDIT: Forgot to mention I'm using Tropica+ Nutrition and Profito for trace, at the dosages specified.

 

[aaronnorth]

fertilisers??

 

[Jaymz]

fertilisers??

Tropica Plant Nutrition+ and EasyLife ProFito, although that's been recommended just for trace elements.

 

[aaronnorth]

sorry i didnt write a better answer, i was in a rush!

BBA/ hair algae is down to poor CO2 and poor circulation.

CO2: levels are ok, then look at disribution. Is the CO2 getting to all corners of the tank? specifically the infected areas. Try moving your DC around, and are you using 4dkh and bromothymol blue??

circulation: there should be 10-20x circulation as a minimum reccomendation, but you also need to make sure there are no dead spots. How is the circulation in the infected areas?

 

[Jaymz]

sorry i didnt write a better answer, i was in a rush!

BBA/ hair algae is down to poor CO2 and poor circulation.

CO2: levels are ok, then look at disribution. Is the CO2 getting to all corners of the tank? specifically the infected areas. Try moving your DC around, and are you using 4dkh and bromothymol blue??

circulation: there should be 10-20x circulation as a minimum reccomendation, but you also need to make sure there are no dead spots. How is the circulation in the infected areas?

I am using the 4dkh and bromo blue in my DC yes, and it's reading green/very slightly yellow colour, I'll move it around over the next day or so and see if it changes.

Well, the affected areas are pretty much everywhere, the crypts are quite low down and the outlet nozzles from the filter are about 2/3 the way up the tank. But there's green spot algae all over the glass and even furry green algae on the rocks and bogwood.

How exactly do you mean 10-20x circulation? My filter runs at 400 LPH which means all the tank water passes through tiwce an hour. The circulation seems good, I keep an eye on food when it sinks or whenever I use fertilizer and it gets washed around the tankk nicely.

Also I trimmed the plants back but they're still growing with dead leaves and stuff.

 

[aaronnorth]

How exactly do you mean 10-20x circulation? My filter runs at 400 LPH which means all the tank water passes through tiwce an hour. The circulation seems good, I keep an eye on food when it sinks or whenever I use fertilizer and it gets washed around the tankk nicely.

sorry, i meant to put turnover
2x is low, so adding a powerhead will help. The koralia models are good, or you could get a chaper alternative like i did direct it it at the front glass so it it is pushed down to the bottom and repelled to the back.

 

[Jaymz]

How exactly do you mean 10-20x circulation? My filter runs at 400 LPH which means all the tank water passes through tiwce an hour. The circulation seems good, I keep an eye on food when it sinks or whenever I use fertilizer and it gets washed around the tankk nicely.

sorry, i meant to put turnover
2x is low, so adding a powerhead will help. The koralia models are good, or you could get a chaper alternative like i did direct it it at the front glass so it it is pushed down to the bottom and repelled to the back.

I was thinking of changing the filter for something with a higher LPH (about 800) taking it to 4x, and could add a Koralia 1 I guess, taking it up to 2,300ish LPH.

Something I just noticed now, I'm on a ten-hour light period, Co2 coming on two hours before and going off two hours before as well, is that a bit too long? I thought it was on eight hours but I am mistaken. Or will it not make a huge difference?

 

[aaronnorth]

8hrs will help to minimize algae growth. it will make quite a large difference.

 

[Jaymz]

8hrs will help to minimize algae growth. it will make quite a large difference.

Ok it's now c02 on at eight, lights on at ten, c02 off at four, lights off at six. I was getting properly confused with times I was stressing out downstairs just now lol.

Could this mess-up with the timings be cause for my plants to be growing so badly by any chance?

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

8hrs will help to minimize algae growth. it will make quite a large difference.

Ok it's now c02 on at eight, lights on at ten, c02 off at four, lights off at six. I was getting properly confused with times I was stressing out downstairs just now lol.

Could this mess-up with the timings be cause for my plants to be growing so badly by any chance?

Not really, I have co2 on an hour before and an hour after lights on/off.
It sounds your problem is related to a flow issue as Aaron mentioned.

 

[Jaymz]

8hrs will help to minimize algae growth. it will make quite a large difference.

Ok it's now c02 on at eight, lights on at ten, c02 off at four, lights off at six. I was getting properly confused with times I was stressing out downstairs just now lol.

Could this mess-up with the timings be cause for my plants to be growing so badly by any chance?

Not really, I have co2 on an hour before and an hour after lights on/off.
It sounds your problem is related to a flow issue as Aaron mentioned.

Is it better to have the co2 go off after the lights? I was sure I was told before to let the co2 be 'used up' by the plants before the lights went off.

About powerheads then - Any experiences with the Koralia models? Or is there a better recommendation? I want something that won't hum loudly though, that's likely going to get annoying quickly. What kind of LPH would be sufficient? (190l tank)

Many thanks!

 

[aaronnorth]

Is it better to have the co2 go off after the lights? I was sure I was told before to let the co2 be 'used up' by the plants before the lights went off.

i (used to) have my CO2 go off 3hrs before lights off. CO2 didnt drop below 30ppm, plants cannot use it quick enough and as soon as they get into a set rythym of the photperiod they know when to begin winding down for the night.

Korali's are the best, sometimes the humm when frst setup but sometime turning it off, then back on again works. They should settle down though.
aim for about 1900l/h

 

[SexyFishKeeper]

Is it better to have the co2 go off after the lights? I was sure I was told before to let the co2 be 'used up' by the plants before the lights went off.

Sorry should of said an hour before lights on and off.

 

[Jaymz]

The new co2 timings seem to be making my plants grow a little healthier and the algae may be slowing slightly. I'll get my hands on a pump in the next week or so, will come back when I have more news.

Thanks!

 

[Jaymz]

Question question question. Would the blackout technique be any good for my hair algae problem? Wrapping the tank in bin liners or something similar for a few days is what I heard. Recommended or not?

Cheers.