Plant? Weed? Algae? What Is This Stuff Please.

[blue_01]

Hi guys, im new here as you can see, ive searched everywhere on the internet and even asked my local pet shop guy if he can identify this "thing", which he kindly informed me it was "black grass", gave me some chemicals and sent me on my merry way, however im not convinced at all, and im looking for some futher input on this please.

*History*, I purchased a 3 ft x 18" x 12" tank about 18 months ago, it was badly neglected and needed some serious TLC, I scrub washed the tank out at the beginning with a heavy bleech / water solution and set the tank up from scratch, all was fine for awhile, after approx 6 months, I had this what i call (black plant) as its nothing ive ever seen before, this "plant"? started growing on the bio filter I had in at the time, and never really gave it much thought, after a peroid of time "another 2 or 3 months" this "plant"? started spreading, at an alarming rate, I call it a "plant" as im not sure what the heck it is, anyway, ive tried to kill it off/remove it the best i can, but this thing does not want to die, within 24 hours of cleaning any decoration/filter, this stuff has returned with vegence, not only does it seem to enjoy a new shiney clean surfice to start a new life, it loves it...! I know from reading, prevention is ALOT better then a cure, however to prevent the thing from growing, I need to establish what on earth this is, Im not a great believer in using chemicals to be honest, as a good set up with the right things in it should balance itself out and in return give you a nice healthy tank, however some things just wont die...lol

I have scrub washed the tank out about 5 months ago (again) and restarted with new stuff, but this thing just doesn`t want to stay away, its returned and im now at a loss as to what it is, and/or how to kill it off for good...
Obviously I cannot keep stripping the tank down and bleeching it out like this as its upsetting the balance of the tank each time its restarted, I have reduced light levels down to a 5-2-4, I dare not place new plants in the tank to try and starve this "plant"? as it will get covered in a matter of days and kill it, the fish "endlers" as fine and have no problem with this (infestation) my bristal nose plec wont touch the stuff, I cannot introduce snails or shrimps into the tank on the fear of the clown eatting them.. im really at a loss on what i can do to get this stuff out fo the tank.

Sorry its a long first post, but I wanted to try and get as much details in as i could, as this is driving me barmy...lol

Many thank guys.

*the pictures are not that great im afraid, but the best way to describe this thing is black/dark green, spikey points, that attaches to anything... lol *

 

[Colin_T]

it's a bit hard to tell because of the size of the pictures, bigger would have been better. But it is a type of algae. You can rip it out by hand or try chemicals (although you don't like the idea of chemicals). Otherwise just live with it.
If you strip the tank down but kept the water, then you probably reinfected the tank with the old water.

 

[aaronnorth]

welcome

it looks like staghorn algae to me, although just check the algae guide in my signature.

 

[Miah002]

Wouldn't it be hair algae?

http/z.about.com/d/saltaquarium/1/0/p/a/...salgae1_400.JPG

http/images.google.co.uk/imgres?imgurl=h...NUK314%26sa%3DX

http/s7.photobucket.com/albums/y280/edra...nt=100_5309.jpg

 

[blue_01]

I would be inclined to agree with both of you to be honest, its a rare "thing" to say the least, Some of it has the typical "Algae Hair" look/feel, where as some of it looks like stagehorn algae, only alot more mature (can have the "horn" upto 2inch in lenght which appears black in colour) I guess if my life depended on it and I had to say exactly what it was, then the only thing I could describe it as is "black pointy pond weed" its not really "fine" strands though, which has me confused if it is an algea, or somekind of plant thing...

Ive spent another 5 hours today "fishing" the stuff out the best i can, and on monday/tuesday I`ll have to do another water change/scrub out for sure, and through away the decor's / gravel again and replace, which will bring it back under control for awhile, so i guess the next thing i should ask is once i "reboot" the tank again, what is the best way to get this thing under control? should i wack in some plants, and hope they eat all the good stuff starving this "thing"?, maybe add another header? making 2 in total so help prevent this "thing" from sticking to anything? (thinking about the poor fish now though).. more light/less light? lol, I really dunno any advice?

thanks.

*Just to add*, When I did the scrub out I did a complete water change colin, as I also thought about the water being dodgy afterwards, it maybe (not sure if its possible or not) embedded in perhaps the glass? various small scratches or something? if it isnt then its got a very high tolerence to 75/25 bleech with hot water mix. Its a unique thing for sure, and I wouldn`t wish this stuff on anyone...

The only other thing I can think of, is the person I got the tank from originally was a fresh water fisherman, and I vaguely remember him telling me he use to get the stones out of the lakes/ponds to put in his tank for decor, im wondering now if perhaps thats brought in some type of "thing"... I guess if this is the case, then somekind of "pond weed" killer maybe needed, but thats not going to be good for tropical fish surely?...

added another photo of this stuff (in the foreground) the background is a picture.

 

[aaronnorth]

to help us more can you list
tank size
lighting (watts, diameter and photoperiod)
fertilisers - which brand and when do you dose
CO2 injection or other carbon supllement?
Water changes - percentage and when?
filters & powerheads/ pumps etc

thanks

 

[Colin_T]

there is a possibility there were spores trapped around the silicon (glue holding the tank together) and this is where the new stuff came from. But it could also have come from anything that wasn't bleached but went back in the tank, (ie: fliter media, nets, even your hands if they weren't washed after working in the tank).

When you bleached the tank, how long did you leave the bleach in it for? A 25% bleach solution should have killed virtually everything if it was left in contact for long enough.

 

[blue_01]

to help us more can you list
tank size
lighting (watts, diameter and photoperiod)
fertilisers - which brand and when do you dose
CO2 injection or other carbon supllement?
Water changes - percentage and when?
filters & powerheads/ pumps etc

thanks

Ok tank details:
everything is approx...lol
size.. 36" lenght x 18" high x 12" depth
Lightening: 20watt (maybe 25watt) 3 foot "Natural Light tube" (One that brings out the natural colors in a fish, cant remember the exact name of it sorry)... duration, 5-2-4.

Fertilisers, none as I have no live plants in the tank now, hav'nt had for about 5 months as they were dying from this infection...
Carbon... Hmm Charcol in a net placed in the filtering system, along with the bio stuff, (All-In-1 Bio filter thingy)
Water changes, once a month normally with a 25% change, though this can be 50% change if the tank is bad.
Filters... Bio filter with power head enough flow to move 3/4 of the tank water around in general, standard air block strip, 2 "upright" under gravel filter things with air stone in each...

Not very techy minded on this stuff, but I hope that gives you an idea of the setup.

---------------------------------------------------------

Colin_T:

The bleech mixture was 75% bleech, 25% hot water (Tip never inhale that mixture it takes your breath away...lol) quarter filled tank, scrubbed with scrubbing brush then a "kitchen green cleaner, foam one side green nylon stuff the other thingy" (theres my techy speech again...lol), tank was quarter filled with this solution and scrubbed out completely, must of been in there for a good 20-30 mins at least I would guess, then washed out about 5 times with a hose pipe... I would be amazed if anything could live after that to be honest, but it seems to survive it... lol

Tommorow its going to go through all of this again, new gravel, new water, new decors, new air blocks.... header pump/heater will be soaked and bleeched through, then run in clean water for 10 mins after to rinse it out, bio filter will have everything in it replaced, then it`ll have to have a fast boost mixture and a couple of fast growing plants to try kick start the tank asap again, lucky enough the local pet shop has a large tanks its gonna 25% change on thursday, so ive managed to "accquire" that water which will do my tank to half full from that, and i know that water is perfect, so thats a stroke of luck really, but i just need to get rid of this stuff once and for all I hope...

Thanks.

**Looking back at the first left picture on my first post, looks like a coral reef if you didnt know any difference...lol**

 

[aaronnorth]

I woudl try raising thw water changes to weekly if possible, or even 50% fortnightly, this will help to dilute ammonia and it will remove algae spores - obviously the more you remove and the more frequent you do a water change the less chance of algae.
Also i would remove the carbon in the filter, as it could be releasing toxins in the water from as little as 2days.
If this fails then i would look at circulation in the tank, make sure all spots in the tank are getting sufficient water movement as algae cannot grow - it also moves any organic matter into the filter. This can be solved by a powerhead - a cheap model can be bought for around £10-£15.