Severe algae problem

[gex18]

I have a severe algae problem in my tank (which you can see from the pics below)
The algae is taking over all the gravel, walls and now the plants. The tank is a 60 x 30 x 24" 400 litre juwel tank, it is filtered by 1 eheim 2317, 1 eheim 2329, 1 fluidized bed filter and 1 x uv sterilizor. Stock is 6 x discus, 30 cardinals, 6 zebra plecs and 5 apisto nijsseni. Water changes (which i admit have been a bit slack lately) are 2 x 15% water changes every weekusing RO water (with magic mix added). Anyway here are the pics;

 

[kenneth_kpe]

thats a big algae problem well one thing i noticed is that you dont have a squad of algae cleaners aside from that what your telling us is not complete i personally am undergoing a losing battle against staghorn and beard algae but my tank never got that green from algae..

here are a few tips that i followed
http/www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua/art_plant_algae.htm

 

[gex18]

I will change my uv bulb as soon as poss aswell as replace the ro unit. I have created a very slow current in my tank for the discus, so wondering if this might be causing excessive algae. Also what algae cleaners do you reccomend, can i safely add some to the tank (pref not bristlenoses as i dont want them upsetting my zebra plecs which cost near £600!).

 

[lucky62]

Try some otos , post a question in the cat fish forum , I think someone may have a suggestion on another type of algae eating fish that could live in your tank .

Does your tank get any natural sun light ?

Do you over feed ? Sorry I always ask , this was my biggest problem .


You seem to have excess nutrients in the form of nitrates and or phosphates [ I'm guessing ], have you tested the water for either ? Maybe try more plants , they could win out over the algae [ plants need fresh water as much as fish do ]

There are products designed to be used as filter media to remove both , I think SEACHEM makes Nitrasorb and a phosphate removing product , in the past I've used both.

Now I depend on weekly water changes [ 10 to 25 %], but I have never had fish that require R/O water either , so maybe what I've written is void.

Changing the U/V bulb may help .

 

[kenneth_kpe]

i use ottos in my tank but there are some reports of them sucking onto slow moving fish like discus, but quite rare i think.... if you dont want to risk try some shrimp maybe ? or apple snails maybe ? im not really sure... ive heard people having a hard time having planted discus tanks and read em in other forums

and lucky is right, overfeeding can cause algae outbreak i never used those nitrate nitrite absoribing stuff.. to they really help remove the algae by drastically cutting down the levels ? or is it better to balance out the tank with plants ? just wondering. im battling hair algae now and its due to high levels i think

 

[gale]

i use ottos in my tank but there are some reports of them sucking onto slow moving fish like discus, but quite rare i think

You're probably thinking of chinese algae eaters. They look very much like otos but they will attack other fish. Otos will stay to themselves. Unfortunately it seems that most lfs sell Chinese algae eaters instead of otos.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

no im really talking about ottos,
http/www.otocinclus.com/feeding.html

its really rare i think but it sometimes happen.... just wanna tell it to him because discus are really expensive fishes but i think the risk is negligible

and he is right dont get chinese algae eaters, im not sure but maybe siamese algae eaters might do better in your tank because they are not as agrsve

 

[gale]

Wow interesting read-thanks for the link! I had not heard about them possibly eating fish.

 

[lucky62]

i use ottos in my tank but there are some reports of them sucking onto slow moving fish like discus, but quite rare i think.... if you dont want to risk try some shrimp maybe ? or apple snails maybe ? im not really sure... ive heard people having a hard time having planted discus tanks and read em in other forums

and lucky is right, overfeeding can cause algae outbreak i never used those nitrate nitrite absoribing stuff.. to they really help remove the algae by drastically cutting down the levels ? or is it better to balance out the tank with plants ? just wondering. im battling hair algae now and its due to high levels i think

I guess if otocinclus can do that, so can just about any algae eating fish , .

Shrimp could help.

Water changes and cutting down on feedings would be my best choice here .


Yes those products do work , but can get kind of expensive over time .[ part of the reason I don't use them , the other part is I keep smaller fish now , less waists ]

Never kept discus , have had algae problems , I keep my tanks with many easy to care for plants , they seem to be winning out for nutrients over the algae , I have algae still but not out of control , I also have a school of otos , but really the key is water changes for me .

 

[jbennett]

Hi Gex18, sorry to see your tank looking so bad. I have checked your posts and see you have only had this tank for approx 6 months, Sad state your in, but all is not lost. So let's not despair just Yet. OK.
Obviously YOU are going to have to do a damn good clean up. But before you embark on that, you need to reply properly to some of the people who have already tried to post costructive replies to your dilema. Without the right information from yourself how can anyone begin to help.
First of all, you were asked by Lucky 62 about Nitrate and Phosphate levels, this is crucial as was the question about sunlight hitting the tank, especially when the aquarium lights are off.
What sort of lights do you use, how many and how long are they on for.
You will need to tell us all your test levels on Nitrate, Nitrite, Ammonia, GH, KH, Iron(Fe), Ph.
I notice that you say in an earlier post you were considering using pressurised Co2, did you go down this route, if so how many bubbles per minute are you pumping in. Also how much plant food are you putting in, if any?
You don't seem to have many plants in your tank, is there a reason for this? Doesn't a planted tank appeal, because one of the best ways to combat algae is to make the plants use the nutrients at the expense of the algae.
One of the best sites for info on algae contol is www.dennerle.de
Dennerle are one of the leading authorities on planted tanks, especially lighting etc. As are JBL.
I know all this sounds boring stuff, but without this info no one can help. So read this a couple of times, make notes of all the questions asked and provide the answers, then perhaps we may be able to Help.
I enclose a pic of my 180Litre tank which I have had set up now for just over 8 weeks, just to show what you can do with plants.

 

[kenneth_kpe]

that site was really good

 

[opiesilver]

You might try adding DIY CO2 first. I noticed what I thought was some stem plants in there but it was kinda hard to tell with the problem you have there. If so additional CO2 will help them out compete the algae for food. Add a bit more lighting and you should start seeing some big changes and the algae problem.

 

[gex18]

Cant source a phosphate kit at the mo (busy with work)! Getting a jbl co2 kit (with solenoid and ph control in a couple of weeks). Have stepped up water changes, cleaned gravel more thouroughly, and scrubbed algae off sides of tank. Obtained more plants today (some potted tropica ones - cypts, amazons and anubias). Tank is situated in sight of window (as it is 60 x 24 x 30", cannot site anywhere else withiut veiw of window). The algae is like a slime, grows back within 24 - 48 hours and smells mouldy, is it blue-green algae? Was feeding discus tetra prima, bloodworm, brineshrimp, discus mix and daphnia (rotating them feeding 4 blocks a day along with prima), have reduced this to 3 blocks a day. My tank has one yellowish buld and one bluish bulb (standard juwel bulbs), bulbs on for 11hours per day.

Ph - 6.0
Ammonia - 0 mg/l
Nitrite - 0 mg/l
Nitrate - 0.2 - 0.3 mg/l

Is that ok?

P.s no plant food is added (but mixed laterite with gravel when setting tank up, as it is not inderneath the gravel, could it be putting excessive nutrients into the water?)!

 

[lucky62]

Cant source a phosphate kit at the mo (busy with work)! Getting a jbl co2 kit (with solenoid and ph control in a couple of weeks). Have stepped up water changes, cleaned gravel more thoroughly, and scrubbed algae off sides of tank. Obtained more plants today (some potted tropica ones - cypts, amazons and anubias). Tank is situated in sight of window (as it is 60 x 24 x 30", cannot site anywhere else withiut veiw of window). The algae is like a slime, grows back within 24 - 48 hours and smells mouldy, is it blue-green algae? Was feeding discus tetra prima, bloodworm, brineshrimp, discus mix and daphnia (rotating them feeding 4 blocks a day along with prima), have reduced this to 3 blocks a day. My tank has one yellowish buld and one bluish bulb (standard juwel bulbs), bulbs on for 11hours per day.

Ph - 6.0
Ammonia - 0 mg/l
Nitrite - 0 mg/l
Nitrate - 0.2 - 0.3 mg/l

Is that ok?

P.s no plant food is added (but mixed laterite with gravel when setting tank up, as it is not inderneath the gravel, could it be putting excessive nutrients into the water?)!

My tank gets natural sunlight also , the water changes should be the most helpful for you , feeding less as well .

I know it can be difficult but [ if you haven't already ] , you should remove any plants you bought that are potted , the reason is the material they're potted in sometimes may contain excess fertilizers , these can throw your tank out of balance. [ from the pots , not the tank , that is ]

Not being able to measure phosphates is no biggy , maybe a local shop can do it , IME nitrates are a bigger concern , and like I said water changes [ on a regular basis] are a big factor , test your tap water for nitrates , it will sometime contain some . Do you know if r/o removes it or not ? I myself don't know
I've never used laterite , does it contain iron ?

I add Seachems iron and carbon supplements to my tank every other water change , my plants do fine , but then again , I keep low maintenance plants .


Crypts and anubias do well in low and moderate light , I've never gotten swords to grow very tall under my light [ 3 4' fluorescents ] , they do live , though .

You could also try leaving your lights on more or less , [are your tubes old ,I've read they will diminish in usefulness over time ], I've heard as little as 8 hours to as much as 14 daily , at least that's what I've been told and read .Between the 11 hours you leave your lights on and whatever natural light the tank is getting , well , you may have to play with it a little here and come to a happy medium , mine is on for 10 hours a day .