So, after an uneventful 8 months of the 29g community tank running, it developed beard algae. Nothing changed, same lighting schedule, same WC schedule, and same weekly dosage of Flourish. Plants were all doing well, even had to split a monster of an anubias. And then I noticed in December that some beard algae was developing on the edges of leaves.
Did some looking around and the consensus seemed to be that there was an imbalance somewhere. Since nothing had changed with lighting or ferts, I decided to tackle the possibility of CO2 being off. I don't inject and just have a HOB filter. It is oversized for the tank, but I keep the water level fairly high, so there's not a lot of surface disturbance. So first course of action was to get a sponge filter. I assumed that this would give me better gas exchange with the introduction of air and more surface disturbance. Installed and let it run for a few weeks. The algae continued to spread.
Next I decided to cut out the Flourish from the weekly tank regimen. I did not add any ferts for the next 3 weeks, while continuing normal weekly 75% WC's. Plants faired fine, as did the algae.
Time to look at the lighting. I reduced the duration and intensity of the light schedule (I chose to reduce since I know from getting it dialed in that any increase would produce standard green algae). I kept the reduced schedule, while still not adding any ferts, for 3 more weeks. The beard algae didn't slow at all.
At this point all plants were covered in the stuff, with the val., sword, and java fern being the hardest hit. At a loss and getting quite frustrated, this past Friday I decided I was getting rid of it one way or another. Time to go scorched earth on this parasite.
I removed all residents to a temporary storage tub and drained the tank. I removed all plants and hardscape and placed them in the bathtub. Removed all gravel substrate and trashed it(it was a rushed mix of white/black and I always hated it). I sprayed down the insides of the tank with 3% hydrogen peroxide and scrubbed it down. Rinsed it, drained it, and repeated 3 more times. I had read multiple places that hydrogen peroxide will kill the algae, so that is why it was used. I took to the plants and hardscape in the bathtub, spraying everything with H2O2 and let sit. After 5 min I rinsed everything well with fresh water. I put in all brand new black sand substrate, the cleaned hardscape, planted plants, and filled the tank. After letting it run and settle for an hour I put everyone back in. All-in-all, took about 4 hours.
The next morning I was pleased to see that all the beard algae had turned a reddish/orange. 48hrs later and it was a burgundy and wilting.
It was a battle to be sure, but I had emerged victorious. Of course, as with all wars, there will be collateral damage and incent life lost. This time would be no different. I arrived home from work last night to notice that plants are in full meltdown. The amazon sword, the many, many val. contortionist, all lying limp with leaves that give a clear view through to the other side. The ferns look weak, but they and the anubias nana look as though they may pull through.
The algae is dying a slow death and the war was won. But at what cost?? I'll know soon enough when I visit my LFS to purchase all new plants.
Did some looking around and the consensus seemed to be that there was an imbalance somewhere. Since nothing had changed with lighting or ferts, I decided to tackle the possibility of CO2 being off. I don't inject and just have a HOB filter. It is oversized for the tank, but I keep the water level fairly high, so there's not a lot of surface disturbance. So first course of action was to get a sponge filter. I assumed that this would give me better gas exchange with the introduction of air and more surface disturbance. Installed and let it run for a few weeks. The algae continued to spread.
Next I decided to cut out the Flourish from the weekly tank regimen. I did not add any ferts for the next 3 weeks, while continuing normal weekly 75% WC's. Plants faired fine, as did the algae.
Time to look at the lighting. I reduced the duration and intensity of the light schedule (I chose to reduce since I know from getting it dialed in that any increase would produce standard green algae). I kept the reduced schedule, while still not adding any ferts, for 3 more weeks. The beard algae didn't slow at all.
At this point all plants were covered in the stuff, with the val., sword, and java fern being the hardest hit. At a loss and getting quite frustrated, this past Friday I decided I was getting rid of it one way or another. Time to go scorched earth on this parasite.
I removed all residents to a temporary storage tub and drained the tank. I removed all plants and hardscape and placed them in the bathtub. Removed all gravel substrate and trashed it(it was a rushed mix of white/black and I always hated it). I sprayed down the insides of the tank with 3% hydrogen peroxide and scrubbed it down. Rinsed it, drained it, and repeated 3 more times. I had read multiple places that hydrogen peroxide will kill the algae, so that is why it was used. I took to the plants and hardscape in the bathtub, spraying everything with H2O2 and let sit. After 5 min I rinsed everything well with fresh water. I put in all brand new black sand substrate, the cleaned hardscape, planted plants, and filled the tank. After letting it run and settle for an hour I put everyone back in. All-in-all, took about 4 hours.
The next morning I was pleased to see that all the beard algae had turned a reddish/orange. 48hrs later and it was a burgundy and wilting.
It was a battle to be sure, but I had emerged victorious. Of course, as with all wars, there will be collateral damage and incent life lost. This time would be no different. I arrived home from work last night to notice that plants are in full meltdown. The amazon sword, the many, many val. contortionist, all lying limp with leaves that give a clear view through to the other side. The ferns look weak, but they and the anubias nana look as though they may pull through.
The algae is dying a slow death and the war was won. But at what cost?? I'll know soon enough when I visit my LFS to purchase all new plants.
