Algae out of control

Good day Im Michael started my aquascaping about 6 weeks ago .im in Boksburg area..got caught by the aquascaping hobby and caridina shrimps..i had a neo tank but had to take the next step to go bigger and better .love the new hobby.. curently i have 4 rcs caridina shrimps with 12 galaxy rasboras full of dragon rock 2 moss balls and monte carlo carpet plants to create a carpet with langa soil .. high tech tank ..full co2 system with regulator solinoid valve both lights and co2 on differant timers ..co2 turns on 1 hour before the lights turn on at 8am and hour off before lights go out at 5pm ..drop checker on dark green...all in a ea80 boyu tank so im using the top filter ..sponge filter .. use flourish excel and flourish for plants...light is the 20w boyu flourecent lights 2 off ..did a cycle of 4 weeks before i added the rasboras and about a week ago i added the caridina shrimps ...Only using RO water with shrimp salts TDS is at 161... My big problem i have a outbreak of algae and my monte carlo is turning brown on the edges ..the photo isnt that bad as i vacuumed the path ...Please help

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Welcome Michael. Finally you joined.

I told him to join as there are a lot more knowledgeable people on the forum to assist him with his algae problem as I know very little about high tech planted tanks.

You will find very helpful people on this forum.
Enjoy

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Try reducing your photoperiod to +- 6 hours. Plants, especially monte carlo in my experience, will go bad initially before growing nicely.

 

do you know what type of algae that is? It almost looks like blue-green algae, which is not algae at all, technically, but a type of bacteria. It's easy to identify because it's like a slime on top of stuff, and it smells fairly distinctive - to me, sweetish, but swampy, musty, earthy is what others have said. Spreads really fast.

Adjusting your photoperiod won't help very much, yes, it does photosynthesise, but it's fairly happy with pretty much any light. A total tank blackout for a week (I do mean total) will kill it off, but it's in all our water all the time so if we don't sort out the cause it will be back in short order. And this is not something your plants will like very much.

Nothing eats it (it's toxic to mammals, can destroy your liver, so be careful who/what drinks your aquarium water).

The easiest cure is increasing aeration and water flow. Slightly higher nitrates can help too, as can a course of anti-biotics (minocycline, or anything targeting gram negative bacteria - watch your biofilter). You can siphon/wipe up as much of it in the mean time to help keep it under control.

If it's not cyanobacteria, consider the above re: photoperiod. Some have had luck splitting their photoperiod into two chunks, with a gap in the middle of two hours or so also. More plants will help outcompete the algae, as will more dedicated algae eaters. Also worth considering your nutrient dosing, healthily growing algae tells you there's an overabundance of nutrients, more than your plants are using.

 

Hi i have used Chemiclean effectively to kill the cyanobacteria in my planted tank , it works well just follow the instructions and it works , you can find it a https://www.rbmaquatics.co.za/products/chemiclean-2g?_pos=1&_sid=5ed8dc12c&_ss=r


just remember if you going down this route when treating increase your oxygen levels by add a air stone

 

chemiclean doesn't list its ingredients - I'm glad it worked for you, it looks like it's erythromycin, maybe with a flocculating agent, though no one knows for sure since they are not saying.

Either way, if this clears up your current outbreak, you STILL need to address the causes or it will be back.

Read here:
Why does this not work any longer? - Reef Central Online Community

and here:
What is the chemical composition of ChemiClean? - Reef Central Online Community

I see we must be careful about how we express negative opinions - I would rather not spend my own money on a company that obscures its ingredients.

 

You know what works for algae, no chemicals required, and cheap as chips. Plain old Rooibos tea, I had an issue with brown hair algae and after adding Rooibos tea each week after every water change it's all but gone. I don't know if it might work for you but it is worth a try. As a bonus, it's healthy for your fish too. One bag for every 30 liters.

 

Could it be diatoms on the MC? I think just give it time, and maybe get some fast growing plants. The more plant mass the better. Also I think the sponge filter is off gassing too much co2, maybe put it on a timer or remove it?

 

maybe you can post on my thread on how to balance a tank your input will be greatly appreciated and may help others in getting a almost algae free tank
https://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/threads/balancing-a-planted-tank.35620/

 

I'll go, but how much help I'll be is of dubious nature.

 

Thank you all for all the input ..will use some of this ideas and try them out ..will give you all feedback if i came right with this issue ...Thanks again

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Good evening ..Thank you again for the advice .. i did the light period to 8 hours algae is gone but now im sitting with the monte carlo leaves turning brown only some of them .it starts on the tips of the leaves .dosing flourish excel daily and flourish every other day ..Can you please assist and maybe know what can be the problem ...Thank you in advance ..Please see photos attached

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First of all, awesome tank !!

The plant mass is a bit too low to take up all the nutrients in the water column so you feeding the algae. Your tank is also new and diatoms are present which could be what's growing on the MC as I can see it on the soil.
IMO, don't worry about Flourish to much for now or only dose half the recommended dosage. I've found Seachem recommendations to be a bit to much and ruined a tank quickly with plenty of algae by following their dosing chart, therefore I only dose half the recommended dosage and slowly increase if needed.

I have also noticed that you said in your first post your drop checker is dark green, try and get it to a lime green colour as I don't think you're injecting enough CO2. Correct CO2 levels = better plant growth = Less algae. If your plant growth is slow the plants won't take up the nutrients quick enough.

I would also advise, if possible, quarantine live stock in a separate tank until you have your CO2 and ferts dialed in. This puts less stress on them while you fiddling with CO2.

Note, this is just what I recommend. No need to follow any of this.

 

Hi .. ill check it tonight and post ..Thank you

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Wow Thank you for the advice will start with the less dosing of fertz ..and also start to push up the co2 untill the checker is in the lime ...i baught a bio lux light today ..with the lights can that also be a problem with that 20w t8 ..will the bio lux t8 be a better option for the plants ?

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Lights are a complicated matter but with CO2 you want a little higher light than a low tech tank. Looking at your tank, the light seems fine but it's a bold statement to make as plants see light differently to how we see light. I would personally keep the light you currently have as the plants are use to it now. Have you got a lumen rating for the T8s you're using and the Bio lux light you bought ? Sorry I have no experience with T8 / T5 lights.

Have a read here: https://tropica.com/en/guide/make-your-aquarium-a-success/light/