Algae Problems

Hey Guys,

A friend has some algae issues and I'm not experienced enough to give him the correct advice.

Please take a look at the pictures, any help will be welcomed.

A bit of information about the tank.

150L
PH 7.2+- (Tested today)
Ammonia 0

He uses Diana Walstad method with his gravel.

10 % Water changes every 2 weeks (though I think this might be to few)

Corner Filter in the overflow compartment.

He has 2 angels, they seem to be fine, no torn fins or anything and 4-5 other fish I have no idea what the are.

He does NOT dose anything at all, no NPK, trace, Fe or Excel etc...he only uses Prime with water changes. (This might be a part of the cause)

Very few water circulation, It a corner tank...circulation comes from the corner filter taking in one end and leaving the other...



The one algae seems to be BBA, the other one is this green slime that seems to harden and cover the whole plant, the last one is new, which started yesterday and is spreading like wild fire. Don't know what it is.

Any help would be nice, just so he can start is some direction.

Personally I think it may be the fact that the water changes are to little and that he is dosing NOTHING.

Thanks in Advance
Krefie

 

I had a very similar problem and dosed my 3ft with 250mg of purmicin (rythromycin phosphate) and it helped a lot! There is a load of cleaning work afterwards but it made a huge difference.

 

@Krefie - Take a look here:

http://www.theaquariumwiki.com/Walstad_method

Testing and airation are very important...wc's are used when testing indicates it's necessary. This is supposed to be like a self sufficient method without ferts etc.

 

Not a big fan of the Diana Walstad Method, or any method for that matter what might work for one person wont work for another. But I am guessing you are having 3 different types of algae outbreaks due to this method.

 

He is yes, not me ^_^

@Hawk, I understand it that way as well, but he is clearly lacking or doing something wrong...

 

The fact that there are three different types of algae growing in the tank means there is way to much nutrients in the water. And you can attribute that to the Diana Walstad Method going horribly wrong.

 

I guess its likely the BBW came from an outside source sometime back. This is a pest to get rid of. I believe the only way is to remove all the infected plant leaves and place the rest of the plant in hydrogen peroxide sourced from a chemist for 15 minutes. Rinse and then replant in the tank. Also any tank ornaments (stones, wood, piping) which can be taken out the tank can be left in the sun to dry for a while to kill the algae.

Looking at the water change quantities (too little) would suggest that this tank may have built up nutrients over time - exacerbated by the plants battling to grow with BBW attachments. This has resulted in the other type of algae spreading. I have previously had an algae problem when I did not properly vacuum the gravel - only doing the surface - which left a whole load of "dead areas" deep down at the bottom of the tank for this nutrient build up. If the gravel isn't free-flowing but rather stuck together in lumps its a sure sign. So if this is the case, would suggest two 50% water changes (one per week) over a two week period where all the gravel is properly vaccuumed. In this way you will "reset" the nutrient balance in the water.

Once done, check that your plants are growing - I always like including fast growing plants as they suck in excess nutrients and starve the algae.