Staghorn Algae??

Good evening Pofessor,

I trust you are well?

I recall asking you this question a few months back, however at the time you had just returned from Madagascar, and were ill at the time, and I think the PM got lost somewhere. I've decided to post this question here, as it will more than likely benefit the other members as well.

I have some algae starting to bloom again in my tank, and I need your input as to how to eradicate this algae. My identification, based on this website leads me to believe it is staghorn algae. This is the photo from the website:



And this is actual photo's of the algae in my tank:



To give you a brief background, as I know you always need this:

Lighting by: 1 x 5,500K, 1 x 6,500k and 1 x 10,000k (On for 9 hours a day)
Fertz: DSD, and K+
No undergravel fertz
Canister filter (Filter sponge/ Filter floss / Ceramic chips / Bio balls / AC)
Temp: 26 deg
pH 7.4
gH 6
Size: 285 litres

It broke out in my tank a few months ago. At this point I stopped using all fertilizers, and removed most of the algae by hand by removing the leaves. I then started dosing ONLY with the ferts and K+, and NOT the gH+. I recently started using the gH+ again. Not sure if it's co-incidence that this is happening again since starting the gH+?

THis is why I come to you for advice, as you are a bit more qualified with your own fertilizers + the effects they have with regards to algae.

What do you think could be the cause, and what do you think should be my solution?

Regards

Ashley.

 

Hi Ashley,

Apologies for missing this request earlier, I have difficulty keeping up very often.

I just had a couple of heavy weight plant growers visiting me yesterday evening and we had a discussion about algal problems. Some of the conclusions that we came to are relevant to your problem here.

I am of the opinion that a large proportion of the algal problems that we have are the result of the introduction of the algae mostly with plants, and that the algae then grow because they have been introduced. Very often it is made out that the algae "miracously appear" from nowhere and grow because of imbalances in an aquarium, but the fact that you have introduced them is the biggest problem. Algae don't just appear from nowhere so if you have not introduced them then they cannot grow. As a result you should still try to remove as much as possible physically. I would advice that you continue feeding my ferts, but I would perhaps not use additional GH+ because you may be hardening the water too much. However, the GH+ is not the cause of the algal problems.

The major problem that I see in what you describe though is your 10000k light. Time and time again I am asked about algal problems and when I enquire, I am informed about the use of 10000k lights above such aquaria. We use them supposedly because the light that they give has a "nice" color which makes the aquarium look "nice". Well, these 10000k lamps also have a spectral peak at 550nm (plants want peaks at 400 and 700 not 550nm) which is precisely what the algae need for growth so if you have such a light you are actually doing the algae a huge favour. I would strongly advise that you get rid of the lamp. I would also investigate the spectra of the other lamps to see that they do have the correct spectra for plant growth and not for algal growth.

I hope that my advice will help. I noticed this morning that half of my post was missing, but I had major problems in accessing and posting on the forum yesterday evening.

Kind regards,

Dirk

 

Hi Ashley

I do not think what you have is Staghorn, neither is the algae in the picture you got off the web Staghorn. This is Staghorn:

http://www.gwapa.org/articles/algae/#staghorn

In Christian Rubilar's notes on MCI he described and posted pictures of a type of greyish algae, which looks similar to what you have. Refer to MCI section C5 Rodophytas Sp 4. It is a type of red algae, and Rubilar states that he has been unable to identify the exact cause. But, he also mentioned he managed to get this algae when he heavily pruned or removed many fast-growing plants. Now, to remove this type of algae by pruning infected leaves seems like a catch 22 to me, if in fact heavy pruning of fast growers cause this algae in the first place, probably resulting in excess ferts in the water column.

You also mentioned there appears to be an association with the GH booster. I have found recently that our local tap water is rather poor; not sure if it has anything to do with the draught and our water supply problems in the Eastern Cape. There is no consistency in our water quality. A paragraph earlier in MCI, Rubilar mentions another type of red algae which also looks a bit like what you have, but its cause is excess Mg, or rather, an imbalance between Ca and Mg. However, this type of algae does not attach itself very well to the leaves and is easily removed manually. It may even be that you have something similar to it, considering you mentioned the coincidence with the adding the GH Booster.

Most types of red algae are also related to CO2 inconsistencies. So this may possibly also play a role here.

Perhaps measure your tap water's kh and gh before you decide to use the GH Booster. I don't know what fish you keep in this tank, but it may be a good idea to try and keep the ph closer to 6.8, or at least around 7.0

Exact identification of the filamentous algae types is rather problematic, as there are so many of them, with quite a lot of similarities and slightly different causes.

In general, it seems that even the slightest presence of NH4 can trigger an algae bloom of many different types of algae. And if you measure NH4 you may find 0ppm, but trust me, it is there and why you measure 0ppm is because it is being consumed by the algae. The test will only measure what is left in the water.

You can spot treat the infected leaves with Excel for a few days to see if that will work. I am pretty sure it will. But I think you need to carefully consider the GH Booster.

Try a blackout, or a series of blackouts. Are you using T5 or T8 bulbs? 3 x T5 bulbs on that size tank is overkill. You will never be able to keep up with the CO2 demands.

Do a good vacuum, and try to get ALL the organic waste, as to ensure there is minimal NH4. Check the filter to see if it needs cleaning, but do not disturb your bacteria.

Quite a pity, but shrimp is said to be very effective against this type of algae...edit this post if you would like to remove this paragraph

Finally, try things in a controlled manner. Blackout, just to hit the algae hard. Large water change. No ferts. Low light for a week, while treating with Excel. Do another WC, and add only the ferts. Then a week later, after another WC, increase the light again. Or something like that. Define what you want to do, but do one thing at a time. Too many variables and you don't know what is the root cause.

Good luck and let us know.
Regards
L

 

Hi Prof Dirk

I have read many times about the 10000k issue. I think what confuse people is that they see these nice ADA tanks with 10000k metal halide lights, and then they go and put 10000k T5 lights on their tanks. Sure, it looks the same, but I think the spectrum peaks are different. I can't be too sure, but that is my guess, because in ADA tanks with 10000k MH lights they never have the algae problems we have, or at least they never photograph those problematic tanks. But many people with 10000k T5 or T8 bulbs have some algae problems. So something must be different.

I have also seen a study done which directly connects 550nm with cyanobacteria bloom. That is exactly why a blackout is 100% effective at stopping the bloom. Not erradicating all the spores, but at least stopping the bloom. Because for 3 days of blackout there will be absolutely no 550nm waves reaching the cyano. I will try and find the link again and edit this post later.

Regards
L

 

Assuming you are using T5's, wouldn't 3 T5's be too much light for a low tech tank without Co2 supplementation?

 

Not sure what the tank dimensions are, but I use 2 x 36W T8 bulbs on 4ft non-CO2 tanks. Easy growers like Hygro, swords, Ludwigia, etc all go wild with minimal ferts added...

 

You are right. But if zoom is running 3 x 54w T5's on a 1.2M(assume with 285 litres size) it might be too much light for a non-co2 tank and you would always have problems.

It amounts to 2 wpg which is at the top end of what the guys prescribe in the guides, but they are using t8's that is less sufficient than T5, so the light output should be well above what they recommend on a low tech tank.

 

Hi All.

The lighting is T8's

I am going to do a big W/C this weekend to reset everything. Try and remove as much of the algae as I can... and then ONLY dose with the ferts, and NOT the gH. Will run like this for another 2 weeks to determine if it's the gH.

If it's not that, I will do another big w/c. Add the gH as per instructions, and remove the 10.000k globe.

 

Zoom, I would like to suggest you remove the 10 000K lamp first! Lol!

 

i had that algae in my tiny tank (id call it my nano but its not scaped etc) anyway. WC didnt help. Wanted to try peroxide or excel, but it got so bad i scrapped the tank and started over...

 

I have actually turned the 10,000k globe off since friday evening already Gert. Gonna see how it goes.

It is an absolute pain FerryMan. Altho all aglae is a pain, this one is in my opinion driving my bonkers because I can't seem to get rid of it.

Scrapping the tank is not an option. Too many fish in that tank for me to put elseware, and the plants (which carry the algae) are from all over the country collected from members, and not available from LPS. You can imagine the loss I would go through in scrapping. I'd rather find alternate methods first to combat the algae.

 

Update:

Hi all

Professor, I believe this update may leave us a little more confused than before!

I ran the tank for one week with only the 2x 6,5000K globes, and turned the 10,000K globe off as you suggested. I ran the tank for 7 days like this. Every day I could see the algae getting worse and worse.

On Friday, I did a 50% waterchange. I also removed the majority of the algae by hand, and removed some of the foliage that was carrying this algae rather badly. I left a little bit of the algae in the tank because I wanted to try your other suggestion. I have still left the 10,000K globe off, and at this water change, I did not add the GH+ that you sell with your Fertz.

It is now 4 days since the water change, and the little bit of algae that I left seems to have actually subsided! Could it be as simple as that?

On a different note, I have also seen a noticable drop in the amount of Green Spot Algae that I have on my glass by day 7!

Regards

Ashley

 

Hi Ashley

No matter how hard I tried I could never induce GSA with low to medium light. I am suggesting that because you dropped your light inensity by 30%, you now have less GSA.

Regards
Lauré

 

You are probably 100% correct there Laure. However I also seriously doubt a can consider my lighting at high. I would actually classify my lighting a low. I can't recall offhand the wattages of the globes, but I know T8s, unless a huge amount of them are used, is considerred low tech.

Will still be monitoring this for a while to see the outcome. I need to find a new globe to replace the 10,000K globe as now it's just a wastee of a ballast and endcaps not being used.

 

Maybe you can do a test for us in the name of science and run the 10000K and one 6500K globe.

If the algae comes back it is the 10000K globe. If not, it is most probably the intensity with 3 bulbs without co2.

 

I can consider that... but now that the algae is gone do I really want to try induce it again.... ?

 

It would be nice to understand why I can run 10 000K's on my high tech tank and so many other guys without getting algae problems.

But it is your choice.

I guess if you replace the 10 000K with another bulb and you get algae growth again, it would be an indication that it is too much light for the tank.

 

I've got the same algae in one of my 3ft tanks that gets only natural sunlight.
And the only thing that gets rid of it so far is a blackout, and hungry platies. I've actually watched them munching away at it. The catch is that you have to feed them very little so they actually decide the algae is food.

 

I've been running the tank without the 10,000K globe. And I stopped using the GH+ hardner mix that comes with the Prof's ferts. The algae cleared within a week. The tank has gone 14 days without a Water Change. (And still not GSA nor staghorn algae)

Today I did a W/C, added the ferts, (NO GH) and I've turned on the 10,000k globe to see this effect on the tank. (I did notice some of the plants at the bottom of the tank were taking a strain... obviously from the lack of light)

Let's see. If the algae returns, then I will change the 10,000 for another 6,500 globe. And take take it from there again.

 

I like the idea of testing the bulbs. Maybe you should run one 10000K and one 6500K and not 3 bulbs. The higher light might trigger another algae bloom.