Algae!

I set up a new 230 litre tank just over a week ago. I transferred my fish and a large rock from my previous 65l tank.

I had a serious algae problem in my 65l tank with all the equipment and decorations almost completely covered. I cleaned it off the internal filter and heater about once per month, but never bothered cleaning the rock. Therefore the rock that I added to my new tank was covered in algae.

Nitrates were always low, no more than 10ppm and I the lights were on for no more than 8 hours per day.

I've now noticed that algae is starting to grow in my new tank, especially on the live plants. Is there anything I can do to stop or reduce this? I don't feel I'm overfeeding and only feed once per day.

I have read about some water additives that can control it such as one from Esha?

Any help would be much appreciated. I don't want my new tank to get overrun with algae the same as my previous tank.

Does this tank get much sunlight

Ken

Does the tank get any sunlight. Even with very small nitrate eradings you will get algae bloom at some stage is the sun is shining into the tank.

No, it's not in direct sunlight either and neither was my previous 65l tank. I'll try and pick up a phosphate test kit today and see if there is a problem there.

Post the results please.

ALGAE ALERT!!! ALGAE ALERT!!!

So you got the algae bug and you want to know why? What to do? And how to get rid of it? I will try and answer the above in one simple answer!

ALGAE CONTROL IS NUTRIENT CONTROL.

So now you think that all you have to do is add nutrients and fertilizers and all will be fine. Well it’s not quite that simple.
What you have to do is get the right nutrients and or fertilizers, and the correct amount (balance) in the tank or you end up with what you don’t want. ALGAE all over your tank.
At the end of the day algae is a plant, and you have the conditions in your tank for growing plants so in stands to reason that algae is going to grow if the conditions are right just as much as any other plant in your tank.
When people get algae in the tank they tend to panic and start throwing in all sorts of anti algae drops and anything else they think will kill it, just as I did when I first got my first bloom. Unfortunately it doesn’t work that way nor is it that easy.
Plants and algae need 4 basic things to live and survive correctly. Light, nitrogen, phosphate and potassium. Both plants and algae fight to the end to compete for the best of everything in the tank.
You have enough light because you may, as I have done have just put in the extra tube, the fish are throwing out all sorts of nitrogen and probably phosphate as well in their waste and the only thing that is not in any large amounts is potassium, one of the most over looked additions. There is no evidence that I have found that potassium invites or encourages algae in any tank.
But again if you do as I did and remove all the phosphates from the water then the plants will not flourish and will be weak and leave them then being unable to take up other vital nutrients that they need to survive, (without going into to much detail) plants need a good supply of all nutrients to be able to take onboard other nutrients. Which for example can lead to high nitrate levels if the plants don’t consume enough nitrAte, this is then left in the water. Again with out going into great detail there is what is considered to be main elements that plants need to survive well, these are broken down into 2 groups:

MACROnutrients
. Hydrogen
. Oxygen
. Carbon
. Nitrogen
. Calcium
. Magnesium
. Phosphate
. Sulfur

AND


MICROnutrients (trace)
. Iron
. Manganese
. Chlorine
. Zinc
. Baron
. Nickel
. Copper
. Molybdenum


Some of these I have only read about, some I do know about and some that I have first hand experience of, but as with everything, we are learning all the time.

Higher plants consume the nutrients faster and easier than the lower ground plants thus leaving very little for the algae to feed on. That doesn’t mean though you will not get algae, you will because it came in when you started putting plants in the tank and they were not quick enough to get to the nutrients before the algae did.
The fewer the plants you have the more likely algae will appear as the plants don’t use up all the nutrients so leaving more for the algae to amass itself.
IMO it would probably be easier to rid algae in a fish only tank, for as I was going to attempt a black out period to rid the algae I decided against it, as for the plants need light to thrive, so I still don’t know if a black out of a planted tank works or not.
I must admit I have probably learnt more about algae in my time of fish keeping than I have about fish keeping its self. The latest bloom happened when I tried to put in a new laterite under the gravel, I messed it up and ended up with what you see in the other pictures because of the excess iron in the water instead of under the gravel to feed the roots. Although there are different forms of algae, excess iron is the most common cause of hair algae, which is like threads of very fine green hair growing over the tank which I found to be more prominent in the upper half of the tank and around the filter top where the water outlet is, as this is where algae can also consume vast amounts of oxygen. It has been stated in another article on a different site that iron is easy to get rid of with water changes, and I do agree to a certain level, but when you do what I did it is NOT that easy.
Although I am trying to explain about the nutrients plants need, I have to add that other elements the likes of cleanliness of water, regular water changes (of which too many over a short time can be just as bad as no water changes) all play a part in keeping ALGAE away.
So over all, the key to a clean near algae free tank has a lot to do with BALANCE.

I am not going to say there are many ways to rid algae but more reduce it and stunt its growth, as I have tried to explain it is all about NUTRIENT CONTROL, but there are dips and chemicals available to aid this should you need, or should I say WHEN you need.

What does the algae look like? Do you know what type is? If you can describe it best you can this will go a long way to solving the issue. Also post your tank stats best you can, do you use CO2 on this tank and how much in ppm if you do? how much light is over the tank in watts, is the tank heavily planted, and any testkit results you can give, and lastly do you fertilise this tank, how much, how often and with what type of feretiliser?

The algae is due to an imbalance in the tank (as im sure you have already figured out) but knowing the type of algae that you have will give the best clue as to where the imbalance lies, once you know that you can set about correcting it. If you can post as much info as you can I should be able to point you in the right direction.........hopefully

It's hair algae. A rock from my previous tank which I added to the new tank is completely covered. It's now spreading to new rocks and external filter pipes. Also showing on plants.

There is also some brown algae showing on some of the plant leaves. This tank is set up almost two weeks and I used some filter media from my previous tank to seed the bacteria and some decorations.

The tank is 230l. Ammonia and nitrITE are 0, nitrATE is 10 and PH is 7.8. I use fertiliser once per week - API Leaf Zone. I won't use it any more until the algae abates. I don't use C02.

The water is also slightly cloudy. I have cut bak on feeding until it clears.

I have read that a UV steriliser can help. Is it worth getting one?

How much light do you have over the tank in watts? and do you know what k rating the bulbs are?

A UV steriliser won't help for this type of algae

Black hair algae? A UV sterlizer will kill the spores. You will probably have too much iron in your water.
Best thing to do though is empty the tank and sterilize it with bleach. A cap full for every 10 litres. Don't use undiluted bleach or you can kiss your silicone seal good-bye.
You could also try to have fast growing plants to out-compete the algae. It's not easy and will take months. Use fast growing plants like Hygrophyla polysperma and floating plants. they will mop up any nutrient surplus. You will alaso have to dose with CO2.
It's best to throw any stones, bogwood, etc that is in the tank or boil it for 10 minutes.

I have two 25w T8 tubes. Not sure of the k output. They're on for 10 hours per day. The tank isn't in direct sunlight.

The algae is green, not black. I'll post a photo later.

Breaking down the tank and sterilising sounds a bit drastic. I'd like to avoid that if possible.

They are easy to get rid off. 80% water change and try to remove as many algae as you can. There are plenty of algae eating fish that will eat green algae, floating plants will also help a lot since they can pick up atmosheric CO2 and don't rely on the CO2 dissolved in water. I have a feeling that your filter isn't properly matured yet

I tested my phospates this evening an they were 0.5 ppm which is within the normal range.

I also checked out my lights. These were supplied with the tank and according to the manufacturer's website, they are standard domestic/industrial bulbs and not specifically manufactured for aquarium use. I'll have to change these as I'm sure they're not doing my plants any favours.

Any recommendations for bulbs? I need 30" T8's.

I also removed the rock that was covered in algae and gave everything a good scrub. Any advice for getting algae of plant leaves?

Thanks.

before changing to t5s I only ever used industrial light bulbs. One daylight and one white for the size of your tank.
Should that read .5 mg of phosphate per litre? That could be enough to get your algae going.
The best course of action for you is to put floating plants in your tank. They will rapidly soak up all excess nutrients.
See if that will get rid off your algae. If after a couple of weeks they are still present you are best of top get rid of your plants and decorations and start fresh.

UV sterilisers only help with green water (although in milder cases a blackout is also just as effective) for bba or black hair algae (or green hair algae or most algaes for that matter) a UV will do nothing, it will not cure or prevent the above from happening in any tank.

It sounds in this case that the filter may not yet be fully mature, hair algae is very common in new planted tanks setups with an immature filter, also the non generic plant tubes may be the cause, also as you have already guessed you don't have enough light over the tank at less than 1WPG this won,t help matters because growth rates will be stunted from the outset.

UV will not kill your black algae, however, it will limit a further spread of them.