Algae stuff

[Ebi-sama]

I'd just tone the lights down, weaken/diffuse it and add a colony of amanos/Siamese algae eaters(young small ones) and it should be gone in no time. Balance out your water, keep phos in check. Once it's trace is gone completely, it won't regrow back as easy when the lights are back.

 

[sir_keith]

I'd just tone the lights down, weaken/diffuse it and add a colony of amanos/Siamese algae eaters(young small ones) and it should be gone in no time. Balance out your water, keep phos in check. Once it's trace is gone completely, it won't regrow back as easy when the lights are back.

The pic I posted earlier was taken after the lights had been off for 2 weeks! And it's pretty hard to get low phosphate concentrations in water that is brought to Tanganyika specs with SeaChem Tanganyika Buffer and Cichlid Lake Salts.

I'm generally averse to using algaecides, but since that tank has nothing in it (except algae), I'm going to give the API product a try. I'll keep you posted.

 

[Ebi-sama]

well, I mean is u weaken the light, doesn't have to be off, it's to maintain it from growing further so that the amano/SAE can eat it. and manually pull what u can.

 

[thecarl]

I've got a 45L that grows this stuff like crazy even though there is nothing in the tank but gravel and water- no plants, no fishes. I was planning on breaking it down and letting everything dry out to try to get rid of this stuff, but is there an easier way? Thanks!

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Kill the light? If you don't have any plants, nothing is there to take the nutrients away from the algae. One thing I learned is plants need specific nutrients, algae will grow off any nutrient it can find. If no plants are competing and you have any significant light, algae will grow. I can't tell from the photo how much light that is, or how many hours a day its on. But, that is what my tank looked like before I started feeding the plants.

 

[sir_keith]

Kill the light? If you don't have any plants, nothing is there to take the nutrients away from the algae. One thing I learned is plants need specific nutrients, algae will grow off any nutrient it can find. If no plants are competing and you have any significant light, algae will grow. I can't tell from the photo how much light that is, or how many hours a day its on. But, that is what my tank looked like before I started feeding the plants.

Really hard to grow plants in Tanganyika water at pH 9, and except for really tough plants, like Jave Fern etc., Tropheus will have them for lunch. I don't have plants in any of my other 12 tanks, which get at least as much light as this one (54W T5), and this is the only tank with this issue, so it's a mystery to me. I removed the algae, did a complete water change, and started algaecide treatment today, so I'll keep you posted.

 

[VickiK]

Yeah, it just really surprised me that the problem was just not enough fertilizer. I kept thinking if the Algae was thriving it must be because there's too much food in there.

Great piece of info.