# Planted tank algae issues



## Lorano (Aug 9, 2015)

Hello everyone,

I just started putting fish in this tank and I'm hoping to solve this without having to pull them all out. I have 2 high output LED light strips and co2 injection (about 8 bps), both of which are on for about 8 hours a day. The total system volume is around 220 gallons with the sump. I have algae forming just below the substrate level and on the driftwood and moss that is growing in the tank. What are the possible causes and fixes? Firs time with this large a planted tank that has co2 injection so need a little info. Will digging up the soil to clean the algae release anything dangerous for the fish like some say? Or do I just need to lessen the number of hours the lights and co2 are on? Water changes? Algae eaters like otos (have 5 already)? Let me know.

Thank you.


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## Akinari (Mar 20, 2018)

I cant really offer any advise as I'm pretty green at this whole planted tank thing myself, but I think a couple things that will help people answer your question(s) are:

How long was the tank up and running for?
Are you dosing? What are you dosing? How often are you dosing?

As for the algae on glass, you can probably get a credit card and scrape it away without disturbing the soil too much.

ps. I don't think 5 Ottos will be that effective at cleaning an 220g tank! Maybe get a few nerite snails / amano shrimps too..?


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## Lorano (Aug 9, 2015)

The tank has been up and running for about 2.5 weeks. It only had plants in it for most of that time while it cycled. I only added fish this past weekend along with a whole bottle of bacteria to supplement the existing bacteria colony and help the fish acclimate. The first group of fish are fine and so are the second now that a few hours have passed so I'm pretty sure the tank has mostly (even if not completely) gone through it's cycling process and has enough bacteria to support the livestock. I am not dosing anything currently but I have 2 bottles of Niclog thrive I am considering using to boost plant coloration and growth.


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## Guppymen (Jun 5, 2010)

From my experience, best is to place around 10 small( around 1 inch) size
bristle nose pleco into the tank, they are the best clean up crew that you can find: do a good job cleaning tank, driftwood , plants as well as substrate.
Please let me know if you are interested for some super red bristle nose juvies for your clean up crew.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

Honestly, you can add as many BNPs or Otos to this size of a tank and you'll still be fighting algae constantly. From my experiences, with tanks of this size, the hardest aspect is finding the balance, as it's very difficult to light a tank of that size. A lot of large planted tanks highlights the difficulty of providing enough light at the substrate, but what I find even more scary is how much light is at the upper portion of these large tanks? The algae you're experiencing is a very strange sight in newer tanks, as usually diatom and brown algae are the only ones present within the first month or so. So the main question here is, what sort of lighting are you using on this tank? Also, what substrate are you using? It looks very odd from the picture and is it new aquasoil?

A few recommendations as well:
1. Dial down your photo period, 6.5-7.5hr are enough for newer tanks, I usually turn them up once the plants are established and brown algae has had their initial growth and decline.

2. I recommend adding some floaters even if they're temporary. Adding some fast growing floaters like frogbit, dwarf water lettuce, salvinia, etc will compete with these algae for light and nutrients. If you want, you can remove them completely when algae has been reduced and plants are growing steadily.

3. Diversified clean up crew, do consider that a cleaner crew will definitely help in either suppressing new growth or consuming existing growth. Fortunately there are several species, unfortunately they're not very affordable and work best in groups (or large groups in your case).
- amano shrimps and dwarf shrimps, they'll eat some filament algae, but will grow fond of prepared foods and ignore 99% of existing algae. Best used to consume stuck matter, whether it's carcasses, leaves, or extra food, which will prevent nitrogen spikes.
- SAE or Silver Foxes, best for filament algae, very effective against hair algae when not getting prepared foods. They grow very fond of flakes and pellets, need to limit their exposure to it or they get lazy.
- Otos and BNPs, both consume the same types of algae, mainly for brown or diatom algaes, they will "scrape" filament, Staghorn, or BBA, but will do little to nothing against those types. These combat the easiest and earliest types, will need supplemental feeding in later stages of a planted tank as most brown and diatom algae will be outcompeted by plants and other algae - this supplemental feeding will mess up feeding restrictions for other cleaner crews, hence why I pass on these sucker mouth fish or simply remove them after a month or two and isolate them into a Q tank.
- Cherry barbs, works against filament algae, not reliable at all, but for a pretty shoaling fish, even if each fish eats just 1cm of algae a month, that's a win i guess..
- American Flagfish, works well with filament or "puffy/stringy" algae, theyre kinda pretty and mean to each other, but a pair or a small group will steadily consume hair algae, have witnessed them target, rip, chew, and swallow hair algae.
- Vampire and flower shrimps, the very few times I'd recommend these guys, only really suitable for species, overfed, or large tanks. Your tank would be ideal for a couple of these guys to counter green water or other free floating algae, these are more for visuals as some find them cool, but I've used them in green water situations and have had overall good results.
- Snails, the most useful thing in a planted tank, good against diatom and brown algae, some even tackle green spot. However, majority of fancy snails or nerites will dissolve in a high tech planted tank, so not good long term. My favourite are mini ramhorns, some remove them as they see them as pest, they're the best thing against algae and food clean up you can ask for. MTS works, but they get big and rather unsightly due to the size.
- Clams or Mussels, there are some species readily available in this hobby, good filter feeders for free floating algae and spores, but will dissolve in high tech tanks, so not cool.

I know some of these are difficult to get at times, especially during these times. I normally order hundreds for my tanks, so if you need assistance, just let me know.
Sorry for the long post/read.

TLDR: dial down photoperiod to 6.5-7hrs for first two months, add floaters, get diverse cleaner crew.


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## Lorano (Aug 9, 2015)

The 2 LED lights I have are these.

https://www.hollandindustry.com/led...ngle-strip-led-samsung-315b-diode-p-2550.html

They only came in 4 foot lengths so because my tank is 6 feet I had to get 2 of them and they overlap for 4 feet of the tank's length. Another factor was cost. T get the growth I wanted it was either ADA lights, a combination of T5's and LED's like Kessils or Radions. Compared to getting three freshwater Radions the price for two of these was about 50% less.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

So you're using a 3500k grow light with added UV?
It's fairly powerful, but how high do you have it over your tank?
Is this controllable by any means?


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## Lorano (Aug 9, 2015)

The lights are not controllable unfortunately. They are also resting on the aquarium lids, about 6 inches above the water.


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## default (May 28, 2011)

I see, you're definitely pumping in a lot of light. I would definitely consider getting some floaters for your tank first.


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## characinfan (Dec 24, 2008)

default said:


> A few recommendations as well


Very helpful post. Thank you.


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