# Help- lost on what to do to get rid of Algae.



## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

I have been trying for months to get rid of an algae outbreak. I have tried dosing with Excel. Turning down the lights. I do weekly water changes. I have even turned down the CO2. Temperature is 82.6 F. PH is 6.2. The tank has been set up for 5+yrs. It’s a 90 gallon tank. I really don’t want to tear it apart to do a wholesale cleaning....but I am thinking I might have to. Any advise is appreciated.


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## infolific (Apr 10, 2016)

I'd use API AlgaeFix for that kind of algae. I've had good luck with it, but be warned that it's not the safest of products for fish. It took out a neon or two and also some shrimp. Angels, corys, otos didn't seem to have any ill effects. I have no idea what impact it'll have on discus.

After 2 doses the improvement was noticeable and after 3 the algae I had was gone. Mind you I started the treatment well before I got to the stage shown in your photo.


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

infolific said:


> I'd use API AlgaeFix for that kind of algae. I've had good luck with it, but be warned that it's not the safest of products for fish. It took out a neon or two and also some shrimp. Angels, corys, otos didn't seem to have any ill effects. I have no idea what impact it'll have on discus.
> 
> After 2 doses the improvement was noticeable and after 3 the algae I had was gone. Mind you I started the treatment well before I got to the stage shown in your photo.


Thanks. The algae is after a week, before I did the water change this afternoon.


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## r3quiem (Aug 6, 2016)

I Have a couple suggestions I'm going to throw at you though you may have tried some of most of them.

Option 1:
Increase CO2 [If thats hair algae you have there they really dislike CO2]
Increase Flow
Increase Fertilizer if you are already using it

Option 2:
Hydrogen Peroxide Spot Treatment (Tends to be more effective than Excel)

Option 3:
Blackout the Tank with lightproof drop cloths or several garbage bags taped all around, with this you risk losing your plants as well but they should bounce back

If you are able to rig up a UV Sterilizer to your system this helps with some floating green algae and hair algae prevention in the future as well. You can get relatively cheap UV Sterilizers for ponds which you can get working inline. I can make some recommendations if you go this route.

Do you have a phosphate and nitrate test by any chance?


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

That kind of algae is pretty easy to kill off, preventing it from coming back is another thing. I never kept discus but when any kind of algae get this bad I just nuke the tank. Turn off filter and lights
put in a powerhead
2-4 tablespoons of H2O2 per 10g (I would do 2 tbsp since you have discus)
leave it alone for 30 minutes
take out the powerhead
do a 50% water change
turn back filter and lights
dose 5ml per 10g of excel per day for the next 5 days
Algae should be completely gone if not then repeat


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks ....going to try H2O2 treatment. Any brand is good I assume? 

I tested for nitrite, nitrate and ammonia....all tests were 0 ppm.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

Bigbutt said:


> Thanks ....going to try H2O2 treatment. Any brand is good I assume?
> 
> I tested for nitrite, nitrate and ammonia....all tests were 0 ppm.


I used the ones from Dollarama lol


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

coldmantis said:


> I used the ones from Dollarama lol


Good....I have Life brand at home..

I may first take the manzanita driftwood out and try the treatment on that first.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

What algae eaters do you have in the tank?


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## Fisheye (Jan 13, 2015)

Hi Bigbut,

Just want to add to the excellent advice you've already gotten...

Is the manzanita a newer addition to your tank?

OTC 3% peroxide works perfectly. 

It's great that you can take the wood out without destroying your setup-I had better success removing and soaking over spot treatment. Especially with the amount of algae you are dealing with.

Probably best if you can scrape as much off manually and then soak.

What is the length of your photoperiod? Moving forward, maintain stable co2 and consider reducing lights on or program in a siesta.

You really have 0 nitrates?

Best of luck. 

Jackie


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Fisheye said:


> Hi Bigbut,
> 
> Just want to add to the excellent advice you've already gotten...
> 
> ...


Thanks Jackie.

The manzanita has been in the tank for years. I scraped it last night and soaked them overnight.

I have a aquaticLife light. I have the white bulbs currently on for about 8 hrs. I have the blue bulbs off right now.

Co2 is stable . It's hooked up to a ph monitor. Bubble count is 1 every 3 seconds.

Going to try a dosing of the tank and a subsequent water change.

Thanks to everyone for their advice.

Lou


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

solarz said:


> What algae eaters do you have in the tank?


I currently don't have any. I lost a couple of bushy nose plecos over the last several months. I am going to get a few in the next week.


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Bigbutt said:


> I currently don't have any. I lost a couple of bushy nose plecos over the last several months. I am going to get a few in the next week.


My advice would be to manually remove as much of the algae as possible, then add a crew of algae eaters. BN Plecos are a good choice, but you want some variety. I would also get some Siamese Algae Eaters and Amano Shrimps.


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## Tino (Sep 10, 2012)

Have you tried an Amano shrimp colony?


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Tino said:


> Have you tried an Amano shrimp colony?


The problem I have is that I have discus in the tank. The shrimp would be a nice meal for them.

I am going to pick up some plecos and see how that helps.


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

The tank is looking better. The H2O2 treatment seems to have worked. The algae is turning lighter in color.


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

that looks a million times better keep up the maintenance.


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## Fisheye (Jan 13, 2015)

YAY!!!

I bet you are pleased with that!

J


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Oh I am more than happy. It has been really frustrating. I tried a lot of different treatments and nothing seemed to really work.

A big “Thank you” to everyone for their suggestions.

The H2O2 treatment really worked. Soaking the wood made a huge difference. Beats having to powerwash it.

Thanks,

Lou


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Damn, it is back. I really think I need to do a complete cleaning. Take out the plants and wood and clean the gravel. The tank has been going for 5+ years.
Any other ideas? Thanks


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## solarz (Aug 31, 2010)

Bigbutt said:


> Damn, it is back. I really think I need to do a complete cleaning. Take out the plants and wood and clean the gravel. The tank has been going for 5+ years.
> Any other ideas? Thanks


Algae will always come back. You need algae eaters to keep it in check.

Get 6 siamese algae eaters and a dozen amano shrimps, then manually remove as much algae as you can.


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## planter (Jun 9, 2008)

Are you dosing nutrients? Are you.nitrates still at 0 ?


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## Fisheye (Jan 13, 2015)

Sorry it's back.

Do you have any thoughts on what the imbalance could be that's causing the algae breakout? 

Maybe try a 3 day total black out.

Good luck.


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Nitrates are still at 0... surprisingly.
My thinking is that the tank has been going for 6 yrs without a thorough cleaning.
I do weekly water changes and vacuuming of the gravel on what I can get to with the plants. The Chain swords and Amazon swords were growing like crazy. 
On Monday, I decided to give it a complete gut job and clean it. The hair algae was growing crazy on the driftwood, so i power washed those pieces. What an undertaking.
I took out the substrate and removed the sludge. I didn’t wash the gravel, as I didn’t want to disrupt any of the bacteria present. I learnt a lesson last time when I moved the tank to its present location and lost a number of discus.
I will keep you posted if this was successful. I’ll post some pictures.
Thanks to everyone for your help.


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## infolific (Apr 10, 2016)

Bigbutt said:


> Nitrates are still at 0... surprisingly.


If you're using the API drop test and you've never had anything except for 0 nitrates, your test may be bad. My nitrate test always returned 0 no matter what I did. The test wasn't expired and I shook bottle #2 excessively as some people recommended. So I bought another one and using the same steps I got a nitrate reading greater than 0.


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Thanks...I will pick up a new test kit.



infolific said:


> If you're using the API drop test and you've never had anything except for 0 nitrates, your test may be bad. My nitrate test always returned 0 no matter what I did. The test wasn't expired and I shook bottle #2 excessively as some people recommended. So I bought another one and using the same steps I got a nitrate reading greater than 0.


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## kafes (Jan 15, 2015)

get some algae eaters such as nerite snail and bristlenose pleco.
SAE and flying fox works too when they are small ....would never use chemicals for algae when you have these guys to do the job for you ...


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

kafes said:


> get some algae eaters such as nerite snail and bristlenose pleco.
> SAE and flying fox works too when they are small ....would never use chemicals for algae when you have these guys to do the job for you ...


Thanks...I added 4 bristlenose plecos. They are juveniles...hope they will help. I have yo watch what type of algae eaters I add as I have discus.


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## Bigbutt (Dec 2, 2012)

Finally got rid of the algae! The problem all along was the manzanita wood I had in the tank. It was deteriorating and essentially feeding the algae. I took it out and have not had a recurrence of the algae bloom that I previously had. I am in the midst of replacing the manzanita. Tank looks bare without any structure.
Thanks for all your help!


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## Tabatha (Dec 29, 2007)

*Aquarium Myths and Secrets Revealed*

This is an amazing and informative podcast about fresh and saltwater aquarium chemistry. Episode 39: The Cause of Green Hair Algae may help in the future but I recommend you listen to all the episodes on algae.


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