# URGENT: Help Algae problem!



## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

well i just got back from a 3 week trip from hongkong and singapore and left my tank in the care of my sister. 
She helped feed my fish and top off when the water was evaporating. 
But what i didnt know was that she turned my filter onto minimum flow and i believe this is how the whole thing started with a chance of overfeeding.

Can anyone ID this algae for me and tell me how i can get rid of it? i tried to do some maintenance on it but it stuck onto my dwarf hairgrass and also bits of my hc cuba.

is there a fish a can get that will eat this algae or any kinda dose i can do to kill it off? 
i currently blacked out my tank to see if that will help

TANK SPECS
30 gallon with 2 t5s 36w? i believe
with pressured c02 running with lights at 8Hours
around 20 Harlequin rasbora
3-4 amano shrimp
1 albino pleco 
*
Its all over the tank this is just a part of it*


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## arinsi (Mar 14, 2010)

looks like string algae, best to wait for more confirmation
in the mean time you can try manual removal with a tooth brush


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## pat3612 (Jan 29, 2008)

http://www.aquaticcommunity.com/algae-control/string.php Some info


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## coldmantis (Apr 5, 2010)

could be staghorn, maybe your sis feed too much which lead to an ammonia spike and since your filter wasn't running at full power well ALGAE!!, dose with 2ml per gallon of h202 and it will be gone in less then a week.


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## alexxa (Jun 27, 2010)

looks like staghorn to me also
manual removal and water changes will definitely help


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

If it's Staghorn, http://rexgrigg.com/Algae1.html says to Remove manually, Water change, protect filter media, dose Excel and co2

was your co2 run out while gone? or the valves adjusted?


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## binhle (Sep 19, 2011)

*hair algea*

Try the H2O2 treatment see if that will help. H2O2 is sold at any phamacy Rexall or Shopper's Drugs Mart etc... Get the ones that's 3% by volumn. I dose
my tank @ 2-3 ml per 10 gal (with filter turn off and 0 water movement). Use a syringe and squirt the h2o2 onto the algea, wait 30 min and do a 25% wc, the algea should turn brown then gray and will die within a few days. Be aware that the h2o2 will burn some of the more sensitive plants, but mine came back in a week or so. Good luck


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

Thanks for all the replys.
Manual removal doesn't seem like a good idea ATM since it unroots all my dwarf hairgrass in the background.
I'll see if I can get some h202. 

Tank is currently still blacked out with no light or c02 might uncover it tomorrow and see if some of the algae died down and then do another wc. I'll try dozing excel again


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

Will said:


> If it's Staghorn, http://rexgrigg.com/Algae1.html says to Remove manually, Water change, protect filter media, dose Excel and co2
> 
> was your co2 run out while gone? or the valves adjusted?


No it was still running fine and is set up with my lighting time


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

To manually remove the algae trim your hairgrass down to 1/2". Curved scissors are very helpful in this.


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

Will said:


> To manually remove the algae trim your hairgrass down to 1/2". Curved scissors are very helpful in this.


Doesn't look like I even have 1/2 of hairgrass that's not covered lol

I'm now dosing excel looking for some h202


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## Symplicity (Oct 14, 2011)

Please keep me updated. My tank looks exactly like that. (less the green water).

I have a major string algae problem that looks like yours. When i twirl a tooth brush around it it pulls up my HC too!


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## Will (Jul 24, 2008)

aln said:


> Doesn't look like I even have 1/2 of hairgrass that's not covered lol
> 
> I'm now dosing excel looking for some h202


No, but trimming the harigrass will allow you to pull out a lot of algae from the tank, and encourage new algae free growth.

Hydrogen peroxide can be found at a pharmacy.


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## aln (Jan 26, 2010)

Symplicity said:


> Please keep me updated. My tank looks exactly like that. (less the green water).
> 
> I have a major string algae problem that looks like yours. When i twirl a tooth brush around it it pulls up my HC too!


I'll post some pictures of it. It got a bit better, but as will said I might really havta trim it down. My friend gave me a real s.algae eater and said that it might help so that is also in my tank lol. But yah staghorn is a pain in the butt when you try to take them out it takes your plants with it


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