# Filamentous Algae due to...???



## verkion (Apr 27, 2011)

Anyone know offhand what is the restricting nutrient? I'm EI dosing + CO2 + pretty good water movement.

Thanks!
verkion


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## fuzzysocks (Dec 8, 2010)

If I had to guess based off of some of my experiences, I would say phosphorous. Do you have a test kit?

How's your snail population? I found pond snails could make pretty quick work of that type of algae. YMMV though--my worst outbreak was in a breeder box, so it was pretty easy to make sure that the filamentous algae was the only food available for them.


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

oliver,

i had a bad case of spirogyra or filamentous green algae... what worked best for me was do a modified EI... 2X macros and 2X micros and lots of floating plants to suck up the excess nutrients and reduce photo period to strictly 6 hours... it worked for me... so i thought id just share... after 2 weeks no more filamentous green algae... 

I got it bad it even grew on my glosso carpet ... the reduced photo period, modified EI and floating plants helped...  hope it helps


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## verkion (Apr 27, 2011)

Hrm...sounds good. I'll try it out. EI methodology is to NOT have any limiting nutrient, hence there should always be "excess" nutrient. I suppose its just a matter of not having too much excess. Anyhow, I'll try your suggestion out...I'm running a VERY long photo-period but with a 2 hour blackout mid-way through. That seems to work fantastic for stopping algae growth...except for the filamentous types.

I heard some fish like Cherry Barbs actually eat the stuff? Any truth to that?

Thanks!
verkion


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

Can you tell us the size of the tank, type of lighting you use, photo period duration, Co2 method of injection, ppm level? type of filter you use, substrate type, type of plants you have and is it heavily planted? how often you do water change? Do you also have heavy lifestock? maybe lots of organics in the water.


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

verkion... the 2 hour black out interval in between photo period works well for other types of algae... but unfortunately filamentous algae thrives on very similar requirements as those of plants... you can try manually taking most of the stuff out using the tooth brush method... but it does come back... excess organics as what captured moments said is also a key factor to it... the method i mentioned in my previous post worked for me... it took some time though... about 2 weeks for you to be able to see some results... 

if you were looking for a fish to eat it ... try to hit up mykiss, if he still sell that crosso or bba monster he calls it... which is a monster in clearing out algae...


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## verkion (Apr 27, 2011)

Yeah, I think Captured Moments is right, probably excess organics. I have a relatively massive bioload in that tank. *shrug* I guess I'll do compress my water change schedule a bit. I've been doing once per week, 50% water change. I guess I can do that twice a week. I heard it was due to excess iron as well and I have been dosing iron. Ah well, no biggie. I'll drop the lighting cycle back to 8 or so hours as well.

Thanks!
verkion


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## stonedaquarium (Jun 11, 2011)

im not sure about the excess iron... as i have been dosing EI in my tanks... with CSM plantex + B alongside a shot of flourish iron... and its been good... so far... you can try all those suggestions in combination hopefully that works... lol... another angle could be your Co2 saturation might not be enough...


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## Captured Moments (Apr 22, 2010)

The trouble with planted tanks is that there are a lot of dynamics and some complexities involved since nothing is ever static... plants grow, conditions change, etc..
As a result, what works for one may not for another.
You heard of the "plants out competing algae" in planted tank setups and keeping the algae at bay. So long as you are able to maintain proper balance and keeping the plants growing healthy, you should have very minimal algae.. meaning not limiting your nutrients to your plants. With EI dosing, the goal is to always have enough nutrients for your plants and not be limiting in any of them.. whether it is a little excess or a lot more excessive. The degree of excess in nutrients is not the issue and not the cause of the algae problem. It is actually the opposite. Not having enough of one nutrient or reducing nutrients in hope of getting rid of algae will only get you more algae problems. 
I assume it is not a newly setup tank and everything has been running for a while and fully cycled.
You mentioned you have lots of water circulation which is good. It helps spread the nutrients and Co2 evenly throughout the tank and eliminate dead spots especially if you have a lot of plant mass blocking water movement. You also need good oxygen, good gas exchange at the surface. Again, floating plants, plants that grow and reach the surface and start to spread out block off a lot of the water exchange. Bacteria need good amount of oxygen to break down organics, convert nitrites to nitrates, ammonia to ammonium, etc..

Basically, you should aim for keeping good growing conditions:
keep filter clean regularly to reduce organics
water change regularly
Check the balance between Co2 level, light level and nutrients. 
Everything starts with the light. Light is pretty much consistent once it is running, nutrients is also pretty much consistent so long as you keep up with your dosing and don't limit them.
Co2 is the hardest to control and tend to fluctuate over time as the conditions change in your tank..Again, everything is dynamic. I don't even trust my Co2 drop checker even though it is showing me yellowish green all the time. It allways lag a few hours behind. I just use it as a rough guide but observing the fish behaviour and the plants growing is a better indication imho.

Reducing the photo period or doing some black out periods in between to help eliminate algae as some have done may have worked. I see it as an indication that the action was to reduce the demand on the Co2 which was not sufficient to begin with. Reducing the light or decreasing the photo period (in whole or in parts) result in reducing or eliminate the limiting factor. The limiting factor can be nutrients which was not enough to begin with or most likely Co2 level which was not enough or not injected at a rate fast enough or efficiently enough to keep up with the prior photo period duration.


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## verkion (Apr 27, 2011)

Well...after a few weeks, still getting this annoying filamentous algae. Plants seems happy and growing, but the problem is the stuff is EVERYWHERE. It's really annoying. I've reduced lighting period, increased CO2, done the 2xmacro/micro dosing, increased WC. This stuff reminds me of when I had Marimo Moss Balls in one tank and it turned into a massive nightmare as it literally carpeted/covered everything eventually. Again, the problem is that it seems to thrive/grow in the same conditions as other plants do. 

Any fish actually like eating this stuff? I hear American Flagfish and Cherry Barbs do but has anyone had any experience with them? My SAEs don't touch it and neither do my Otos.

Thanks!
verkion


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

Sounds like spirogyra algae from what you said didt work. There is one thing left to do short of giving up.

-Cut ei dosing to a quarter of the norm for a week, 
-reduce photo period to half in the meantime
-Start dosing excel/metricide temporarily
-Manually remove as much as possiblle whenever you can.
-get a molly or amano shrimp
Week 2
-turn off co2
-don't feed fish
-tape garbage bags to all sides and loosely over the top, total black out for 3 days only removing the top bag to do a 50% water change each of those days and dosing macros each time after
-remove bags and see how the tank looks, if still not doing well, manally remove more, try 2 more days black out.
Once done increase ei dosing and photo period in increments over a couple weeks, stop metricide dosing if you want
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## tang daddy (Apr 21, 2010)

You can also add a fish called crossohelieus reticulatus that feeds on filamentous algae!

Dunno how big your tank is but if its a 30g the fish will be ok, it will devour any type of nusiance algae.


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## kelownaguy (Jan 1, 2011)

Hydrogen peroxide kills filamentous algae quick if you are brave enough to use it.

It will come back in a couple weeks if conditions don`t change though.

To my surprise,on one occasion,it disappeared completely 2 days after INCREASING the photoperiod.Maybe coincidence,but,I doubt it.My current theory is that the plants outcompeted the algae for NH3 w/more light.(or maybe alteration of ORP and O2 levels(doesn`t seem like it-no difference measured)).

Latest outbreak is coming under control after decreasing lighting intensity (halides) and slowing down water changes using my iron rich well water.
Thought it might be excess organics,but,they are as high as before.

Sorry for not having a more definitive answer.


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## verkion (Apr 27, 2011)

Haha, guess what kelownaguy? I was just coming on here to post that I remember long ago (pre-forum crash days), that someone treated this algae with H2O2. I decided to give it a try yesterday and spot treated, quite heavily I might add. Today...the algae has gone from tough and green looking to frail and dying/brown colored. Best part is that the plants seem to be completely unaffected as well.

It was actually quite interesting spraying the H2O2 at the algae and seeing the algae fizz!

Anyhow, I'll see how this goes...hopefully it'll keep it under control! I should really look for crosso ret. or two though...

Thanks!
verkion


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## neven (May 15, 2010)

the bba sticky has a section on h2o2, I used to use it for bba prior to ordering metricide
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