I hope this piece of advice may be of help to you. I was battling hair algae for three months. A day after cleaning, it would grow back and make my tank look like a swamp. I have a very well planted tank. A couple of weeks ago, a friend of mine had experimented with planted tanks. He said that plants grow their best at 10 hours a day. A well planted tank should out compete algae for food. So, I adjusted my lights to 10 hours a day. Less than a week later, the algae had almost all vanished. Not only that, but my plants have started to really grow like crazy. My tank is looking nice and green once again.
HAIR ALGAE OR CYANO BACTERIA! HELP!
- Thread starter jandb
- Start date
How are you dosing CO2? In my experience, I've had cyano outbreaks when my co2 levels fluctuate, but I'm in college and have a completely inadequate diy setup on my 110. If you have a pressurized system this shouldn't be a problem.
I've gotten rid of cyanobacteria with Erythromycin (Maracyn) a handful of times. EM does not harm your filter at all either. Treat the tank for 7 days in a row, everyday. Also thoroughly rinse all equipment that may spread it, such as gravel vacuums, in hot water. If it is infact cyanobacteria it will have a distinct odor. As long as you rinse you rinse stuff in hot water for a minute or two the odor should go away and that's when I feel it's normally safe. Make sure you hit it hard when you treat the tank and get it all in a week. Everytime I've killed cyanobacteria, my tanks started to get fine hair algae (which is a beautiful sight after battling cyanobacteria) which will soon go away.
Also, to prevent this in the future, make sure you have at least 10ppm nitrates and remove dying plants ASAP. If one plant is showing signs of deficiencies find the cause and fix it right away.
Also, to prevent this in the future, make sure you have at least 10ppm nitrates and remove dying plants ASAP. If one plant is showing signs of deficiencies find the cause and fix it right away.
No CO2. I would try doing this before trying Erythromycin. You don't have to buy anything at all.
I have a Red Sea paintball kit I've never used. How many bubbles a second should I start with? I am worried I may harm the fish. The pH is about 7.5 right now. I'd like to put the CO2 in the sump for ease of use and adjustment but would I lose the benefit before it gets to the main tank? Thanks in advance.
Does it make sense to feed a little more to get my nitrates up? They still don't even show up on a dipstick test.
Does it make sense to feed a little more to get my nitrates up? They still don't even show up on a dipstick test.
I've read some pretty bad reviews on the Red Sea Pro CO2 kits. Does anyone have any experience with them?
As Industrial was saying, this is for sure a cyanobacteria, it's probably confusing many people since it looks like you have a filamentous type growing. The thing that really confirms it is the speed at which it's regrowing on you. Follow Industrial's advice and go with the EM. It has also worked with my tank as well. The unfortunate part is the cost to treat that size of tank.
As for all this CO2 and other strategies I would worry about getting rid of the cyano first then revisit what to do set-up wise.
As for all this CO2 and other strategies I would worry about getting rid of the cyano first then revisit what to do set-up wise.
Thanks for the advice. I don't want to be to confident yet but I'd say it's 90% gone. I did 30% water changes for 7 consecutive days. Didn't add any chemicals, just vacc'd as much of it out as I could. The flying foxes seem to be eating what's left. I did add several more plants over that time too.
