about to quit...so fustrated!!

[WyldFya]

low co2 is pretty much the cause of all algae. how much co2 are you running? are you using a drop checker to monitor you co2 levels?

Not quite. Several alga are unaffected by the presence of low or high co2.

 

[WyldFya]

i love the look of a planted tank...and ive enjoyed mine alot...but this battle with algea is just killing me...ive battled black beard, hair, and green slime algea since the get...not all at the same time but i have never had this tank not have some type of algea...about a month ago i decided to do the bleach solution and worked good...i had some die off and as soon as the tank is filling out again beard algea comes back...and alot worse!!...i mean i woke up one day and it was everywhere...i coudnt believe it...i dont know what else to do...its a 55 gal with 108 watts of nove extreme t5ho...co2...eco-complete...im lost already...dont know what else to do...about to just rip everything out and quit...i dose with flourish and sometimes dose ecxel for the algea...pro's help me out...what should i do...

Gotta run, but I'll read through and give my thoughts later tonight.

 

[1SiCk Mk3]

thanks wyldfya...also someone pointed out that excel is only a carbon substitute...this i know...but excel has been known to help battle algea thus why im dosing it..i put my pleco in my tank yesterday...and to my surprise he really went to work...i know they are not known for eating this stuff up but im thinking his lack of food in the tank hes been in made him clean it...he was in a tank with 2 pacus and i think these guys werent letting him eat anything...he really went to town...im surprised...now to see if i can finish it off and keep this tank algea free

 

[frasertheking]

algea is an evil thing but you can try uping co2 level and adding more fast growing plants , other than that i say just ride it out .

 

[Bluey]

i love the look of a planted tank...and ive enjoyed mine alot...but this battle with algea is just killing me...ive battled black beard, hair, and green slime algea since the get...not all at the same time but i have never had this tank not have some type of algea...about a month ago i decided to do the bleach solution and worked good...i had some die off and as soon as the tank is filling out again beard algea comes back...and alot worse!!...i mean i woke up one day and it was everywhere...i coudnt believe it...i dont know what else to do...its a 55 gal with 108 watts of nove extreme t5ho...co2...eco-complete...im lost already...dont know what else to do...about to just rip everything out and quit...i dose with flourish and sometimes dose ecxel for the algea...pro's help me out...what should i do...

Are you cheking the NO3 and PO4 ? if the algae dies off and then it comes back better than ever its usualy because the dead algae has released all the PO4 back into the water etc....

 

[WyldFya]

Are you cheking the NO3 and PO4 ? if the algae dies off and then it comes back better than ever its usualy because the dead algae has released all the PO4 back into the water etc....

When plants die, the potassium and phosphates they used to grow do not get released. They have already been converted, and used by the plant for growth. Same is true for the nitrogen, but when organic material rots, it creates ammonia, which is a form of nitrogen.

 

[WyldFya]

i love the look of a planted tank...and ive enjoyed mine alot...but this battle with algea is just killing me...ive battled black beard, hair, and green slime algea since the get...not all at the same time but i have never had this tank not have some type of algea...about a month ago i decided to do the bleach solution and worked good...i had some die off and as soon as the tank is filling out again beard algea comes back...and alot worse!!...i mean i woke up one day and it was everywhere...i coudnt believe it...i dont know what else to do...its a 55 gal with 108 watts of nove extreme t5ho...co2...eco-complete...im lost already...dont know what else to do...about to just rip everything out and quit...i dose with flourish and sometimes dose ecxel for the algea...pro's help me out...what should i do...

I would check your phosphate levels, higher levels of this can cause black beard algae.