I am a noob to the hobby and suffered from the same problem you did.
On March 1 2022 I started a Fluval Spec 5 tank for my daughter's Betta fish. I used Carib-Sea Eco complete substrate and Seachem root tabs. Planted 3 Valisneria and 2 Micro Swords. Dosed Easy Green 1x per week and used the stock light that came with the Spec 5.
Within 2 weeks I had a HORRENDOUS hair algae problem just like yours. I was using my gravel vac and water changes every couple of days to try and keep it under control. Nothing worked.
Then I stumbled upon one of Cory's Aquarium Co-Op videos about lighting, and in it he made a passing comment that blue light just serves to grow algae. Since I'm sure my Spec 5's stock light has blue in its RGB mix (duh), I decided to swap it out and instead run a Fluval Aquasky 2.0 12W 15-24" model for a bit. I was saving this Aquasky 2.0 for a Fluval Flex 15 that I'm building, but I thought I'd see if it could make a difference on the Spec 5 algae issue since the Aquasky is programmable. I programmed my Aquasky 2.0 with an 8 hour daylight period with NO blue light and NO blue light at the nighttime cycle. I couldn't believe the results....
ALGAE PROBLEM SOLVED! My hair algae is now 98% gone and all I did was eliminate blue light from my lighting schedule. Cory was right, cutting the blue light cut my algae by unbelievable proportions.
I plan to get another Aquasky 2.0 for my Flex 15, remove the stock light and silicone the Aquasky to the lid. Once I get my Flex 15 up and going I hopefully won't have the algae issue.
To further test my theory I removed blue light on an Aquasky 2.0 schedule I'm running on a 10-year old 10 gallon tank and I saw the same result. Algae growth is way way down.
Over time perhaps I'll be able to add some blue light back in as the Spec 5 gets fully cycled and I add some clean up crew friends - I did want to add shrimp to the Spec 5 at some point. Shrimp would be advantageous for keeping Algae in better control than what I was seeing without shrimp, at least that's my hope.
I know you might not want to drop ~$65.00 to solve your algae problem by buying an Aquasky 2.0. However I gotta think Cory is right - if there's a way you can cut the blue light it will help eliminate your algae issue as it did mine.
noob brown algae question
in Plants, Algae, and Fertilizers
Posted
Hi BigMike,
I am a noob to the hobby and suffered from the same problem you did.
On March 1 2022 I started a Fluval Spec 5 tank for my daughter's Betta fish. I used Carib-Sea Eco complete substrate and Seachem root tabs. Planted 3 Valisneria and 2 Micro Swords. Dosed Easy Green 1x per week and used the stock light that came with the Spec 5.
Within 2 weeks I had a HORRENDOUS hair algae problem just like yours. I was using my gravel vac and water changes every couple of days to try and keep it under control. Nothing worked.
Then I stumbled upon one of Cory's Aquarium Co-Op videos about lighting, and in it he made a passing comment that blue light just serves to grow algae. Since I'm sure my Spec 5's stock light has blue in its RGB mix (duh), I decided to swap it out and instead run a Fluval Aquasky 2.0 12W 15-24" model for a bit. I was saving this Aquasky 2.0 for a Fluval Flex 15 that I'm building, but I thought I'd see if it could make a difference on the Spec 5 algae issue since the Aquasky is programmable. I programmed my Aquasky 2.0 with an 8 hour daylight period with NO blue light and NO blue light at the nighttime cycle. I couldn't believe the results....
ALGAE PROBLEM SOLVED! My hair algae is now 98% gone and all I did was eliminate blue light from my lighting schedule. Cory was right, cutting the blue light cut my algae by unbelievable proportions.
I plan to get another Aquasky 2.0 for my Flex 15, remove the stock light and silicone the Aquasky to the lid. Once I get my Flex 15 up and going I hopefully won't have the algae issue.
To further test my theory I removed blue light on an Aquasky 2.0 schedule I'm running on a 10-year old 10 gallon tank and I saw the same result. Algae growth is way way down.
Over time perhaps I'll be able to add some blue light back in as the Spec 5 gets fully cycled and I add some clean up crew friends - I did want to add shrimp to the Spec 5 at some point. Shrimp would be advantageous for keeping Algae in better control than what I was seeing without shrimp, at least that's my hope.
I know you might not want to drop ~$65.00 to solve your algae problem by buying an Aquasky 2.0. However I gotta think Cory is right - if there's a way you can cut the blue light it will help eliminate your algae issue as it did mine.
Best of luck to you and to all in the hobby!