Zac Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Can someone confirm/deny my suspicions that this is staghorn algae? Tanks nitrates are under 40, 1 pump of iron twice a week, and roughly 8 hrs of 80% light. The tank does get a lot of natural light. From what I’ve read, amano shrimp won’t eat it if it’s staghorn algae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 Looks like the start of it to me. Does the tank get 8 hours of artificial light as well as natural? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 9:14 PM, Paul R said: Looks like the start of it to me. Does the tank get 8 hours of artificial light as well as natural? Yes. There’s a little window in the basement that light gets through. I could try blocking the window but it will be a challenge. How should I get rid of it since nothing will eat it? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 I know I had my aquarium next to a window months ago with the curtains closed and I got crazy amounts of algae. I also dosed iron weekly. I reduced the amount of iron I used and then moved the tank and the algae has gone away. I don't known which one it was. Could have been a combination of both or one or the other. As far as the Amanos go, I never saw them take on staghorn, but that was my guys. Can't speak for the rest. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 9:30 PM, Paul R said: I know I had my aquarium next to a window months ago with the curtains closed and I got crazy amounts of algae. I also dosed iron weekly. I reduced the amount of iron I used and then moved the tank and the algae has gone away. I don't known which one it was. Could have been a combination of both or one or the other. As far as the Amanos go, I never saw them take on staghorn, but that was my guys. Can't speak for the rest. I’ll try blocking the window I think since I don’t have anywhere to move the tank. Hopefully that works. I’ve also read about spot treating with seachem excel. Hopefully the light will do the trick so I don’t have to spot treat. I’ll have to address iron next if that doesn’t work Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 If you can't do anything with the window I would personally try to reduce iron maybe one dose a week for a couple of weeks and see how that goes. If you notice iron levels are dropping when you test or plants are losing coloration/stature you can go back. I don't know of a creature that will take it out 100%, but I hear true Siamese algae eaters and Panda Garras will take on different sorts. They may be a good preventive measure in the future once you get everything dialed in. By the way your pogo looks nice! Seachem Excel is pretty effective. I just got into it and dose it everyday to be safe with algae Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 9:37 PM, Paul R said: If you can't do anything with the window I would personally try to reduce iron maybe one dose a week for a couple of weeks and see how that goes. If you notice iron levels are dropping when you test or plants are losing coloration/stature you can go back. I don't know of a creature that will take it out 100%, but I hear true Siamese algae eaters and Panda Garras will take on different sorts. They may be a good preventive measure in the future once you get everything dialed in. By the way your pogo looks nice! Seachem Excel is pretty effective. I just got into it and dose it everyday to be safe with algae Thanks! Fingers crossed I can nip this in the butt before it becomes problematic. Do you spot treat with excel or do you just do a whole dose? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Root Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 (edited) I do a whole dose. If it were me I would only spot treat slow growers/decor/equipment and just trim my pogo since it grows back so fast. I can't feed that stuff enough easy green. Edited June 21, 2022 by Paul R Typo 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Patrick_G Posted June 21, 2022 Share Posted June 21, 2022 The light from a small basement window might not be the problem. I used to avoid sunlight at all costs, but I currently have some algae free tanks near windows so I know it’s not absolutely necessary to keep a tank out of natural light. If you’re currently running your light for 8 hours I think that might be the main culprit. I’d cut back an hour and see if that works. It’ll take a 3-4 weeks so in the meantime you could do a dose of Excel to take care the immediate problem. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Zac Posted June 21, 2022 Author Share Posted June 21, 2022 On 6/20/2022 at 10:25 PM, Patrick_G said: The light from a small basement window might not be the problem. I used to avoid sunlight at all costs, but I currently have some algae free tanks near windows so I know it’s not absolutely necessary to keep a tank out of natural light. If you’re currently running your light for 8 hours I think that might be the main culprit. I’d cut back an hour and see if that works. It’ll take a 3-4 weeks so in the meantime you could do a dose of Excel to take care the immediate problem. The algae isn’t a huge issue at the moment but it’s definitely growing. I’ll have to order some excel. Will it continue to grow during that 3-4 week period or will it slow down, then die? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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