What Algae is This and What adjustments should I Make?

[Bjorn]

Preface:

I’m trying to tune my lighting and fertilizer schedule for less algae, particularly to blunt the growth of this annoying black, short, fuzzy algae that covers all my plant leaves and eventually starves them out.

I’ve been making micro-adjustments to single parameters then comparing algae growth and test results 2 weeks later. However, I’m still not certain which parameter I should focus on. I’m hoping other, more experienced aquarists will have insight and save me time and plants.

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A few things I think are significant:

1. I noticed when I increased my light schedule from 5:00 to 5:15 it had the biggest visually noticeable increase rate of growth of the black algae.

2. In the past, I noticed pinholes in half my plants. Since then I’ve been tracking potassium levels for dosing since I figured, for my tank, it’s the most used micro nutrient in the fertilizer blend.

3. I don’t really notice any other kind of algae in this tank. It’s just this one, very annoying, kind that’s been plaguing me.

———————

My schedule:

My current lighting schedule is 63% intensity for 5 hrs, 15 mins.

I auto-dose 1.3 mL Easy Green per day, pre lights on.

I perform a 40% water change bi-weekly.

My CO2 is ~25ppm from lights on to off.

Every 2 weeks:

- my Nitrate levels start at 15ppm and end at 25ppm.

- my Potassium levels start at 15ppm and end at 25ppm.

——————

The tank is a 37 Gallon. I have 7 Amanos and 2 mystery snails for cleanup. I am mindful of regulating food so they’re hungry. Perhaps more algae consumers is a solution but I’d prefer to remedy the cause above treating the symptom.

Any input on where to look into making adjustments is appreciated.

 

[DiscusLover]

On 11/17/2022 at 2:51 PM, Bjorn said:

Preface:

I’m trying to tune my lighting and fertilizer schedule for less algae, particularly to blunt the growth of this annoying black, short, fuzzy algae that covers all my plant leaves and eventually starves them out.

I’ve been making micro-adjustments to single parameters then comparing algae growth and test results 2 weeks later. However, I’m still not certain which parameter I should focus on. I’m hoping other, more experienced aquarists will have insight and save me time and plants.

————————-

A few things I think are significant:

1. I noticed when I increased my light schedule from 5:00 to 5:15 it had the biggest visually noticeable increase rate of growth of the black algae.

2. In the past, I noticed pinholes in half my plants. Since then I’ve been tracking potassium levels for dosing since I figured, for my tank, it’s the most used micro nutrient in the fertilizer blend.

3. I don’t really notice any other kind of algae in this tank. It’s just this one, very annoying, kind that’s been plaguing me.

———————

My schedule:

My current lighting schedule is 63% intensity for 5 hrs, 15 mins.

I auto-dose 1.3 mL Easy Green per day, pre lights on.

I perform a 40% water change bi-weekly.

My CO2 is ~25ppm from lights on to off.

Every 2 weeks:

- my Nitrate levels start at 15ppm and end at 25ppm.

- my Potassium levels start at 15ppm and end at 25ppm.

——————

The tank is a 37 Gallon. I have 7 Amanos and 2 mystery snails for cleanup. I am mindful of regulating food so they’re hungry. Perhaps more algae consumers is a solution but I’d prefer to remedy the cause above treating the symptom.

Any input on where to look into making adjustments is appreciated.

 

That is black beard algae. BBA is caused by poor water, too much light, overdosing fertilizers, and fluctuating levels of CO2. Some good algae eaters that eat BBA is siamese algae eater, flag fish and some cases otos, nerite and amano shrimp.

[Bjorn]

On 11/17/2022 at 3:23 PM, DiscusLover said:

That is black beard algae. BBA is caused by poor water, too much light, overdosing fertilizers, and fluctuating levels of CO2.

Thank you for your reply. I'll keep these things in mind. Could you elaborate on what is meant by poor water, please?

[nabokovfan87]

That is BBA / Staghorn (potentially both, but I lean towards just BBA).

 

On 11/17/2022 at 2:51 PM, Bjorn said:

My current lighting schedule is 63% intensity for 5 hrs, 15 mins.

Cut the light duration to 4 hours until you see it die off.  I would also start being very lean with dosing, cutting everything back.  Lights at 25% and then ramp up very, very slowly.  Leave the lights low until you see the plants doing fine and the algae not growing.  You can get this type of stuff from an excess of iron, phosphates, potassium, or nitrates.  It also is caused by an imbalance of CO2 or inconsistent CO2.

Check out my journal.  It's a long story, but I've tried a lot of methods to get rid of this stuff.

 

Edited November 18, 2022 by nabokovfan87

[Patrick_G]

Looks like BBA to me too. It’s especially common on slow growing Anubis leaves. 

I’d first try and knock it back with some Easy Carbon or Seachem Excel, they are excellent algicides. I usually do an initial dose according to the label and then a few follow up doses as needed. Long term you’ll want to rely on adjustments to flow and lighting. I’ve also had good results increasing plant mass and just giving the tank time to “season”. 

[Bjorn]

On 11/17/2022 at 4:54 PM, nabokovfan87 said:

Cut the light duration to 4 hours until you see it die off.  I would also start being very lean with dosing, cutting everything back.  Lights at 25% and then ramp up very, very slowly.  Leave the lights low until you see the plants doing fine and the algae not growing.  You can get this type of stuff from an excess of iron, phosphates, potassium, or nitrates.  It also is caused by an imbalance of CO2 or inconsistent CO2.

Check out my journal.  It's a long story, but I've tried a lot of methods to get rid of this stuff.

Maybe you're right and I've been approaching from the wrong angle. Instead of start where I think might be the right schedule and adjusting I should start where it's definitely too little and gradually ramp up.

I'm pretty sure I've skimmed your journal before. Your tank looks great btw!

[Bjorn]

On 11/17/2022 at 5:21 PM, Patrick_G said:

I’d first try and knock it back with some Easy Carbon or Seachem Excel, they are excellent algicides. I usually do an initial dose according to the label and then a few follow up doses as needed. Long term you’ll want to rely on adjustments to flow and lighting. I’ve also had good results increasing plant mass and just giving the tank time to “season”. 

I have Easy Carbon and I agree, it's a help-full way chemically fight off algae but feels like a band-aide solution. Perhaps it's time to dust off the bottle while I try to get things under control.

I've had this tank for 18 months and only have medium to slow growing plants. Are there any faster growing plants you think would pair nicely with Anubias and Moneywort?

[nabokovfan87]

On 11/17/2022 at 6:23 PM, Bjorn said:

Maybe you're right and I've been approaching from the wrong angle. Instead of start where I think might be the right schedule and adjusting I should start where it's definitely too little and gradually ramp up.

I'm pretty sure I've skimmed your journal before. Your tank looks great btw!

Thank you 🙂

It's getting there, but not great.

I went from low demand plants to high demand plants. I went from one dose to multiple.  I went from a normal light to a stronger light tank so that the S. Repens at the surface can get more light.  I went from 10h --> 8h --> 6h ---> 4h lighting windows.  I went from 50% intensity, up to 75% and was doing fine prior to switching the light out.  Then with the new light I went from 60% down to 50% ---> 40% ---> 30% and now I'm down to 25%. 

So far this algae only responds to low light and low dose. 

On 11/17/2022 at 6:30 PM, Bjorn said:

I have Easy Carbon and I agree, it's a help-full way chemically fight off algae but feels like a band-aide solution. Perhaps it's time to dust off the bottle while I try to get things under control.

spot dose treatment will work for this algae. Dosing the water hasn't, but spot dosing will.

[DiscusLover]

On 11/17/2022 at 3:29 PM, Bjorn said:

Thank you for your reply. I'll keep these things in mind. Could you elaborate on what is meant by poor water, please?

poor water quality

[Patrick_G]

On 11/17/2022 at 6:30 PM, Bjorn said:

have Easy Carbon and I agree, it's a help-full way chemically fight off algae but feels like a band-aide solution. Perhaps it's time to dust off the bottle while I try to get things under control.

I've had this tank for 18 months and only have medium to slow growing plants. Are there any faster growing plants you think would pair nicely with Anubias and Moneywort?

I agreed, Easy Carbon is a short term solution, but it’s easier to fight new bba if you first kill what’s in the tank. 
 

Here’s another solution that’s very handy.

https://forum.aquariumcoop.com/topic/24465-reverse-respiration/

 

 

 

On 11/17/2022 at 6:30 PM, Bjorn said:

I've had this tank for 18 months and only have medium to slow growing plants. Are there any faster growing plants you think would pair nicely with Anubias and Moneywort?

Can you post a pic of the entire tank, what dimensions is it, and what light are you using? 

[Mmiller2001]

Your photo period is too short. With CO2 injection, 8 hours is pretty standard. Those plants are struggling and that's most likely the cause of the BBA. See how the healthy new growth is algae free? The plants are pumping all it's limited energy into new growth. 

All these constant changes are are causing instability. Make a change to 1 thing, maybe 2 and stick with it. Watch only the new growth, the old growth will not recover as the plant will reprogram to the new conditions and shed old growth. This is true for slow growing plants also. 

Slow growing plants should be placed in shade from the higher light plants. It can be difficult to grow both when higher light is needed. But it can be done.

Increase water changes to 50% weekly. Stop deep gravel vacuuming and try to get water turnover up to 5x to 10x water volume. 

Nutrients do not cause algae, so make sure you have enough. This includes micros. Don't rely on NO3 as an indicator, know NPK and Fe. Know the ppm you are dosing. This helps alot so you can emulate what others are doing. 

I would discourage the use of Glut, hydrogen peroxide is safer and can be targeted or used as a dip.

How do you measure CO2? What's the GH and KH of the tank? Using tap water? Do you test TDS?

To answer a question above; what is poor water quality? I define this by saying, it's everything in the water that I didn't put there. It is not NO3 levels. NO3 is nothing more than a nutrient. It's soluble and insoluble organics; byproducts from nitrification and waste from metabolism. The only way to remove this stuff is mechanically. 1 example would be...water changes.

I've recently read a forum post that's changed my whole thinking and I encourage you to take a minute and read it. Some top notch planted tank guys here. 

My best advice, don't fight the BBA, get the plants healthy and plant more of them.

I guess links to other forums and information is a no go here. I can PM it too you at your request.

Edited November 18, 2022 by Mmiller2001

[tnnlynch]

Like Bjorn I have been dueling with BBA a bit in my 29g tank.  Easy carbon did nothing for my BBA.  Tried Excel but that didn't seem to be effective on the bba but seemed to really hurt my anubias nana petite. A 3 minute H2O2 dip was great for killing the BBA on the Java Fern but really did a number on the anubias gold coin - basically killing 2 of three plants rhizomes while erasing the BBA.  Actually used all of my water test kits and discovered my phosphates were extremely high. Not sure why as it had not been an issue before but sadly I had stopped testing that parameter. I have not purposefully changed my fertilization schedule but I know I occasionally miss a day.  Increased my weekly water changes to 50% and added Phosguard to drop the phosphates. Tank seems to have less BBA but it's not completely gone. 

My tank could be getting too much light as I have it at 10 hours. I ramp up the intensity slow early and late in the day (6 hours at 75% with 2 hours ramping up and down). I don't use CO2 yet but just filled my new CO2 tank and waiting on a drop checker and some time next week to add it all in.

When you suggest 8 hours of light, do you ramp right to 100% at the beginning of the light period?  Think ambient light matters much outside of the plant light period?

[Mmiller2001]

Enough ambient lighting can be troublesome. If possible, try to shade the tank as much as you can. I ramp up in 30 minutes and ramp down in 30 minutes. My CO2 is on 2 hours prior to lights on and off 1 hour prior to lights off. 

[Comradovich]

On 11/17/2022 at 6:21 PM, Patrick_G said:

Looks like BBA to me too. It’s especially common on slow growing Anubis leaves.

THAT'S WHAT THAT IS!

I've had some of that on my annubias barteri for weeks, and that's the only stinkin' plant in the aquarium with that. I kept wondering if I was killing just these two plants somehow. No wonder my nerite's always over there.