MShepard40 Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Please ignore the olive oil in the background lol, the tank is on our kitchen counter at the moment. I have had this tank for a few months now, and recently got the Hygger full spectrum light, which I think is when this started. I had been having issues setting up the DIY schedule on it, so left it on it's other day/night cycle that includes blue light at night times. I've heard that blue light can cause algae growth to boom, but I did not expect this! Water tests fine, and the Betta I had in it seemed fine as well *I have moved him to his other tank for the time being now*, but I would really like to get this under control. It has taken root mostly on the right side(more light exposure) and has completely covered the Amazon Sword on that side. Is there a way to treat this issue without potentially killing the plants inside? I only have a few mystery snails in it at this time, but was thinking about maybe getting a couple Oto's and some shrimp for it, but I have no idea if it's too late for that. Please help? TIA Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Actually looks like it gets light from the window 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MShepard40 Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 Perhaps a little, but no direct light at all. It's roughly 8' from the window and the denser algae growth is on the opposite side of the tank as the window. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jwcarlson Posted April 15 Share Posted April 15 Nerites will probably do a decent job cleaning it up. Do you have any "always on" lights in your room that might be giving round-the-clock light on that side? It doesn't need to be particularly bright light either. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MShepard40 Posted April 15 Author Share Posted April 15 On 4/15/2024 at 4:27 PM, jwcarlson said: Nerites will probably do a decent job cleaning it up. Do you have any "always on" lights in your room that might be giving round-the-clock light on that side? It doesn't need to be particularly bright light either. I wouldn't think so. There's an outlet near by that has a tiny green led light on it, but I don't think that would do it. 1 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
johnnyxxl Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 There is light on that end from something because the algae is only concentrated on that end of the tank. I have the Hygger light and the blue light hasn't caused any algae growth. My light runs the default daytime setting. It's been going for around 40 days Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 Is it only algae growth on the glass? Or is there algae on the plants as well? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
gardenman Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 For algae on glass, I find the plastic razor blades and holders sold at Amazon work great. For around $4 you can get multiple holders and sixty or more of the disposable blades. They're all plastic so no metal to rust or corrode. They won't scratch your tank unlike metal razor blades. And they do a great job. Cheap, easy, effective, what more could you ask for? And each blade has two edges, so if one wears down, you just rotate it around and you've got a fresh edge. Just do a search for "plastic razor blades" on Amazon and you'll find lots to choose from. For those with multiple tanks, you can get a scraper for each tank so no worries about cross contamination. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tanked Posted April 16 Share Posted April 16 I'll second the window theory. The olive oil photo appears to show a window across the room from the aquarium. The algae doesn't require direct sun, just bright natural light. I have the same issue in one small corner of one of my tanks. That corner gets a few minutes of bright indirect light each morning. 2 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MShepard40 Posted April 16 Author Share Posted April 16 On 4/15/2024 at 8:31 PM, johnnyxxl said: There is light on that end from something because the algae is only concentrated on that end of the tank. I have the Hygger light and the blue light hasn't caused any algae growth. My light runs the default daytime setting. It's been going for around 40 days The Hygger is the only light, the left side of the tank had been shaded by the floaters until right before I took the photos. I would think that any indirect light from the window would cause a more somewhat even growth of algae, or more dense growth on the side facing it. Any other lights would be indirect artificial light, inconsistent and would light the tank evenly across the front. I already know the light for the tank fed the growth, the pattern makes it easy enough to figure that out. I just don't know how to get it back under control lol. On 4/16/2024 at 5:20 AM, Pepere said: Is it only algae growth on the glass? Or is there algae on the plants as well? It is on the plants as well, mostly the Amazon sword on the right, the left, shaded one, has very little by comparison. On 4/16/2024 at 7:40 AM, gardenman said: For algae on glass, I find the plastic razor blades and holders sold at Amazon work great. For around $4 you can get multiple holders and sixty or more of the disposable blades. They're all plastic so no metal to rust or corrode. They won't scratch your tank unlike metal razor blades. And they do a great job. Cheap, easy, effective, what more could you ask for? And each blade has two edges, so if one wears down, you just rotate it around and you've got a fresh edge. Just do a search for "plastic razor blades" on Amazon and you'll find lots to choose from. For those with multiple tanks, you can get a scraper for each tank so no worries about cross contamination. This is a great idea! I will probably pick some up soon. The only scraper I have right now is a normal metal razor and I'm worried it would cut the seal at the corners of the tank. I'm just trying to sort out how to prevent such explosive growth in the future, now. On 4/16/2024 at 10:45 AM, Tanked said: I'll second the window theory. The olive oil photo appears to show a window across the room from the aquarium. The algae doesn't require direct sun, just bright natural light. I have the same issue in one small corner of one of my tanks. That corner gets a few minutes of bright indirect light each morning. I wish I could agree, and you could still be right. Just with the growth being on the opposite side of the tank from the window, the Hygger is the only thing that makes sense. I am probably going to cover all sides but the front once I get it cleaned out, though. Just in case. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pepere Posted April 17 Share Posted April 17 I would ensure light photo period is limited to 8-9 hours total. On some lights that change color and intensity over time this is nigh unto impossible…. That is why on my Finnex planted plus I use a customized color spectrum setting and control the dimming and time period by a nicrew inline timer. I would eliminate the blue “moonlight” settings except for relatively shorter periods you are using it to enjoy the tank when main lighting period is over. But by the same token light settings are not the holy grail of algae control… reading, re reading, studying and implementing information on the 2 hr Aquarist website was a breakthrough on Algae control for me. https://www.2hraquarist.com/pages/algae-free the tank and substrate cleaning, filter servicing, plant trimming, flow, waterchanges, maintaining stable nutrients and hardness, etc are all important too… Plants alter their physiology to optimize for existing conditions. This causes growth to slow as energy is diverted to optimize. In a Co2 injected tank this takes about 10 days. On a non injected tank it can take longer, up to 6 weeks…. If you alter conditions again before plants optimize, you start the clock again… once plants are optimized to stable and good conditions, they tend to grow well and defend themselves well against algae and suck up nutrients. New growth tends to be optimized, old growth covered by Algae is probably not going to recover. It is probable being sacrificed by the plant.. trimming and removing those leaves removes algae that will not seed more algae…stops leaching waste organics that algae likes to feed on, allows better circulation of nutrients and flushing of waste organics, allows better light access to other plants etc,… Youtube presenters make it sound as easy as reduce your lighting and or nutrients. Ie two levers to control algae. Reality is that there is a whole lot more that can help… Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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