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Algae ID? Diatoms?


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My first diatom bloom was 3 weeks ago. I’ve been doing a weekly water change (about 30% - scared to do more because I have neocaridina shrimp) scraping off the glass and scrubbing the rocks with a toothbrush. 

By the end of the week it looks like the photos again BUT after the first week I feel like it’s gotten more of a greenish tinge to it rather than brown? Also the stuff growing on the plant leaves is more green as well. 

I’m not sure if I’m still dealing with a diatom bloom or if there’s something I’m doing wrong regarding lights/nutrients etc. 

Ammonia 0, nitrites 0, nitrates around 10 ppm. Dosing easy green at half dose 1x/week and just started dosing flourish excel. Also dosing flourish advance for potassium - was doing it 2x/wk but considering increasing it in case of potential potassium deficiency?

Any help greatly appreciated. Thanks!

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You have green dust algae or green spot. Pretty common in newly established planted tanks. You got options. Physical removal will be your easiest option. Shrimp will pick it off the rocks too for a bit but not that glass. You will likely have to deal with it for a while until your plants can outcompete the algae for nutrients. Even then you will always have some. I personally like leaving it on the hardscape to soften the edges and I am lazy.

 

Using a smaller micron filter floss will collect it out of the water column as well

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5 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said:

You have green dust algae or green spot. Pretty common in newly established planted tanks. You got options. Physical removal will be your easiest option. Shrimp will pick it off the rocks too for a bit but not that glass. You will likely have to deal with it for a while until your plants can outcompete the algae for nutrients. Even then you will always have some. I personally like leaving it on the hardscape to soften the edges and I am lazy.

 

Using a smaller micron filter floss will collect it out of the water column as well

Hmm okay thanks! Any idea if there’s specific nutrient deficiencies that cause it to outcompete the plants? Or is it just a matter of time because it’s a newish tank?

 

I have noticed my filters have gotten really clogged the last week so I’m betting the stuff I scrubbed off last week is all caught in there. 

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Most photosynthetic algaes are fairly simple light and nitrogen and they are happy. Once the plants mature they are nitrogen sponges and effectively starve the algae to the point where new algae colonies become very easy to manage. You may also notice the green dust algae disappear in favor of slower establishing algaes such as beard algae and hair algae. I personally love the look of these algaes and you will find your shrimp and fish grazing on these.

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7 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said:

Most photosynthetic algaes are fairly simple light and nitrogen and they are happy. Once the plants mature they are nitrogen sponges and effectively starve the algae to the point where new algae colonies become very easy to manage. You may also notice the green dust algae disappear in favor of slower establishing algaes such as beard algae and hair algae. I personally love the look of these algaes and you will find your shrimp and fish grazing on these.

Hmm okay that makes sense. I wonder how long it will take with a low tech tank. I’ve been keeping an eye on the nitrates and they haven’t been high at all. 

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5 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said:

It depends, which is an annoying response, I know. Algaes are harmless to everything except our idea of beauty. If you really want to get rid of it UV filtration will kill the free floating algae (FFA). 

Yeah everyone’s situation is different so I get it. I’ve been wondering about those. I’ll have to do some research on it. 

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9 minutes ago, CharlieTuna said:

Get yourself a Nerite snail. They love green spot algae.

I read that somewhere, but would really rather avoid getting snails. I don't love the idea of having it lay eggs that are hard to remove all over the tank. x: Thanks for the suggestion though!

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Just now, Biotope Biologist said:

Nerites don't breed in freshwater! Why they are a beloved aquascape snail. That and they are gorgeous.

 

They are kinda lazy algae eaters though, so I wouldn't rely on them to do a good job

Oh I know! But I hear that their eggs are near impossible to take off the decor?

 

I also have shrimp, which are kind of working on the algae but there's too much of it for them to tackle. Would probably need an army of algae eaters at this point. 😞

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Relying on animals to do the work is hard. They tend to do whatever they want. 

 

I do wish you luck, Algae problems are often best resolved with elbow grease and dedication. But I also understand if you want to just plug a UV filter in and forget. Although you will have to make sure it is an inline one as certain new scientific articles suggest short wave UV radiation can cause chitin damage that may effect your shrimps health.

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2 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said:

Relying on animals to do the work is hard. They tend to do whatever they want. 

 

I do wish you luck, Algae problems are often best resolved with elbow grease and dedication. But I also understand if you want to just plug a UV filter in and forget. Although you will have to make sure it is an inline one as certain new scientific articles suggest short wave UV radiation can cause chitin damage that may effect your shrimps health.

Yeah, it seems like it. x: 

 

I'm hoping I can figure out what the imbalance is over the long run but I'm definitely getting impatient lol. Is an inline UV sterilizer an option if I don't have a canister filter or powerhead?

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You can buy ones that have their own pumps. Most come with black plastic sleeves to protect your animals from the radiation. The longer the bulb the longer the irradiation time is, thus the more effective. They come in lots of varieties now. HOB, submersible, or literally in line. Although the latter is only for those with pressurized water filters. They are not cheap and I believe most bulbs only have an effective life of 6 months. 

 

Just something to mull over, although I tend not to recommend them as they literally kill all free floating things not just algae. They are mostly used for quarantine tanks for this reason.

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2 minutes ago, Biotope Biologist said:

You can buy ones that have their own pumps. Most come with black plastic sleeves to protect your animals from the radiation. The longer the bulb the longer the irradiation time is, thus the more effective. They come in lots of varieties now. HOB, submersible, or literally in line. Although the latter is only for those with pressurized water filters. They are not cheap and I believe most bulbs only have an effective life of 6 months. 

 

Just something to mull over, although I tend not to recommend them as they literally kill all free floating things not just algae. They are mostly used for quarantine tanks for this reason.

Hm, interesting. Didn't know there were that many types or that they have that short a life!

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