staghorn again!!!

[Tener ds]

dam this stuff.its back big time :wb::wb:
its been in the tank for nearly 2 weeks but over the last 3days its been getting worse.:cry:
getting pissed of with it,its making my tank look crap.if i remove all the infected leaves ill have a tank with no plants in it.
will it help if i cut back on feeding my plecs veg every night?and algae wafer once a day for the plecs,
the neons get a small pinch of flake food after water change once a day.
co2 running 1 bubble per 2 secs with lights on only,10% water change every day,filter spounge clean once a week.
6ml ferts and 2ml easy carbo every day in my 75L tank.
lights on for 7hours a day, 2 x 15w T8 bulbs.

need help here guys,wot else can i do???

 

[L273]

only thing i can think of is reduce the ferts and carbo temporarily. :dk:

just to starve the staghorn of nutrients, other than that i don't know, i've never had it....

 

[FF MkII]

Just googled for Staghorn control and basically you have get nitrates at 0 for a few days.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/algae/48884-staghorn-algae-advice.html

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Staghorn is a bit of a funny one because it is a Red Algae (like BBA). It is usually attributed to low flow, fluctuating CO2 levels and mulm build up, although I'm a bit of an agnostic about this. Have a look at "James' Planted Tank" Algal guide <http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/>

I think that algal "outbreaks" are much more common in high tech tanks, this is because the balance between Light - Nutrients - CO2 is more difficult to achieve and un-stable. I think of it liking juggling, this is a juggle where the balls are thrown much higher in the air.

cheers Darrel

 

[Tener ds]

Just googled for Staghorn control and basically you have get nitrates at 0 for a few days.

http://www.aquaticplantcentral.com/forumapc/algae/48884-staghorn-algae-advice.html

Hi, is this done buy doin big water changes?

 

[Tener ds]

right ive been goin through the replys i get when googlin "staghorn problems" etc etc,
and the answers i get are all diffrent.
from:
more co2 more ferts
more light no ferts no co2
more plants more co2 more ferts
big water changes,no fish food,clean filter
etc etc etc
1 site even said a 3 day blackout!!
would that kill the plants?
may be there the diff ways peeps have solved the problem :dk:

im going to try diff ways till its sorted.
don,t like the black out idea,
so ive gone with more plants,more co2, less fish food,filter clean sundays,
manual clean up of the leaves,(just done this,comes off easy with my nails)
what do u guys think off this??

 

[Zebra Pleco]

I had black hair algae, and a 5 day blackout, reduce this by loads, in addition to adding Seachem Excel (double dose). I wrapped my tank in towels and let absolutely no light in at all. But truthfully think it was the Seachem Excel that did the job.

 

[macvsog23]

hi

May i just sugest a total stop on feeding for 2 weeks, then feed only every 3 or 4 days and 5% water change every 2 or 3 days for 6 weeks?

As your tank is a sealed unit ie nothing gets in with out you putting it in to remove food is going to remove food for the algae and this will die out before the fish starve?

 

[Tener ds]

hi

May i just sugest a total stop on feeding for 2 weeks, then feed only every 3 or 4 days and 5% water change every 2 or 3 days for 6 weeks?

As your tank is a sealed unit ie nothing gets in with out you putting it in to remove food is going to remove food for the algae and this will die out before the fish starve?

ok,shall try it.will the fish be ok?
and still add ferts daily?

 

[macvsog23]

I would not add any thing

Let the waste go water changes and try to use RO with HMA or mins added.

I would guess your tanks got a very high nitrate reading?

 

[Tener ds]

I would not add any thing

Let the waste go water changes and try to use RO with HMA or mins added.

I would guess your tanks got a very high nitrate reading?

nitrate is 20,tested sunday.
what do u mean by,"Let the waste go water changes"
is that clear the waste when doing water changes?

 

[macvsog23]

I suspect you have a build up of "proteins" this will feed any plant form so I would do water changes this will reduce the "proteins"

I am suspicious of your nitrate readings could you have a old test kit?

I think you should stop all the plant fertilizers also just to see what happens also as I said before turning lighting on and off for under 2 hours.
I get a growth on my Anubis in my Co2 tank. I just rub it off with my fingers every few weeks.

 

[Tener ds]

I suspect you have a build up of "proteins" this will feed any plant form so I would do water changes this will reduce the "proteins"

I am suspicious of your nitrate readings could you have a old test kit?

I think you should stop all the plant fertilizers also just to see what happens also as I said before turning lighting on and off for under 2 hours.
I get a growth on my Anubis in my Co2 tank. I just rub it off with my fingers every few weeks.

Hi mac, don't think my test kit is that old. I'll retest tomorrow.
Also what did you say about the lights on and of for 2 hours?
Can't find any thing about it in any off your posts here....

 

[FF MkII]

In that link i posted the guy did state that it was pointless using a test kit.

Also states that you could have an ammonia spike to which a test kit wouldnt pick up on.

 

[Tener ds]

In that link i posted the guy did state that it was pointless using a test kit.

Also states that you could have an ammonia spike to which a test kit wouldnt pick up on.

Re read it 2 x, trying to think wot would cause a ammonia spike in the tank.
Called the misses so she could do a headcount..... She had to Put the light on but thinks we are 2 endler guppies short!!I know they are small fish but would they cause a spike??
I'll do the 15% water change,11.25L, every other day for a while and see if that sorts it.

 

[Tener ds]

ok,i,m up (2 hours 2 early)
lights just came on so started to count fish,and we are 1 endler guppy down :cry:
hoping this is the cause of the spike....
just about to do the first 15% water change.
the guy in the link said that "minimum organics is your goal"
now does that mean no easycarbo too?
i,m sure its organic.

 

[Tener ds]

this stuff is strange,some of it has gone red:

removed more with my fingers when the water leavel was low.
theres the tank sofar:

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,
Bob's is good advice. The test kit advice "throw it away" is also good, nitrates are very difficult to measure, even with laboratory standard kit.

The red colour is where the glutaraldehyde (from the "Easycarbo") has poisoned the Stag's-horn Algae, it is the red colour of the phycoerythrin photosynthetic pigment (this is why it is a "red alga") that you can see after the other pigments have been bleached out. Glutaraldehyde is a disinfectant, which is why you shouldn't over-dose it. It was probably found to be a growth enhancer (by adding fixed carbon to the photosynthetic pathway) when it was being investigated as an algaecide.

Personally I'd stop adding the "EasyCarbo", and reduce the fertiliser input. More light, CO2 (or carbon compounds) and fertiliser make your plants grow more quickly, but not necessarily more stably.

I prefer stability to growth, so I like lowish light, no CO2 and a lean nutrient regime.

cheers Darrel

 

[Tener ds]

another strange thing is going on in my tank, i can see small bubbles moving around in the water from the co2 infusser but can also see lots of bubble strings coming from most of the bigger leaves.
if im right is this pearling? and is this ok?

 

[dw1305]

Hi all,

but can also see lots of bubble strings coming from most of the bigger leaves. if im right is this pearling? and is this ok?

You are right this is "pearling". It happens because the water is fully saturated with dissolved oxygen O2 (from the photosynthesis reaction > 6CO2 + 6H2O + photons → 2(CH2O)6 + 6O2).

The water is 100% saturated with O2, so no more oxygen can go into solution, and the excess is out-gassed to the air as the pearl bubbles you can see. It isn't a problem at all, but you only usually get it if you have the combination of a readily available CO2 source and bright light (light in the photosynthetic wave lengths).

cheers Darrel