And now, a completely new kind of algae!

[equinom]

Barnacles!!!

The old algae, which was greenish brown was on the gravel, tank sides and lower plant leaves.  It was easy to wipe off.
Got the otto cats and SAE and wow, the stuff is gone.

Either that, or it has mutated.  

Now there are these tiny green dots that are hard, like grains of sand. They are very tiny, and very green.  This stuff is difficult to remove from the sides of the tank, you've got to really scrub.  
The algae eating fish don't appear to be able to eat it.  They go over it, but it doesn't come off.  

So far I haven't seen algae described as "hard".   This stuff does not grow as fast growing as the old algae.  It's just a real pain to get off.

Any suggestions?

 

[ronrca]

Been there, done that. Same stuff in my 90G. Was really bad but getting better. Not much you can do but scrape it off the glass. It comes from the calcium or something in harder water and alkaline ph. Ive lower my ph to 7.0 and it is disappearing slowly. Im happy to say that is it almost gone.  ;D

 

[tabby360]

Thats not algea its seems. When i live in florida i hade it all the time. It lines the top of my tankk and everywhere in my filter. some people say vineger gets it off but i never tried.

 

[ronrca]

You must be thinking of the wrong stuff tabby! It is algae and it grows all over the glass, top, bottom, sides. When you scrape it away, it grows back again. Calcuim deposits are white and maybe thats what your thinking of.  8)

 

[equinom]

If it wasn't as green as it is, I would guess diatoms - because it's hard like sand.

As far as the water conditions you gave - high pH and elevated KH,  that pretty much describes this tank.  

 

[Matt Nace]

It is green spot algae.

It also goes away with more Co2.

 

[dattack]

Green algae isn't all that bad.  Just probably means pretty decent nutrient levels with iron.

 

[equinom]

OK - more CO2.  I put on a 2nd bottle.  
Should the CO2 be disconnected/stopped at night?  The plants aren't photosynthesizing... I know it will cause the pH to drop - but is it a good idea to leave it connected/supplying at night?  
I have been disconnecting my DIY CO2 when the timer shuts off the lights.  One night I forgot and the next morning when I saw the bubbles, I checked the pH... it was 6.4   normally this tank runs about 7.4 - 7.6    That's why I shut it down at night.  

 

[Matt Nace]

For your situation, where PH will fluctuate at night with it, I would set up an airstone on a timer. When the lights go out, the airstone comes on. It will gas out some of the Co2 and keep it more stable.

I did some further testing(thanks Somonas), and mine really didn't change that much.

I was more concerned with the CO2 levels being lethal for the fish, not the PH fluctuating. But they were not, so I leave all three bottles run at night now.

 

[nonamethefish]

[quote author=tabby360 link=board=freshwatergeneral&num=1025281081&start=0#2 date=06/28/02 at 15:19:00]
Thats not algea its seems. When i live in florida i hade it all the time. It lines the top of my tankk and everywhere in my filter. some people say vineger gets it off but i never tried.
[/quote]

Lol!!!! You KNOW what kind of water they give you don't you! *laughingcryingsmiley* *twirlysmiley* boy does it ever SMELL*laughingcryingsmiley*like GAS *laughingcryingsmiley*

 

[colesea]

Sounds like Blue-Green Algae (which isn't really an algae but a diatom) to me. I don't know about the CO2 stuff, but a good razor blade is best, along with some stiff elbow grease<G>
~~Colesea

 

[equinom]

Hooked up a 3rd CO2 bottle, added a very fine airstone to the tubing in the reactor.  Also have added another fine airstone on a timer - about 30 min after the lights go out the pump will startup.
I'll keep you posted!

 

[Matt Nace]

[quote author=colesea link=board=freshwatergeneral&num=1025281081&start=0#10 date=07/01/02 at 10:59:07]
Sounds like Blue-Green Algae (which isn't really an algae but a diatom) to me. I don't know about the CO2 stuff, but a good razor blade is best, along with some stiff elbow grease<G>
~~Colesea
[/quote]

Blue green algae(cyanobacteria) is not a diatom(an algae with silica celled walls), but a bacteria.

If you get this, you wont have to scrape it off. It is slimy, and will spread like a little monster. Poor water conditions such as high nitrItes, nitrAtes, anerobic gravel, and poor current can start it off.

I had to bleach two tanks in my past from poor current on one, and decomposing leaves on another. This stuff is probebly the worst thing I have to deal with. *crazysmiley*