Crazy algae problem! (please help ASAP)

[cgcaver]

I have a planted 55g with 2wpg on the plants and a AC500 doing the dirty work. I have an 5" oscar, 5" pleco, 7" ropefish. I leave the lights on for 8-10 hours a day. I do a weekly water 75%-80% water change, and at that time change the floss, and rinse the sponge/biomax. I have Flourish root-tabs in the sand for my plants, and when I do a weekly water change, I usually treat the water with a little Fe, K, Flourish, and Flourish Excel. My current water parems are:

7.6 PH
0 NH4
0 NO2
20ppm NO3
1.5ppm PO4

This is about 6 days past my last water change (which i planned on doing tomorrow).


So, here's my problem: a mere 2-3 days after I do my water change, my water begins to get pretty cloudy. Its mostly a whitish color if I look at it hard enough, then a day or two later it turns into more of a greenish color if I had to describe it. Towards the 4-5 day after the water change, I start to notice some green splotches on my glass. My pleco does a VERY good job of eating algae usually, so it doesn't ever get really really bad.

Now, here's my question. What the heck kinda algae is this? Why can't I ever get the "good" kinda like beard/carpet algae LOL. I have nice drift wood and porous statues in my water, why cant THEY ever get some good algae growth ?!?! Before you jump down my throat about the high bio-load, let me say this. My plants have always done a very good job of keeping my nitrates and phosphates down. I used to check my water religiously, and this problem really only started about a month ago. I know my nitrates and phosphates are a lil on the higher side, but is that REALLY whats causing these non-stop blooms?! Also, I've heard that adding some aquarium salt can help stop blooms... true? I dont wanna hurt my fish or plants :\ Also, I was wondering if dosing something more would help? But then I was afraid I was dosing too much stuff... I was wondering if potassium was my limiting nutrient on my plants, and if I added more of it, they may be able to "choke" the algae outta the water...?

Can you guys please help? I'll be glad to provide any other info needed. Im so sick of only getting to enjoy clear water for 1-2 days max after a water change. My tank looks like poop!

 

[Balloon Fish]

the green splotches are green spot algae which can't be eaten off by any fish so that means you gotta get it off yourself. If you have an acryclic tank then you can use one of those scrubby thingies that dont scratch up the tank and if u have a glass tank then u can use a razor or whatever can take it off. I dont really know what causes it but i know how to get rid of it =) don't let it accumalate cause thats what i did and after 2 weeks of not scrapping it off its all over my tank but i scrapped it all off last week and its not back yet but i'll be ready =)

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

do you gravel vac when you do water changes?

 

[Kuroshio]

ok, my guess is that the water changes are too frequent and/or too large. Do 10-15% weekly only and 30% monthly. that should be all that is necessary. If you need more, then look at your bio load. The white is a bacteria bloom due to removing all your good bacteria with your water changes. I don't do floss, but most medium needs to be changed only once a month, not weekly, remember that is where your good bacteria live. If you must do them all frequently, then stagger then out. The green water, if indeed it is your water, is relative to the amount of phosphate in your water, a water born algae, it is due to large water changes. To completely avoid this, get bottled water, or do only small changes, if it gets really bad, turn your lights off. a 1-2 day blackout will be sufficient, but may want to wait until someone with plants chimes in on that one, plants need there lights . Good luck....

 

[NoDeltaH2O]

Kuroshio, you beat me to the punch!

Whenever I have done REALLY BIG gravel vac/water changes, I get the bacterial bloom as I have removed too much bacteria from the gravel bed.

 

[cgcaver]

yeh i vacuum my sand with a python

 

[newman187]

From what I understand the "Green Spot" algea is caused by a phosphorus deficency. You should probably test for that, there is something you can put into the water which is cheap and you can get it at any drug store or supermarket, its called Fleet Eniema, its actually a laxitive for children.

I had the same problem, that green spot algea, I dosed some of that fleet eniema to my tank and my tank already looks better. I have not gotten around to scraping the algea off the glass (i have a 2 year old, and a 9 month preg wife), but I can tell a deffinate improvement in the plants (which by the way are going nuts).

The seachem flourish, and excell, and iron are all a good idea, but you should deffinatly consider the phosphorus, and potassium.

Its funny, i use to have a salt water tank and I could not keep up with the maintenence which is kind of ironic because the planted tank takes much more of my time than the salt ever did, but on the plus side, i think the planted tank looks much more natural and beautiful than my salt tank ever did and I had corals, fish, live rock (the whole 9 yards).

 

[Jadenblack]

When I vacuum my sand I don't go too deep, I just sweep the top layer not even 1/2 inch.

So far I haven't had any problems.

 

[cgcaver]

Its definitely not a phosphorous deficiency. My phosphates are a 1.5ppm, which is a little high (as stated above).

Any other ideas?

 

[Kuroshio]

yeah, the algae bloom is from the phosphates and light most probably. A black out will cure it, but here are a few sites I found, in case you need more than my two cents also useful in getting rid of it are micron cartridges or diatom filters as the algal are unicellular.

http://www.co.cayuga.ny.us/wqma/watershedwatch/parameters/phosphates.htm

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/algae-randall.html

the other algae, or bright green spots are a crustacean as I understand it (saw it in a thread here) and need to be mechanically removed. they come off pretty easy.
good luck

 

[Kuroshio]

If you don't mind my saying so, it apprears as though you are trying to compensate for the large bio-load by increasing the manual tank maintenance. Not that this is a bad idea, but you are making more work for yourself. The mechanisms that do most of the cleaning in your tank are the bacteria, and you are inadvertently removing too much of this with your cleanliness. If you want to compensate for the load, then maintain the bacteria instead of destroying it. They will do your dirty work. Give them places to live (medium, bio-max, sponges, rocks, gravel) and let them thrive instead of removing them. This really should take care of it. I have a 55 overstocked, and my readings are always 0. I over filter and have an extra power head with a sponge. My “maids” live in these sponges/medium. Your plants will also use the waste. (this of course would not apply to those particular fish like discus)

 

[Lotus]

How heavily planted is the tank, and what kinds of plants? Sometimes green water can be solved by adding some more fast-growing stem plants.

You might want to test your tapwater for phosphates, and see what those are. If they are at zero, then maybe check the phosphate content of your foods. Your nitrate/phosphate ratio is OK, but high on both. If you are past water change day, it could be that most of the time your ratio is out of whack (it should be around 10:1).