***???

[Dakota]

Grrr... my fish are doing great. plants are growing.. CO2 is working perfectly.. but there is algae starting to cover all my plants!!!! That's starting to piss me off! WHY GOD!! WHY THE ALGAE ON THE PLANTS!!! /end rant....

I'll post pics. . .

[Haeun]

OD excel.

[Dakota]

OD excel.

what the heck does that mean?

[acbaldwin]

Seachem excel - CO2 replacement and a pretty kickass algae killer.

Check out here - Im too lazy to search around, and I don't remember what nutrient deficiency causes hair algae...

[acbaldwin]

Oh, and read up on "EI" - Estimative Index, if you haven't already. It's a method of fertilization that has incredible results and is way freakin easy.

[Dakota]

Thanks so much guys..... so fertilizer then won't encourage algae? Also, is there a risk for the algae to choke out the plants? I can be vigilant as long as I don't risk killing off everything in the tank.... then I'll be pissed and shut everything down.... :-\

[sandiegan]

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/

Some good info here and/or you can ask questions of a larger group of knowledgable ppl.

[acbaldwin]

Thanks so much guys..... so fertilizer then won't encourage algae? Also, is there a risk for the algae to choke out the plants? I can be vigilant as long as I don't risk killing off everything in the tank.... then I'll be pissed and shut everything down.... :-\

Basically the idea behind EI is that you never limit plant growth.

Algae and plants are always competing for nutrients. Specifically, Nitrate (N), Phosphate (P), and Potassium (K). Plants need all three. Many algaes need only a few. For example, if you have a P deficiency, green spot alge will appear, since green spot algae doesn't need a lot of P. The plants do, so they slow down in growth and allow the algae to take an edge.

With EI, you always dose a ton of ferts, more than you would use, to be sure that the plants are able to beat out the algae in competion. Usually there is a strict dosing schedule for dry ferts (which are uber cheap), and a massive 30-60& water change weekly to kind of "reset" the system, to avoid excess buildup of nutrients.

It also helps to have True Siamese Algae Eaters, otocinclus, nerite snails, etc.

[Dakota]

wow.. lots of info.. I'll have to finish the link later.. but I DO have a couple ottos right now... I have a 50 gal, so how many shouldi have.. 6? 8? anyway.. thanks again! now I gotta figure out where to get the ferts around here :-D

[acbaldwin]

Talk to Jake (unix858). He might have the ferts you need. If not, check out Greg Watson's stuff.
I was never a big fan of ottos, although plenty of people swear by them. They are more of a social fish, so 6-8 would be great. Consider feeding algae tabs or something else to supplement their diet. SAEs are more my kind of fishie. They also eat black beard algae, which is a *****!

[EncoreDon]

IN the meantime try using one of those small filter brushes, twirl it around to gather up the hair algae. Any algae killer always works better with a minimu amount of algae to kill. Another possibility, try cutting the co2 back to around 12 hours a day max.and reduce the light either watt wise or the number of hours you have the lights on. Also follow the advice of the other guys as to nutrients and algae killers until you get things stabilized.

[Dakota]

Thanks so much for the support once again. I swear, these boards keep me sane. I know new tank have algae phases... but that doesn't mean I have to like it! I'll cut back my lighting a bit.. and throw some screens in there to cut down intensity (until I fill up the tank w/ plants)... Thanks again guys.

[acbaldwin]

Oh yeah... New tank, fill it up with fast growing plants right off the bat. keep the algae from settling in. The plant above (wisteria aka h. difformis) is a GREAT starter plant. Super fast growing, hardy, cool looking, etc. And CHEAP!

[nahtanoj]

i have the same stuff in my planted beta tank, i just accepted it, good info guys.

[Dakota]

Oh yeah... New tank, fill it up with fast growing plants right off the bat. keep the algae from settling in. The plant above (wisteria aka h. difformis) is a GREAT starter plant. Super fast growing, hardy, cool looking, etc. And CHEAP!

yeah, I was told it was good to start off with... It has sprouteda lot of new growth.. I just dont' want the algae to choke it off. I think I'm gonna go drop $40-$50 on plants and some driftwood and fill my tank up with green!! I just need to find some of that awesome looking clover groundcover (or the grassy kind) they don't have it near here.