# Green hair algae taking over



## Deli Aquatics (6 Feb 2021)

Hey everyone! I am experienced hobbyist who has been in the hobby for about 3 years. Something I’ve been struggling is my high tech setups. I’ve been having a real issue with green hair algae whenever I use injected co2. I have very high levels of co2 and good lighting but my hair algae is exploding like crazy and Idk how to get rid of it. If someone could please give me any suggestions or help it would be greatly appreciated! The strange thing is all of my low tech setups to great and have barely any algae, but my high tech setups for some reason have an explosion of hair algae! I really would like to use co2 even tho I can grow most of my plants without it because i want to see the plants full potential!


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## Ed Wiser (6 Feb 2021)

Green algae is caused be phosphates in you water. This comes from the food feed to the fish and the water from your tap and well as from many aquarium soils used. 
I keep my phosphates low by placing phosphate removing media in my canister filters. 
This keeps the green algae away as well as keeping my glass Lilly pipes clean al the time.


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## Jaseon (6 Feb 2021)

The strange thing is the green hair algae growth can be attributed to low co2 levels. I may be wrong there but its what im reading.

How long have you had the tank up and running, what fish do you have, filtration etc. How do you know the amount of co2 you're injecting?


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## ceg4048 (6 Feb 2021)

Jaceree said:


> The strange thing is the green hair algae growth can be attributed to low co2 levels. I may be wrong there but its what im reading.


Hello, no this is not wrong. Hair algae is caused by poor CO2. Many people attribute the expression "poor CO2" to exclusively mean low gas injection rate, however, there is much, much more to "poor CO2" than the oversimplified injection rate. You will observe in many cases the hobbyist reports that he/she has turned up the injection rate to the point where the fish are under duress, and yet, the plants still show symptoms of poor CO2. The entire CO2 injection technique has to be overhauled, which includes flow/distribution as well as CO2 timing.



Deli Aquatics said:


> I have very high levels of co2 and good lighting but my hair algae is exploding like crazy


Case in point. Might want to start with reducing the lighting levels. The term "good lighting" is also very much misunderstood.



Ed Wiser said:


> Green algae is caused be phosphates in you water.


No, this is incorrect. We add PO4 to the tank and this eliminates some algae types. PO4 is the third most important nutrient for plants.


Ed Wiser said:


> I keep my phosphates low by placing phosphate removing media in my canister filters.


PO4 removing media do not and cannot remove free PO4 from the water column. They work by adsorbing organic waste in the water column. These waste products do contain PO4 within their structure, but the damage being removed is in fact organic waste which has general deleterious effects, such as reducing oxygen levels, however most tap water contains free PO4 which actually feeds the plants. PO4 test kits are worthless and tell us nothing regarding the actual PO4 levels in the water column or in the substrate, which rooted plants also have access to.

The more PO4 you add to the tank the more healthy and amazing your plants will look, and there is a really good reason for that which involves biological energy production in the form known as "ATP".

Cheers,


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## Deli Aquatics (6 Feb 2021)

Deli Aquatics said:


> Hey everyone! I am experienced hobbyist who has been in the hobby for about 3 years. Something I’ve been struggling is my high tech setups. I’ve been having a real issue with green hair algae whenever I use injected co2. I have very high levels of co2 and good lighting but my hair algae is exploding like crazy and Idk how to get rid of it. If someone could please give me any suggestions or help it would be greatly appreciated! The strange thing is all of my low tech setups to great and have barely any algae, but my high tech setups for some reason have an explosion of hair algae! I really would like to use co2 even tho I can grow most of my plants without it because i want to see the plants full potential!





Ed Wiser said:


> Green algae is caused be phosphates in you water. This comes from the food feed to the fish and the water from your tap and well as from many aquarium soils used.
> I keep my phosphates low by placing phosphate removing media in my canister filters.
> This keeps the green algae away as well as keeping my glass Lilly pipes clean al the time.


Hello! Thanks for giving your input. The tank has no fish and therefor no fish food. Really not sure what could be spiking my phosphates. My tap water doesn’t have excessive amount of phosphates either!


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## sparkyweasel (6 Feb 2021)

@ceg4048 is probably right, he knows his CO2 stuff, and the fact that your non-CO2 tanks are fine suggests that some aspect of your CO2 is the cause.
Could you post more details of your set-up? And photos are very helpful too, if possible.
There's a guide you could follow here;
Algae


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## Ed Wiser (6 Feb 2021)

Jaceree said:


> The strange thing is the green hair algae growth can be attributed to low co2 levels. I may be wrong there but its what im reading.
> 
> How long have you had the tank up and running, what fish do you have, filtration etc. How do you know the amount of co2 you're injecting?



I have had my tanks up for 1 year with a group of rainbows. I have been keeping fish for 56 years. I kept saltwater tanks for 35 years and am on the board of directors of the US National society. So I get to know a lot of fish researchers and those with degrees in chemistry that give talks. 
This is quite common knowledge in the saltwater hobby. 
I run test to see how the media is doing and just change it out when it is starting to lose its uptake.


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## Ed Wiser (6 Feb 2021)

Deli Aquatics said:


> Hello! Thanks for giving your input. The tank has no fish and therefor no fish food. Really not sure what could be spiking my phosphates. My tap water doesn’t have excessive amount of phosphates either!



Before the tank had no fish in the tank. I wasn’t concerned with issues. An as I waited to recieve my screen lid for the tank. It took several months. With nothing in the aquarium but plants I started to see hair algae growing on the glass where the output of the Lilly pipes would hit the glass. So I ordered more phosphate removal media. As it had worked great in my smaller tanks. 
This tank is a ADA 120p. So knowing it would be having rainbows in the tank I added the media in the ADA es 1200. I use a REA 50 Elos Co2 reactor.


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## Deli Aquatics (6 Feb 2021)

sparkyweasel said:


> @ceg4048 is probably right, he knows his CO2 stuff, and the fact that your non-CO2 tanks are fine suggests that some aspect of your CO2 is the cause.
> Could you post more details of your set-up? And photos are very helpful too, if possible.
> There's a guide you could follow here;
> Algae


The tank i am currently struggling with is my 2.5 gallon. I have emerged growth of umbrella plants and some repens and Monte Carlo. The tank is about 3 months old. I keep the light on for only 6 hours at a low level. I dose an all in one fert sparingly. No stocking no feeding.


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