# How to get rid of algae on fluorite?



## Sakij7 (8 Jan 2015)

Hi everyone,
A while ago I let my planted tank get a little out of control. Now im starting over with my plants, but I still need to get algae off of my fluorite. It is only on the top layer, but its coating individual pieces of the substrate. I'd like to avoid scooping it out and replacing it, but ill do that if necessary. I currently have about 5 stems of egeria densa, 1 cryptocoryne wendtii, and 1 echinodorus paniculatus.

Tank Size: 20 gal
Light: 55 watt 3-6-10 compact fluorescent, needs replacing
Ferts: None yet, but will once algae is taken care of
CO2: None, but will get a DIY system set up once more plants are in


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## Michael W (8 Jan 2015)

Hi,

The lighting in your aquarium is over kill for the size of your tank, you will have the lower the amount of light your tank is receiving. I have a 22 gal with 24 watts and no visible algae (although spores will always be there). Ways in which you can lower the lights include using floating plants and lifting the light high above the tank. It is also advisable to plant the tank heavily and use fertilisers as it is often a misconception that the added fertilisers cause algae. Algae are more adaptable than plants in many ways and that includes taking up nutrients and the lighting levels. This means that even without adding ferts, the algae still has an advantage, but the plants can suffer from nutrient deficiencies causing more algae due to poor plant health.

With the lighting levels you have, I doubt DIY CO2 will be beneficial in the long term as the lights will drive the plants' need for CO2 and nutrients higher than that of a low light tank. DIY CO2 does not provide a constant supply of CO2 and you will find that the temperature of the room can cause fluctuations to the reactions and links right back to algae outbreaks.


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## Sakij7 (8 Jan 2015)

The algae is currently under control, I just need a way to kill the algae that is already on the substrate.


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## john dory (8 Jan 2015)

how did you bring it under control?


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## Michael W (8 Jan 2015)

Can you identify the algae? Here is a good identification guide and methods of removal http://www.theplantedtank.co.uk/algae.htm


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## Sakij7 (8 Jan 2015)

The fish load is lower, i turn the light off for an hour in the middle of the 12 hours its on for, and many water changes. Ill also be upping the plant load once i remove the algae from the substrate. Its kind of a green fuzz coating each piece.


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## drodgers (8 Jan 2015)

I've had beard algae grow on fluorite ,its attracted to the iron from what I've researched.
Anyways ive tried cleaning it off with no luck ,what i did was put a dirt cap over it .
Other option is to scoop it out and boil it


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## tim (8 Jan 2015)

55w on for 12 hours is way too much light IMO, 6-8 hours a day is more than your plants need IMHO and personally the hour off won't help either. Also your plant mass sounds extremely low. You can use a liquid carbon product like excel to spot dose the problem algae, it won't disappear on It's own.


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## Sakij7 (9 Jan 2015)

Ok, ill try removing the covered fluorite, reducing the time the light is on, and adding more plants. Thanks everyone!


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## drodgers (9 Jan 2015)

tim said:


> the hour off won't help either


"The siesta" just another urban legend   I like to see the first post ever put online and the persons data supporting this


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## alto (9 Jan 2015)

Sakij7 said:


> I'd like to avoid scooping it out and replacing it



Use a narrow tube syphon to just suck up the offending bits of Flourite - much easier than scooping ... just don't overflow your bucket 
You can use bleach to remove the algae, just be sure to rinse well & treat with water conditioner before returning to the tank.

Rather than waiting on the CO2, why not set up a DIY yeast system - always use a check valve between yeast bottle & tank! With attention to detail, you can get quite decent & stable (at least insofar as plants are concerned) CO2 production.


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## Sakij7 (9 Jan 2015)

So far I've cut my lighting schedule down to 10 hours, ive ordered dry ferts and a new 55 watt 6500k bulb. I've pretty successfully done a DIY yeast system with two bottles, changing one very week. Ill do that as soon as my bulb and ferts are here. Now i just need some more plants


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## Michael W (9 Jan 2015)

55 watt is honestly too high for a 20 gallon, even in high tech setups I have not see people with that much amount of light, you really have to be spot on with your CO2 and flow or else you are asking for trouble with open arms.


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## Sakij7 (9 Jan 2015)

Michael W said:


> 55 watt is honestly too high for a 20 gallon, even in high tech setups I have not see people with that much amount of light, you really have to be spot on with your CO2 and flow or else you are asking for trouble with open arms.


I've always heard 2-3 watts per gallon?


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## Michael W (9 Jan 2015)

2-3 watts per gallon is really too much. Light can be the equivalent of the accelerator of a car, the higher the light the fast the plants' metabolism will become. This means that you will have to provide enough fuel to ensure your plants can keep up with its metabolism, the fuel will be in the form of CO2 and nutrients. Failing to provide the latter two according to the lighting level you give the plant will result in poor/failing plant growth and algae outbreak. This can be seen through the problem you have stated in this thread. You placed 55 watts of light for a 20 gallon which was not fertilised and had no CO2 injection which left you with an algae outbreak.

This problem is likely to persist in your setup still due to 10 hours of photo period using 55 watts of light. As Tim commented 6-8 hours is enough for plants. DIY CO2 can be a problem with this setup as it is. While people have had success with it, in your setup with that amount of light, you have little room for error especially when it comes down to CO2. The problem with DIY CO2 is that you can't effectively control the amount going into the aquarium. Factors such as temperature, the ratio of ingredients can affect the amount of CO2 going into an aquarium. One of the main problems causing algae is the lack of CO2 or the lack of a good enough flow delivering the CO2. This problem can be amplified with your lighting levels which require you to give a lot of CO2 coupled with a DIY CO2 setup. If your lighting level is not so high, you may still be able to get away with the fluctuating nature of the DIY CO2.

Troi's article on the planted aquarium is really worth a read if you have time http://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/the-soil-substrate-or-dirted-planted-tank-a-how-to-guide.18943/


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## Sakij7 (9 Jan 2015)

Thanks for the link, it has some pretty useful stuff. Ive used this set up before, with ferts and yeast bottles, with little algae growth, and everything was working fine. My issue was that i got off my cleaning schedule, so algae took over. Once i get everything running the way it was it should be fine.


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