# Algae identification



## Gringo (27 Jul 2020)

Hi, 

Would anybody be able to help identity this algae, I can't work out if it's BBA, hair or staghorn.






Tank specifications - 87
Lighting - stock lighting, 10.8w led, due to upgrade soon, 9hrs per day 
CO2 - small amounts of DIY to keep pH level slightly lower and daily excel dosing for 2 weeks
Filtration - the stock filter which is marina 160i and also ef1000+ which has been running together for 3 weeks now
Fertilisation routine - TNC Lite for 1 week now because I spotted potential potassium deficiency, due to high nitrates and phophurus I decided to only use lite version, I have reasonably hard water, KH6 GH14 pH 7.8

Thanks


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## Nick72 (27 Jul 2020)

I suspect that's staghorn algae.

I would stop using DIY CO2 as it inevitably creates fluctuating CO2 levels, which in turn promote algae growth.

Can you post a photo of your whole tank.  It may be easier to see the route issues if we can see the whole picture.


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## Gringo (27 Jul 2020)

Thank @Nick72 I'll turn that off, I placed a photo here https://www.ukaps.org/forum/threads/so-far.61772/#post-608558 a few days ago I would dose higher amounts of excel but I have vallis and only dosing 1ml every day for now to see how it gets on


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## Nick72 (27 Jul 2020)

Hi Gringo,

Straight away I can see you have very low plant mass. 

It is difficult to balance an aquarium with low plant mass and unsurprising that you are starting  to see algae.

I would try to increase your plant mass by 4 to 5 times. 

Slow growing plants like Anubias really don't help in the short term. Grasses are good but you need much more, and stem plants would really help.

I see you have some floating plants.  That's good, they are useful.

I would consider adding some Egeria Densa or similar.   It grows very quickly and helps out compete algae.

You could also consider a clean up crew - shrimp, Nerite Snails or Otocinclus.


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## Gringo (27 Jul 2020)

Thanks again, 

Should I plant the Egeria Densa or leave it floating? If I was to buy 5 bunches should I leave them bunches and weighted in the sand?

I have 1 neurite snail, I have been meaning to get some otocinclus or Siamese algae eaters but not got around to it yet. I'm uncertain about shrimps because of the yellow convicts in there, although they are very shy and never go for the other fish at all so might be worth risking,


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## Nick72 (27 Jul 2020)

OK, forget shrimp with the convict.

Your tank is too small for SAE.

So I would either increase the number of Nerites or try Otocinclus.

Floating or planted doesn't really matter.  I like it planted personally.

Try to double up on your Vals at the same time.

Think about reducing your lights to 7 hours.


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## Gringo (27 Jul 2020)

Thanks, 

I've changed my timer and ordered another load of Vallis and 5 bunches of Egeria Densa

I'll take a trip to my lfs for some otos at the weekend.

Thanks for your help again, once it's all in I'll put up an update, I can't wait for the external filter to establish fully so I can get rid of the internal one, it's becoming more unsightly everyday


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## Gringo (29 Jul 2020)

A quick update, 

Now have planted extra plants and looks a lot better now, I'll keep a close eye on the algae now and see how it goes


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## hypnogogia (29 Jul 2020)

You'll soon find the Vallis will take over your tank anyway.  It can get pretty invasive.


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## Nick72 (29 Jul 2020)

That's a big improvement!

I'll keep following to see how it turns out.


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## jaypeecee (29 Jul 2020)

Hi Folks,


Nick72 said:


> So I would either increase the number of Nerites or try Otocinclus.



I would choose Nerites. I suspect the tank isn't sufficiently matured to ensure that Otocinclus are adequately fed.

JPC


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