# Green spot algae I’m loosing the battle



## Martymartynski (1 Jul 2022)

I have been battling gsa for a year and I cannot get rid of it. The only thing that helped is to switch off my lights or keep them really low like 30% (chihiros wrgb slim). When I did this though my eleocharis really suffered and plants are not growing well anymore. I bought countless of tests and the API one was showing me 20ppm phosphates in my taper water. I tried to reduce phosphates with phosphate remover and by using RO. I literally restarted the water in the tank and started dosing PO4 again and the gsa started spreading. I received another test today and shows 3ppm of phosphates in my tank, and zero in my tap water. My tap water has almost zero nitrates so I dose EI. Tank has around 20ppm of nitrates but stays like this, doesn’t seem that plants are using it. My light is raised and only 50% intensity on all spectrums. CO2 is constantly yellow, I have been increasing it every day, probably 5bps for 23g tank. Lights on from 1pm till 9pm with one hour sunrise and 1h sunset.  I run co2 from 8am till 7pm to get it really high when the lights come on. I’m pretty sure it’s 1 ph difference but I don’t have very  accurate strips. I have minimal bba. 
I am at loss, I don’t know what to do anymore. It seems like the gsa doesn’t spread when I don’t dose phosphates and does when I do. I dosed phosphates yesterday and today I saw hair algae too. I also use Equilibrium as a GH booster. I clean the tank really well, after last clean up, all parameters were almost zero. I hoover the substrate to remove detritus and gunk. I know that it’s been proven the gsa goes away with increased phosphates but not in my case. 

Tank: 23 gallon rimless tank
Light: Chihiros wrgb slim raised high and at 50%
Filter: oase biomaster thermo 350, pimped to increase the flow
Media: one 30ppi sponge, rest seachem matrix
Fish: 4 cherry barbs, 4 rummy nose and one betta and also community of cherry shrimp and 3 amanos

Parameters:
N02 - 0
No3 -20ppm
Phosphates- 3ppm
Ammonia- 0
PH - 6 or 7

The gsa is mainly on the wood and attacks slow growing plants attached to it (java fern). 

Has anyone got any idea on what else to do because I am out of options. I dosed phosphates with syringe as per Tom Barrs suggestion on another post, directly onto the algae and I got more. 

Please can you also help me adjust the EI. 

Thank you. Martyna


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## alnitak (1 Jul 2022)

Hello ! Welcome ! 

Just having a look on your tank, and my first question is: is there any reason to keep this (very nice and healthy ) tank under EI fertilization scheme ?  It seems that most of the plants you are keeping are not highly demanding plants, so maybe you could try to "slow down" the fertilization ?


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## Martymartynski (1 Jul 2022)

Thank you for your reply, yes I was thinking about this today. I will stop dosing phosphates but I think I still have to dose some kind of nitrates as my tap water is zero? Not sure what amount though.


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## Andy Pierce (1 Jul 2022)

@Martymartynski welcome to UKAPS!
I stopped using 'liquid carbon' and changed my EI dosing strategy 8 months ago (revised recipe:  Estimative index - Fireplace aquarium) and I haven't had any GSA since that change.  The approach was to increase phosphate (inspired by Phosphate in tapwater) (initial report of 4 months success:  phosphate with EI - higher than 3 ppm?).  I use tap water and I don't do any testing of either tap or tank water.  The hypothesis is with alternating day dosing of macro/micro ferts that the phosphate precipitates out free iron which algae requires, but not chelated iron which non-algae plants can use.
If you give it a try, can you report back whether it works for you?


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## Martymartynski (10 Jul 2022)

Hello, I am dosing as per your link but gsa is getting much worse on the wood.


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## Andy Pierce (10 Jul 2022)

Thanks for the update. How is the glass doing?


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## Martymartynski (10 Jul 2022)

The glass is fine because I keep the lights at 50%. The gsa spreads on the wood only and now there’s also bba growing on it plus some staghorn. So I’m at loss. Plants are ok ish, gsa is present only on the slow growing ones. Not sure what else to do


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## DaveyC (17 Jul 2022)

I've actually watched my bladder snails rip tracks through it, I'd give them a go. 
I got mine from Ebay, martbrooksban-0.


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## Andy Pierce (17 Jul 2022)

@Martymartynski  If the glass is clear, I would just delcare victory.  It's a natural look to have hardscape surfaces with a variety of phyto-based colourations.  What you want to avoid is having material on the glass blocking your view, or long stringy bits looking all manky, or plant leaf surfaces harmed by getting covered up.  Can you post a recent picture?  Here's a shot of the Fireplace Aquarium.  Glass and plants are clear (don't look at the Alternanthera - that's new and still adapting).  The hardscape has some significant tufts of black beard algae, and there is a greenish cast to some of the bottom pieces.  I live and let live with that.


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## jaypeecee (17 Jul 2022)

Hi @Martymartynski 

Firstly, I have never had much of a problem with GSA - but I am very interested in algae and I enjoy a challenge! Referring to each of your points in turn...




Martymartynski said:


> Filter: oase biomaster thermo 350, pimped to increase the flow





Martymartynski said:


> Fish: 4 cherry barbs, 4 rummy nose and one betta and also community of cherry shrimp and 3 amanos


 
In your comments above, it seems that there should be plenty of flow in your tank but I note that you have a Betta , which are not great lovers of flow. This is just an observation.



Martymartynski said:


> CO2 is constantly yellow, I have been increasing it every day, probably 5bps for 23g tank.



You say that your CO2 drop checker is constantly yellow (throughout the photoperiod?). May I ask - why have you chosen to do this?



Martymartynski said:


> I also use Equilibrium as a GH booster. I clean the tank really well, after last clean up, all parameters were almost zero.



 You use Equilibrium to increase GH. So, what is your resulting GH figure?



Martymartynski said:


> I clean the tank really well, after last clean up, all parameters were almost zero.



Which parameters were almost zero?

JPC


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## jaypeecee (9 Aug 2022)

Hi @Martymartynski 

Any chance of an update, please?

JPC


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