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Algae on hardscape

A

Ash J

Member
Joined
22 Nov 2021
Messages
79
Location
Nottinghamshire
Hi guys,

I'm struggling to figure out the type of algae that has now completely covered some of my hardscap where the flow is highest in the tank. I initially thought it to be cyanobacteria but this doesn't emit the foul smell, nor am I able to simply syphon it from the rocks. This stuff is dense and grows back extremely fast.
20241005_175141.jpg

This was the tank back in August for context. I've circled in blue the afflicted areas of this algae.
20240812_145801_01.jpg
1. 150 litres
2. Setup for 8 months
3. Oasebiomaster 850 (Sponge/matrix)
4. Chihiros WRGb 2 @ 65% for 6 hours.
5. Jbl volcanic>Ada powersand> Ada amazonia v2
6. Co2 on 3 hours before lights on to ensure drop checker is lime green at lights on.
7. Standard EI dosing (did use APT zero/APT 3 for first 5 months)
8. 40% w/c each week.

Nothing has really changed from when I set this scape up in February other than moving the outlet pipe to the front of tank running horizontally, as opposed to running diagonally across the tank to the front.

Any thoughts guys?

Cheers
Ash
 
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Hi @Ash J - what is your current fert dosing? And has that increased over the last 8 months?
 
G H Nelson

Thread 'Please read the guidelines for Algae help!'

Dear Member

Please give as many details as possible regarding your aquarium set-up, when requiring advice/help!

The above will be posted at the start of each help request.
Why do we ask these questions?
It will stop the member posting multiple times, plus adviser's don't need to scroll through a whole thread to find them.

Copy and Paste the list below...and add your answers to each number on the list!
Please upload photographs/images if possible.

1. Size of tank in litres.
2. Age of the set - up.
3. Filtration + Media/Sponges.
4. Lighting and duration.
5. Substrate.
6. Co2 dosing or...
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Agree with the BBA diagnosis. Large thread on it on these forum. Can be caused due to excess organics, make sure you are on top of your water changes as well as removing dead leaves etc. Can also be due to high flow areas, is your outflow pointing towards the rock? I would remove rock and then soak in either hydrogen peroxide 3% or there’s aquarium made products, Easy Carbo, APT Fix etc. The brush/scrape it off. Unstable CO2 can also be a cause, I’ve also read that low it’s more prone in high tech tanks injecting lower amounts of CO2 - 10pm for example.

These are the main causes that are suggested, there seems to be a lot of debate regarding the causes but that’s my understanding so far, happy to be corrected of course. It’s not a fun algae if it spreads - believe me…I know. I think my cause was a combination of high concentrated flow as well as bark on wood causing excess nutrients. I wish you luck with it.
 
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Morning guys,

Thank you all for the initial input.
I have updated my initial post with more information. I honestly hadn't even considered BBA as I have never encountered it in any of my scapes, but it does make sense, due to high flow on the rocks afflicted in that area. Weirdly none of the plants in that area have any signs of BBA.

I know from the picture it may be hard to get a full sense of depth, but due to depth of the tank the substrate at the back is a good 25cm higher than the front. When I initially setup the tank, I was running an Oasebiomaster 350 horizontally from the back left corner of the tank to ensure all areas got Co2 coverage. However, after a couple of months the growth in the centre of the tank was well behind the front/back and detritus wouldn't clear as well in this area. Therefore I upgraded to an Oase bio 850 and moved the outlet pipe to the front so the flow runs initially diagonally across the front of the tank, then around to rest of tank.
Maybe the 850 was a bit too overkill for a tank of this size ? Especially given a large proportion of the volume of the tank (40% ish) is filled with rock/substrate?

In all honesty I have become very unhappy with how this tank has turned out and now considering a rebuild. However I do not want to run into the same issues so also considering upgrading the tank to a 90cm to give more freedom in scape designs (as opposed to this 60cm and its cube like )

Would a pressure wash of the rocks be enough to climate the BBA before reusing in a new scape or should I also treat beforehand?

Cheers
Ash
 
It won't be enough. It starts on hardscape but will spread to plants. You have to kill it. This is the perfect excuse to do the rescape you're thinking of. I would go with (and have done) peroxide because it rinses away very cleanly, but you could consider bleach (inexpensive) or glutaraldehyde (better for just spot treating in an existing scape). BBA is definitely fine with high flow, but I suspect high levels of waste organics are the main driver.
 
Bba cannot be defeted permanently but can be kept undercontrol with help or excel and 2hr aquarist alge killer (forgotthe name), increase co2 , increase water changes , clean filter and do vacuum of the substrate regularly
 
Thanks for the input guys.

Rescape will be imminent as collecting a new tank next weekend.
I have a bottle of Easycarbo so I'll soak the rocks in that then pressure wash before reusing.
Honestly quite disappointed to have so much BBA in the tank when I'm always very stringent with the maintenance. Fert dosing has also been more on the lean side in order to bring better colours out in the H'ra etc.

On to the next scape!
Cheers
Ash
 
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