Help! Green Dust Algae

[Hanuman]

Blackout will be last resort I’ll use cover just to strictly control light incident in the tank and try to dial in Co2 as you suggest.

Would you mind showing us a picture of your tank how it is now?

 

[PaulLB]

Yea I’ll post one tomorrow when lights on. Thx.

 

[erwin123]

both are identical in spec no-filter heavily planted tanks. Both with CO2 and water changed from the same source (tap).

When you say this is a no filter tank, is there at at least at water pump to circulate water, both at the surface and substrate level? (i.e. no pump in the photo but you may have removed it for the photo)

 

[Hanuman]

Blackout will be last resort I’ll use cover just to strictly control light incident in the tank and try to dial in Co2 as you suggest.

You can do both without a blackout. Decrease light intensity first and potentially photoperiod length. That's the first thing to do if you haven't done so and ofc if you are not already in the low end.
Be on top of your maintenance and trim anything that is dying out. Do large WC weekly (60%-80%) for a few weeks to remove free floating spores. I would also trim the tops of the plants, discard the bottom and replant the tops. This is specially important in new setups with plants originating from a different environment. New grown tops have adapted to the tank conditions while the bottoms aren't and will degrade over time releasing carbohydrates in the water, thus promoting more algae.

 

[PaulLB]

When you say this is a no filter tank, is there at at least at water pump to circulate water, both at the surface and substrate level? (i.e. no pump in the photo but you may have removed it for the photo)

Yes there is an Oase 350 surface skimmer.

 

[PaulLB]

Here’s photo with lights on plus close up of algae on Ludwigia Palustris and gravel.

This is a Superfish scaper 45 package so comes with an LED (28w I think) that can’t be dimmed.

I’ve been doing 90% water changes to try to control the algae, sometimes twice a week.

Where the tank is situated at the moment gets quite a lot of natural light especially now as the days are getting longer so I think I’ll have to move it to another room eventually.

 

[Hanuman]

Yes there is an Oase 350 surface skimmer.

I would not rely on that skimmer for flow. It's only 200-300L/h plus it is not pushing water straight forward but from the bottom of the skimmer. You are having dead spots in the tank and that CO2 is basically close to useless considering the low flow. The idea is to keep the bubbles in suspension as long as possible to increase dissolution of CO2 and to have the water moving so that plants can use the CO2. I would bet most of the CO2 is currently going straight up

 

[PaulLB]

I would not rely on that skimmer for flow. It's only 200-300L/h plus it is not pushing water straight forward but from the bottom of the skimmer. You are having dead spots in the tank and that CO2 is basically close to useless considering the low flow. The idea is to keep the bubbles in suspension as long as possible to increase dissolution of CO2 and to have the water moving so that plants can use the CO2. I would bet most of the CO2 is currently going straight up

Good idea I’ll position the skimmer over the CO2 for now.

Any thoughts from latest photos if this is indeed GDA as I suspect ?

 

[Hanuman]

Good idea I’ll position the skimmer over the CO2 for now.

That would still not solve your problem of even distribution of nutrients and CO2 in the water column. I would at least add a small pump so that water cirulates in the tank properly.

Any thoughts from latest photos if this is indeed GDA as I suspect ?

That looks to me like a combination of multiple things as I have said earlier. Focus on how to improve plants growth instead of trying to get rid of algae. This is truly important as it defines how you interact with your tank and makes the difference between success and failure. Fix your flow and CO2 as a starter which IME will greatly improve plant health.
If that is GDA then it can be a sign of low CO2 vs light and it is common in new setups so don't worry. Keep up your maintenance.

 

[PaulLB]

That would still not solve your problem of even distribution of nutrients and CO2 in the water column. I would at least add a small pump so that water cirulates in the tank properly.

That looks to me like a combination of multiple things as I have said earlier. Focus on how to improve plants growth instead of trying to get rid of algae. This is truly important as it defines how you interact with your tank and makes the difference between success and failure. Fix your flow and CO2 as a starter which IME will greatly improve plant health.
If that is GDA then it can be a sign of low CO2 vs light and it is common in new setups so don't worry. Keep up your maintenance.

Taken your advice and focusing on plant health thru balanced lighting, fertiliser, CO2 and water movement. I’ve introduced an external canister filter, reduced my photo period and blocked extraneous light and things seem to be improving, hoping this works.

 

[blairgerman]

If the plants are doing well they will play a huge role in fending away the algae for sure.


What @RickyV said.... Often you have attack algae on multiple levels. Glut is not a longterm solution, but it might aid you in the battle against the algae. Proper light/CO2/ferts/flow and of course time is the key.

Cheers,
Michael

Hi m going ahead with the Gluteraldehye addition for a few days to see if this gives the plants an advantage.

I’m not dosing fert in this tank as I want to keep as much nutrients from water as possible and hope the plants can get the nitrients they need from the Tropica soil and co2 .

I’m loathe to do a blackout as this prejudices the plants too and I feel they can outcompete the algae if given a chance.

Guess we’ll see……

Hi, this is anecdotal but I used glut a few years ago in some tanks and i discontinued ever using glut again - it's not easy to see the negative effects of glut when they are happening because it breaks down the dna structure in a way that you won't observe till it's too late. Glut = bad IMO - just my opinion. Focus on balance and patience, it's a new tank.

 

[Aqua sobriquet]

Maybe you could add some shrimps? They do a great job cleaning up my tank.

 

[PaulLB]

Maybe you could add some shrimps? They do a great job cleaning up my tank.

I had shrimps already about 15 of them but they were overwhelmed with the algae.

However good news! Thanks to the great advice in this thread I now have zero algae and healthy looking plants - even the shrimps seem happier.

So what did I do?
1. Strictly control photo period limited to 6 hours and enforced with a blackout cover (see pic)
2. Added a canister filter with UV to improve flow for CO2 distribution
3. Added fertiliser for the plants

So what was the great advice ? It was to focus on what Plants’ health not on the algae - thanks Hanuman!

 

[MichaelJ]

3. Added fertiliser for the plants

Yeah, thats a pretty novel approach - of course, no one but @Hanuman could have come up with that idea! .... I am just kidding 🙂

Great Job @PaulB ! And thanks for the update. Its always great when folks come here with tank issues and we see how well the suggestions often pans out... we all learn from that!

Cheers,
Michael