• You are viewing the forum as a Guest, please login (you can use your Facebook, Twitter, Google or Microsoft account to login) or register using this link: Log in or Sign Up

What type of algae is this?

K

kschyff

Member
Joined
29 Jun 2020
Messages
132
Location
Dundee, Scotland
Hello All,
I have a shallow 60f tank and although I finally got the MC to cover the tank, I am constantly battling stag horn and this black-type of growth as shown in the picture. It usually rears its head when I trim the MC. The tank is clean and I vacuum the carpet every week and clean the canister every second week. Currently using Clive's EI regime exactly as stated. CO2 is delivered via an inline difficult and the whole tank is engulfed in tiny bubbles. DC is light green. Any ideas?
 

Attachments

  • 20210519_201159.jpg
    20210519_201159.jpg
    647.2 KB · Views: 251
Hi kschyff,
It looks like BGA. If you're dosing EI salts and still getting nutrient related algae then that means your flow/distribution is in question. The staghorn is likely an indication of CO2 shortfall, this also implies poor distribution. We'd need to see photos of flow/distribution technique in order to understand what's going on in the tank. I'm not really sure what a "60f" tank is, to be honest.

Cheers,
 
Thank you @ceg4048. I have attached two pictures of the tanks's outflow. I do regret buying a spin outflow and that blue skimmer is problematic. I should try and get hold of something else to solve the surface scum issues. In short, an iwagumi in these shallow tanks are not advisable. I have upped my bubble rate for now, but the BGA is spreading fast. should I buy a "normal" lily outflow?
 

Attachments

  • 20210522_152437.jpg
    20210522_152437.jpg
    1.5 MB · Views: 159
  • 20210522_152449.jpg
    20210522_152449.jpg
    1.2 MB · Views: 130
kschyff said:
I should try and get hold of something else to solve the surface scum issues.
Click to expand...
Hi,
No you shouldn't. In fact, in my opinion, you should get rid of that skimmer and never use one again. The reason you have surface scum issues is exactly the same reason you are suffering problems now. I suggest you study this thread for greater insight: Surface Film
The solution therefore is already apparent in that your flow and distribution need improvement.
I can also tell that you are using too much light. Reducing the light intensity will help the plants tremendously and will make it easier to solve the problem.
I peered at that first photo and I really could not tell what I was looking at. It seems as if that is some kind of lily pipe and it also looks as if the flow is pointed to the back of the tank? That can't be right. It's not obvious at all where the flow is directed. Perhaps another angle might help.

Cheers,
 
Hi
I removed the skimmer and installed rather large normal lily pipe. Increased the flow of the Fluval 307 to max (about 800 litres per hour) and changed the direction of the pipe to be pointing almost straight along the front of the glass. I made a short video clip to show the flow especially around the back which is probably where the flow issues started (can't upload this here it seems). Also increased the height of the two lights. The lights are probably about 15cm higher than before now. Not sure if its too high now. Will wait to hear from you if the flow is possibly too high now?
 

Attachments

  • 20210523_073728.jpg
    20210523_073728.jpg
    776.4 KB · Views: 134
  • 20210523_073037.jpg
    20210523_073037.jpg
    1.8 MB · Views: 126
  • 20210523_073031.jpg
    20210523_073031.jpg
    962.9 KB · Views: 124
  • 20210523_073043.jpg
    20210523_073043.jpg
    1.6 MB · Views: 144
Hi,
I'm not a lily pipe user and I normally would not send the flow along the long axis of the tank. You'll need to experiment with different positions of the pipe. Instead of mounting it near the front glass, try mounting it at the midpoint of the side glass so that the flow is more even. You can also try mounting it on the opposite pane. Perhaps maximizing the filter flow will do the trick. Certainly reducing the light intensity by raising the fixture helps a LOT.

Cheers,
 
I have maximised the flow and move the lily pipe more towards the center. The surface scum is still an issue though. Its less though, which tells me it has something to do with the light intensity. How do the other aquascapers get these vivid tanks with powerful lights. Is there something special that they do? I am talking about ADA solar RGB lights for example.
 
kschyff said:
I have maximised the flow and move the lily pipe more towards the center. The surface scum is still an issue though. Its less though, which tells me it has something to do with the light intensity. How do the other aquascapers get these vivid tanks with powerful lights. Is there something special that they do? I am talking about ADA solar RGB lights for example.
Click to expand...
Well the ADA lamps are a special case where they do not output very much PAR. There is enough green frequencies to limit the output. Humans are more sensitive to the greens and yellows so the lights appear bright to us but not that bright to plants.
Those using the non-ADA lights do have trouble with algae. There seems to be this legend that these famous aquascapers have no trouble, but they do, just like the rest of us. When the plants that survive the onslaught mature and are able to produce the enzymes that protect them from high light energy the high levels have less detrimental effects. What we see in the photos and videos are the scenes after the battle.

The scum that is present won't just instantly go away. You can float newspaper or terry cloth on the surface and pull it across the surfaces to clear what's there. The plants have to get healthy and when they do they will stop leaching oils, fats and proteins.

Cheers,
 
If I may ask, what type of light do you use? I actually looked up the ADA lights and do notice that their lumens is not as high as some of the others, and they place a lot more emphasis on lux. Probably worth getting one of these if I save a few months.
 
ceg4048 said:
Well the ADA lamps are a special case where they do not output very much PAR. There is enough green frequencies to limit the output. Humans are more sensitive to the greens and yellows so the lights appear bright to us but not that bright to plants.
Click to expand...

That may have applied to the older HQI based ADA Solar lights, but not the newer RGB LED based lights which will generally be well over 150 PAR:

www.ukaps.org

Product Review - ADA | WASMAS | ZETLIGHT | TWINSTAR | CHIHIROS | LED PAR DATA [The power of light]

Some food for thought... [edited for easy reading 14.03.2017] In some discussion's with Nuno we thought would be nice to have some data about LED's. Remember that this data is not 100% scientific, but we tried to keep the same test conditions for all fixtures. In the worst scenario, the...
www.ukaps.org
 
Hi all,
kschyff said:
lumens is not as high as some of the others, and they place a lot more emphasis on lux.
Click to expand...
They are the same unit, they are both <"metric equivalents of the candela ("foot-candle")">. The foot candle is exactly what it says, the amount of light produced by "standard candle" and <"measured 12" away from it">.

Lux values are easy to measure, but <"PAR (Photosynthetically Active Radiation)"> gives a much better <"approximation"> of how much light a lamp actually produces.

Have a look at @oreo57's <"comments">.

cheers Darrel
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top