Green Hair Algae

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Jenny
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Green Hair Algae

Post by Jenny »

Over the past two days my zebra tank is completely covered in green hair algae. The tank has an external Eheim filter and the internal juwel for the 70 litre tank.

Substrate is clear (except for algae) piece of bogwood with java fern attached - slate cave.

Regular water changes - water paramaters Ammonia 0ppm Nitrite 0ppm Nitrate 30ppm PH 7.8

Two zebras and 2 very small corys - lots of agitation of the water from the spray bar and separate aerator.

Can anybody give me any ideas as to what is causing it and what to do with it - is it dangerous for the zebras?

Thanks for your help.
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Post by McEve »

hair algae or brush algae? The two are sometimes confused - not the algae, just the name, hence the question just to be sure we're talking about the right algae
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Post by Jenny »

Hi, McEve,

It is not slimy just short hairy green, quite thick algae attached to absolutely everything, filter, glass, substrate etc. There appear to be oxygen bubbles attached to it on the glass.
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Post by McEve »

It's important to identify the type of algae before knowing how to get rid of it see if you can tel lwhich one it is here:
http://www.floridadriftwood.com/algae_i ... ation.html ?

Generally speaking, too much light, to little light, too much phosfates or iron, infrequent water changes (depends on how heavy a bilogical load the tank has) are all some reasons for algae appearing.

Personally I'm on a 6 week project to get rid of brush algae, now there's a pest for ya! :roll: Most other algae can be beat with a blackout of uptil a week, mechanical removing and lots of water changes, in combination, but not this one...
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Post by Shell231 »

Is algea a common prob in zeb tank then?
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Post by Jenny »

A few photos of my problem - it will clean off quite easily although I would like to know the cause, if possible.

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Post by McEve »

I agree it looks like hair algae.

I would remove as much of it as possibly mechanically, (use a bottle cleanng brush and twirl the algae onto it) then leave the lights off in the tank for a week. Cover it with a blanket or something as to not allow any lights in also. Is there a window close by the tank?

To avoid them in the future, make sure your fosphate and nitrate levels are as low as possible, and if you have light tubes, then change them. After a year they get worn out, and can start giving out light in a different spectrum than they did when new.

I think that's about what I have, I'm sure somebody else can give further advice?

Part from ggetting an ancistrus or oto in there, it wouldn't take them long to clean the tank of that type of algae :)
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Post by Jenny »

Hi, McEve,

Thanks for the advice, I am just about to do a water change and will use the bottle cleaner as advised.

The tank is only 5 months old so the lights should be OK, the funny thing is that I don't put the lights on this tank very often - and although it sees daylight it is in a shaded corner.

I've just checked the nitrates and they are 10ppm, although I have never tested for Phosphates so I shall have to get a kit.

It happened just after I had cleaned the external filter - I don't know whether that is anything to do with it. Can you have too much filtration/oxygen?? I feed the zebras bloodworm, tetra prima and flake food, at different times.
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Post by McEve »

Some algae types can feed off excess CO2, but I haven't heard of too much filtration or O2 are food for algae... But there is a balance that needs to be achieved, too much or too little of any one factor and you might soon have an algaeproblem.

When that's said, not all algae is a bad thing, the green algae that can cover a rock in a thin bright green layer is totally acceptable, and even eyecandy in my opinion, probably also good for the organic balance in the tank.

But hair, brush and slime algae (which is not really an algae..) are amongst those that are not very desirable... :(

Shell - sorry about not including an answer to you. Any tank can be affected with one kind of algae or another. It all depends on how good you are at waterchanges, plants kept, the maturity of the tank, lights so forth. And it can make a big difference if you keep an algea eater or two, but that's not an option in a species tank for a Zebra, or it wouldn't be a species tank :wink:

Let us know how you get on seahorse. I have managed to get my brush algae to stagnate, so I hope I'm on the right track. Touch wood, no algae probs in either Zebra tanks though! I'm twisting my brain trying to figure out the difference between the affected ones and those that aren't :roll:
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Post by Jenny »

My other two tanks don't have a problem, I just clean the glass every week when I do my water changes and there is not a lot to do.

I have just done the water change in the zebra tank and only cleaned half of the algae because the water was deteriorating too much. Will clean the other half later on this evening when it has filtered.

I have always found the smaller the tank the more the problem, I don't know why - I'll have to see if the algae returns as bad as it was this time or if it gradually goes away.
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Post by McEve »

Funny thing that, thatis usually true, the smaller tank the bigger problem. But in my house is just the other way around, at least right now :?

My 6 smaller than 120L have no algae trouble at all, they are all very stable and healthy - it's the two 250L's that's causing me trouble :roll:

So are you saying that the algae dissolved in the water when you tried removing it?
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Post by Des »

Seahorse,

Just in case youre interested, Esha do a "algae killer" that is both fish and plant friendly. I used it once in my planted community and it was very effective. It consists of 2 different bottles that have to be used on different days.The treatment I believe lasts a week.
I have often found that a sudden outbreak of Algae is due to an increase in Phosphates. To resolve this you have 2 courses of action:
1) Remove the phosphates with a phosphate remover. There are various ones available. ( or water changes with low/no phosphates)
2)Add other macro and micro fertiliser elements ( as in a good aquatic plant food eg Waterlife etc that has not got any phosphates) AND fast growing plants so that they can remove the "extra" phosphates.

Regards,
Des.
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Post by Jenny »

McEve,
Yes, it wouldn't come off with the 'pipe brush' so I had to use the 'pad' and then it made the water green - most of it just seemed to dissolve.

Des.

Have you used Esha in a zebra tank, I am always worried about using chemicals in the zebra tank. What causes an increase in Phosphates? I have RO water available but I would prefer to use tap water, long term, although I suppose I could mix it with tap and it would also bring my PH and hardness of the water down.

If I added 50/50 RO/Tap at the next water change would this be OK and not cause a PH crash.
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Post by Des »

Hi Seahorse,

I have searched but cannot find my box of the ESHA treatment so cannot give you the exact name. I am not certain, but I think the treatment is "natural". There may be some info on the net. I also believe that this treatment was formulated for a planted tank so that with the addition of the drops, in the second stage of the treatment, the plants can use up all the extra nutrients causing the algal bloom. If NO plants, then maybe another solution would be advisable.

I have not used this treatment in my zebra tanks as have never had an algae problem in them, however have used Esha 2000 and ESHA Exit with zebras (including young ones).

A high phosphate level normally is due to 2 major reasons :
1) High level in the tap water
2) Plant food added which has phosphates.

New tanks are more prone as they do not have enough plants to remove the phosphates, if due to reason 1.
I cannot remember whether your water is soft, if so, I would NOT add RO as the PH might crash, however this might be corrected with the addition of RO right and some extra ph/kh plus.

There is also another product called "Clearwater" which I have successsfully used before which are a type of "soft clay type granules" placed in the filter, which removes nitrite, nitrate and phosphate.
A 1 litre box should be sufficient for your tank

Regards,
Des.
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Post by NeoCult »

Just a thought m8 but see your internal jewel filter, it was the cause of death for one of my adult L134's! jammed itself right under it, so needless to say it had to come out and did via help from my samurai sword lol, was the only thing long enough to cut it out heh anyways ive replaced it with a fluvel 4 which is way more efficiant and and external eheim
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