How to deal with an algae bloom in a planted tank?

by **MonkeyChunks** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 7:15 am

Hello.My new tank that is almost done cycling has got an algae bloom. It kind of happened over 2 days. Really fast.

It has aqua soil on the bottom witha bunch of plants taht began growing rapidly. There is an air pump pumping air, and a CO2 system. that combined with 130 watts of light.

I put a bunch of anti-algae drops and changed some water. I turned off the light for one day so far.

what else should I do with my parameters in mind? Any advice is helpful.

by **zambize** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 8:42 am

Have you tested the water? What type of algae is it? Is it growing on the plants? On the glass? What size tank is it? Are there fish in the tank? Did you test the CO2 level in the water prior to adding the CO2 unit?

Z

by **MonkeyChunks** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 4:52 pm

it is 30 gallons tank, the there is very little algae on surfaces or on plants. It is in the water, making the water green. There are 5 Serpae Tetra in the tank and a guppy. I did not test the CO2 levels because I knew the plants I would put in would need it.

by **Tmercier834747** » Sun Apr 12, 2009 10:48 pm

your best bet if it still isn't subsiding is to black the tank out (put thick sheets or blankets over the glass) for 3 full days and then follow up with a large water change (about 50%). Usually people only get greenwater when the tank is exposed to direct sunlight but I guess the 130w might also have something to do with it, assuming the tank is relatively small. If you don't want to do the full blackout cut back on fish food, the amount of time your lights are on, and do 10-25% water changes every other day.

by **vwfan79** » Tue Apr 14, 2009 6:47 pm

I don't know much about planted tanks but am slowly learning as that is my next endeavor.....so I don't know if this will work for planted tanks but you might try phosphate remover which should kill the algae, but like i said don't know if this will affect the plants

by **adehaan86** » Thu Apr 16, 2009 12:29 am

MonkeyChunks, welcome to the planted tank world. I have been with this site for a while and algae blooms happen that to almost everyone. I would just put some phosphate helper in there. It will last probably 3 weeks. I would just try to clean it. maybe use some RH. but don't panic we all seem to go through it at one time.

by **MonkeyChunks** » Tue Apr 21, 2009 12:33 am

Ok, now the water is crystal clear. I did 3 things. I kept putting anti-algae chemical in there. That did not seem to help. Then I added some liquid bacteria solution , that seemed to improve the tank right away. Then I added phosphate removing filter media to the filter and then the tank became significantly cleaner.

by **MonkeyChunks** » Wed May 06, 2009 12:45 am

Now my algae bloom has returned and I am nto sure what I have done wrong. I think it might be lower CO2 levels which may have slowed down the plant Nitrate absorbption. Is that possible.

Below are pictures of before and after the algae bloom.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vortexride ... otostream/
AFTER
http://www.flickr.com/photos/vortexrider/3505400149/

Please help me out with any advice that you can give. I am on the brink of purhcasing a 9watt submersible UV Sterilizer.

How to deal with an algae bloom in a planted tank?

8 posts