Black Alge?

I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my plants
and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4 watts/gallon, pH
6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and less then 20ppm
Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish supplements every few days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank. It's
almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the lights on for
no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on how to get rid of
it would be appreciated. Thanks!


Jim C.

On Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:20:43 GMT, "Jim Conklin"
wrote:

I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my plants
and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4 watts/gallon, pH
6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and less then 20ppm
Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish supplements every few days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank. It's
almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the lights on for
no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on how to get rid of
it would be appreciated. Thanks!


Jim C.

Any chance the tank is getting sunlight? I have mild black algae on 2
ten gallon tanks that get indirect sunlight. Mostly it gets on the
sides of the tanks in my case, a little on an anubia.

I don't use any chemicals in my tanks. I rely on the fish. I feed
the fish and the fish feed the plants.

Do all your plants have the black stuff, or is it worse for some?

Are your plants rated for the amount of light you provide? I have no
plants that are not rated "low light" because my average lighting is
less than 1.5w/g.

dick

"Jim Conklin" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my plants
and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4 watts/gallon,
pH 6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and less then 20ppm
Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish supplements every few days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank. It's
almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the lights on for
no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on how to get rid
of it would be appreciated. Thanks!

In addition to what Dick said.

Common treatments for BBA (Black Brush Algae) are blackout, trimming
infected leaves, scrubbing followed by a water change, increased water flow
and critters.

I don't remember the suggested blackout (absolutely no light) period, but I
believe it's about a week. Some people have claimed this did not work for
them.

Removal is one of the better options, remove infected leaves, wipe sides
with a paper towel, vacuum gravel and do a large water change after
scrubbing. You should be doing large water changes weekly in any event.
Really seems to help keep the Algae in check.

Dipping infected plants in Hydrogen Peroxide or 20:1 mix of water and
bleach. I found Hydrogen Peroxide useless and went for the bleach mixture.

I also added BBA eating critters SAES seem to be the best. But I'm not sure
they would like your low PH.


What's your water flow like? Do you know where your Phosphate/Iron levels
are? It's possible one of these is too low and limiting your plant growth,
which allows the Algae to thrive.

"Dick" wrote in message
...
On Sun, 25 Jun 2006 15:20:43 GMT, "Jim Conklin"
wrote:

I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my plants
and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4 watts/gallon,
pH
6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and less then 20ppm
Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish supplements every few days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank. It's
almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the lights on for
no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on how to get rid
of
it would be appreciated. Thanks!


Jim C.

Any chance the tank is getting sunlight? I have mild black algae on 2
ten gallon tanks that get indirect sunlight. Mostly it gets on the
sides of the tanks in my case, a little on an anubia.

I don't use any chemicals in my tanks. I rely on the fish. I feed
the fish and the fish feed the plants.

Do all your plants have the black stuff, or is it worse for some?

Are your plants rated for the amount of light you provide? I have no
plants that are not rated "low light" because my average lighting is
less than 1.5w/g.

dick

No, no sunlight at all. However I just stumbled on this site and it ID's it
as a kind of bacteria. ( Slime algae)

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

I'll give a try to the chemical they mention.

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"Jim Conklin" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my plants
and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4 watts/gallon,
pH 6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and less then 20ppm
Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish supplements every few
days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank. It's
almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the lights on
for no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on how to get
rid of it would be appreciated. Thanks!

In addition to what Dick said.

Common treatments for BBA (Black Brush Algae) are blackout, trimming
infected leaves, scrubbing followed by a water change, increased water
flow and critters.

I don't remember the suggested blackout (absolutely no light) period, but
I believe it's about a week. Some people have claimed this did not work
for them.

Removal is one of the better options, remove infected leaves, wipe sides
with a paper towel, vacuum gravel and do a large water change after
scrubbing. You should be doing large water changes weekly in any event.
Really seems to help keep the Algae in check.

Dipping infected plants in Hydrogen Peroxide or 20:1 mix of water and
bleach. I found Hydrogen Peroxide useless and went for the bleach mixture.

I also added BBA eating critters SAES seem to be the best. But I'm not
sure they would like your low PH.


What's your water flow like? Do you know where your Phosphate/Iron levels
are? It's possible one of these is too low and limiting your plant growth,
which allows the Algae to thrive.



I have pretty good water flow: a Filstar canister filter working together
with a Marineland 350. Phosphate is very high and always has been so. This
stuff started appearing about a month ago. I've been adding a capful of
Iron supplement weekly with 50% water changes, perhaps I should add more?
I thought I was keeping the tank clean as I have crystal clear water but
perhaps I'm not. I'll try a massive cleaning: 75% water change together
w/ gravel vacuum and trimming off the infected leaves and wiping down the
sides. Does SAES stand for Siamese Algae Eaters? Thanks for the help.

JC

"Jim Conklin" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"Jim Conklin" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my
plants and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4
watts/gallon, pH 6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and
less then 20ppm Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish
supplements every few days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank.
It's almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the lights
on for no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on how to
get rid of it would be appreciated. Thanks!

In addition to what Dick said.

Common treatments for BBA (Black Brush Algae) are blackout, trimming
infected leaves, scrubbing followed by a water change, increased water
flow and critters.

I don't remember the suggested blackout (absolutely no light) period, but
I believe it's about a week. Some people have claimed this did not work
for them.

Removal is one of the better options, remove infected leaves, wipe sides
with a paper towel, vacuum gravel and do a large water change after
scrubbing. You should be doing large water changes weekly in any event.
Really seems to help keep the Algae in check.

Dipping infected plants in Hydrogen Peroxide or 20:1 mix of water and
bleach. I found Hydrogen Peroxide useless and went for the bleach
mixture.

I also added BBA eating critters SAES seem to be the best. But I'm not
sure they would like your low PH.


What's your water flow like? Do you know where your Phosphate/Iron levels
are? It's possible one of these is too low and limiting your plant
growth, which allows the Algae to thrive.



I have pretty good water flow: a Filstar canister filter working together
with a Marineland 350. Phosphate is very high and always has been so.
This stuff started appearing about a month ago. I've been adding a capful
of Iron supplement weekly with 50% water changes, perhaps I should add
more? I thought I was keeping the tank clean as I have crystal clear water
but perhaps I'm not. I'll try a massive cleaning: 75% water change
together w/ gravel vacuum and trimming off the infected leaves and wiping
down the sides. Does SAES stand for Siamese Algae Eaters? Thanks for the
help.

JC

Pretty much everything I told you about the BBA applies to BGA (Blue Green
Algae), especially the water changes, water flow and gravel vaccing. I'd be
careful about changing more than 50% water, as it may have negative affects
on your fish. I'm not familiar with Discuss.

If you go the Antibiotic root, it may only be a temporary fix, as you
haven't cured the cause and the BGA will likely come back. Cleanup is
probably your best bet.

I had BGA before I got BBA and it went away with water changes, better
fertilization, CO2 (I have more light) and better water flow.

One more thing to try is Flourish Excel (CO2 in a bottle) at a slightly
higher dose than recommended. Some people swear by this stuff.

I use PMDD for my Iron, so I really can't equate your measures. Since you're
doing the weekly water changes anyway, you may want to consider then EI
(Estimative Index) for fertilizing. Although it's geared more towards high
light tanks. The big thing is to make your plants grow well, so they out
compete the Algae for nutrients. What's causing your high Phosphates BTW, is
it in the water or the food you are feeding?

Yes, SAE = Siamese Algae Eater.

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"Jim Conklin" wrote in message
ink.net...

"Bill Stock" wrote in message
...

"Jim Conklin" wrote in message
nk.net...
I'm having a problem with what I would call 'black alge' on my
plants and driftwood. I have a 55 gallon discus planted tank, 2.4
watts/gallon, pH 6.2, temp 84-85F, GH 75ppm, KH 120ppm, 0 Nitrite and
less then 20ppm Nitrate. I feed the plants the usual Flourish
supplements every few days.

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of the tank.
It's almost black and I clean it off with my fingers. I keep the
lights on for no more the 12 hours. Any help IDing it or suggestions on
how to get rid of it would be appreciated. Thanks!

In addition to what Dick said.

Common treatments for BBA (Black Brush Algae) are blackout, trimming
infected leaves, scrubbing followed by a water change, increased water
flow and critters.

I don't remember the suggested blackout (absolutely no light) period,
but I believe it's about a week. Some people have claimed this did not
work for them.

Removal is one of the better options, remove infected leaves, wipe sides
with a paper towel, vacuum gravel and do a large water change after
scrubbing. You should be doing large water changes weekly in any event.
Really seems to help keep the Algae in check.

Dipping infected plants in Hydrogen Peroxide or 20:1 mix of water and
bleach. I found Hydrogen Peroxide useless and went for the bleach
mixture.

I also added BBA eating critters SAES seem to be the best. But I'm not
sure they would like your low PH.


What's your water flow like? Do you know where your Phosphate/Iron
levels are? It's possible one of these is too low and limiting your
plant growth, which allows the Algae to thrive.



I have pretty good water flow: a Filstar canister filter working
together with a Marineland 350. Phosphate is very high and always has
been so. This stuff started appearing about a month ago. I've been
adding a capful of Iron supplement weekly with 50% water changes,
perhaps I should add more? I thought I was keeping the tank clean as I
have crystal clear water but perhaps I'm not. I'll try a massive
cleaning: 75% water change together w/ gravel vacuum and trimming off
the infected leaves and wiping down the sides. Does SAES stand for
Siamese Algae Eaters? Thanks for the help.

JC

Pretty much everything I told you about the BBA applies to BGA (Blue Green
Algae), especially the water changes, water flow and gravel vaccing. I'd
be careful about changing more than 50% water, as it may have negative
affects on your fish. I'm not familiar with Discuss.

If you go the Antibiotic root, it may only be a temporary fix, as you
haven't cured the cause and the BGA will likely come back. Cleanup is
probably your best bet.

I had BGA before I got BBA and it went away with water changes, better
fertilization, CO2 (I have more light) and better water flow.

One more thing to try is Flourish Excel (CO2 in a bottle) at a slightly
higher dose than recommended. Some people swear by this stuff.

I use PMDD for my Iron, so I really can't equate your measures. Since
you're doing the weekly water changes anyway, you may want to consider
then EI (Estimative Index) for fertilizing. Although it's geared more
towards high light tanks. The big thing is to make your plants grow well,
so they out compete the Algae for nutrients. What's causing your high
Phosphates BTW, is it in the water or the food you are feeding?

Yes, SAE = Siamese Algae Eater.

The phosphate is from the well water I get. I've tried every product out
there to get rid of it. Nothing works so I've learned to live with it.
I'll try the 'big cleaning' route and crank up the CO2 and light and see
where we go from there. Thanks for the help.


Jim

Hi..

This stuff is slimy and covers the leaves and back of
the tank. It's

Sounds like "cyanobacteria"..? These nutrient-hungry folks
are used to exist in so called "nutrient-poor" water.

How do you feed your tank? How many fishes do you keep and
how do you feed your plants..?

Finally: when did you start this tank..?
--
cu
Marco

I don't use any chemicals in my tanks. I rely on the fish. I feed
the fish and the fish feed the plants.

The problem is they don't. Fertilize properly and use Co2 OR Flourish
Excel and it'll go away by itself.

I had this crap for 7 years till Tom Barr convinced me if
I put fertilizer in the tank the algae will go away. He
uses CO2 I use Excel. Both work.


--
Need Mercedes parts? http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home pages: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net

In article et,
Jim Conklin wrote:
No, no sunlight at all. However I just stumbled on this site and it ID's it
as a kind of bacteria. ( Slime algae)

http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

I'll give a try to the chemical they mention.

BAD IDEA. First, you'd be removing the symprom but not the
cause, it'll simply come back. Second, indiscriminate use
of aquarium antibiotics is extremely harmful and they will
soon no longer be sold as easily as now, mercifully.

That article should be removed from the Interent. It's one
of the single most bad and dangerous pieces of advice ever
published.

If you have blue green slime algae then nitrate alone will
kill it.


--
Need Mercedes parts? http://parts.mbz.org
Richard Sexton | Mercedes stuff: http://mbz.org
1970 280SE, 72 280SE | Home pages: http://rs79.vrx.net
633CSi 250SE/C 300SD | http://aquaria.net http://killi.net