# Algae Issue in 125



## Aquaman55g (Oct 5, 2010)

I am seeking assistance in getting my 125 gallon planted tank back from what I believe is some type of hair algae. My filter tubes, heater, driftwood, stones and a good portion of my plants look like floating fur.
I am using the following equipment: a Fluval FX6 canister filter and an Aquatop 500 UVcanister filter with regular outputs NO spray bar is being used. I also have a small power unit so I have a decent flow in this tank. I have one inside heater as well as one Hydor inline heater attached to the output of the Aquatop canister filter. I have 3 Finnex LED lights (1 Fugeray Planted LED - 48 inch unit on the front glass lid and 2 - 36 inch Ray II units on the back glass lids sitting directly on the top of the tank. The lights and pressurized CO2 are on from 0900 – 1100 hours then off from 1100 – Noon and on again from 1200 – 1400 hours. I have also added air stones that are timed to be on for 2 hours prior to the lights and CO2 coming on and for an additional 2 hours about an hour after the CO2 and lights go out at 1400 hours. The CO2 is being introduced into the tank via a small fine stone like unit under some 30 psi with the bubbles floating right into the output of the Fluval which really moves the CO2 around the tank. I used to have the CO2 tube placed directly in the intake strainer of one of the canister filters which provides a bubble free environment. The regulator is from Doctors Foster and Smith and has been very reliable but I must admit that the bubble counter is empty of water but the CO2 bubbles appear to be consistently spread over the length of the tank. I also previously used a double bowl drop checker to try and ensure the required 30 ppm of CO2 for plant growth without harming the fish. For some time this method was working but at some point I could not get the solution from the tank water to match the reference solution and the solution in contact with the tank water kept turning from blue to green to clear instead of the light green shown in the reference bowl of the drop checker. Since the plants continued to grow and I had very few fish deaths I decided to not use the drop checker. I was also dosing the tank with fertilizers using the EI method with a weekly water change of 40% - 50% but stopped when there was no change in the amount of algae.
I am on the verge of completely redoing the tank when I move it to a different wall in my media room and keep only a small number of plants and maybe even do away with the pressurized CO2???
Thanks to all responders for any advice and information. :fish10:


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## brads (Mar 23, 2013)

1st, sounds like a really nice tank with all the bells and whistles. *w3 Anyway, I found this info. Hope it helps.


Green Hair Algae Control In Freshwater Aquarium
Submitted by AquariumsLife.com on March 14, 2010 – 11:45 amOne Comment

Green hair algae, also known as filamentous algae are single algae cells that form long visible chains, threads, or filaments. Some are attached (epiphytic), some are free floating. There are many species of Green hair algae (dozens if not hundreds) that can find their way into the aquarium or pond. Each of them have various names that only contribute to the confusion. For that reason, it is very difficult to pinpoint the exact reason why each of them grow and how to control their growth. So what I did here is to browse the many articles about Green Hair Algae and tried to come up with a “general” guide with general guide lines. I don’t claim this is all you should know about Green Hair Algae, it’s just what I could find. If anyone of you can add to this, please do so using the comment box bellow.
The Most Common

Some of the most common species (or genera?) of Green hair algae that are commonly seen in the aquarium hobby are Spirogyra, Cladophora, Oedogonium and Pithophora.

Spirogyra: Spirogyra is a genus of filamentous green algae of the order Zygnematales, named for the helical or spiral arrangement of the chloroplasts that is diagnostic of the genus. There are more than 400 species of Spirogyra in the world. In general, this kind of algae can be easily identified by its bright, neon-green color. At the microscopic level, this algae resembles a DNA helix. It is very slimy. In spring Spirogyra grows under water, but when there is enough sunlight and warmth they produce large amounts of oxygen, adhering as bubbles between the tangled filaments. The filamentous masses come to the surface and become visible as slimy green mats.

Cladophora (Aeragropila): A filamentous algae that look like cotton. Cladophora resembles tiny plant-like stalks that undulate and look “hairy”. This is an unattached algae. It is only a problem for tanks with high nutrients and without water
circulation.

Pithophora: Also known as Thread algae, Staghorn algae or Horse hair algae, Pithophora is a genus of the Cladophoraceae. It is the one that forms irregularly branched threads from an attachment point. It grows in very long thick strands and resembles thick long hair and feels like wool. It seems to flourish with excess micro nutrients like iron. A few water changes and reduced feeding will bring the nutrient levels back to normal (and eventually starve the algae)

Oedogonium: This is probably the algae people are calling fur algae. It spreads very rapidly and prolifically by means of flagellated cells, and covers leaves of plants and other objects in a dense coat of unbranched hairs, about 2 to 5 mm. long.
Possible Causes & treatment

Here are some of the most common cause and treatment I have found looking on the Internet. I suggest you give each change a month or so to see improvements or not.

1) Nutrient:
Nutrient problems (nutrient imbalance, deficiency or excess) are easy to eradicate and this is probably what you should look at first. In a non-planted aquarium, test for nitrate and phosphate. If those two are very high, a few water changes and a better maintenance routine will certainly help lot. In a planted tank, dosing EI will rule out the possibility of nutrient deficiency and/or imbalance while you sort out the cause of the problem.

2) Water flow:
Nutrients often build up in areas with low water movement. Increasing the flow will help prevent local build up of nutrients.

3) Co2 & nutrient vs Light:
I won’t cover the whole Co2/nutrient vs Light topic here. To make a long story short, a balance of light and CO2/nutrients must be maintained in the aquarium. If you increase either the amount of light, or the available nutrients without also increasing the CO2, algae will get the upper hand. Either reducing the photo period, reducing the light intensity or adding more Co2 can help lot.

4) Excess iron in the water:
According to what I found, Green hair algae will quickly take advantage of an excess in iron in the water. High iron normally results from excess fertilization, but some water supplies have high iron levels (especially well water).

5) Manual Removal:
Manual removal is a good way to get rid of Hair Algae. Manual removal will work, but it will not keep the algae from coming back in the future.

6) Algae Eater:
There are fish out there reported to eat Hair Algae. American Flag Fish and Cherry Barbs are some of them. Have a look to my other post call Best Algae Eaters For The Freshwater Aquarium for more information. Keep your algae eaters hungry and they will do a better job. Again, algae eating fish will not keep the algae from coming back in the future.

Conclusion

As said at the beginning of this post, this is just a general overview of the most common algae called Hair Algae and a brief overview of the most common advice I could find to eradicate them. I will keep adding to this post as I find more information.


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