# CO2 and Algae



## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

Will pressurized CO2 get rid of Staghorn algae, fuzz algae and/or hair algae? My plants are covered in either staghorn or fuzz algae, hard to tell which one it is because there is so much of it and its short less then a cm. I also have tons of hair algae mixed in with java moss I bought from someone. Thanks!


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## NeonShark666 (Dec 13, 2010)

CO2 just promotes plant growth, it doesn't stop it. Too much Algae is usually the result of too much light and/or nutrients. You can help slow down the Alagae growth with frequent water changes and algae eating animals. I have kept fish for years and am constantly plagued by Hairy Algae. No one wants to eat it. I have lots of Mollies in my other tanks so I think I'll move some of them and see if they will graze on it.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

How consistant is your DIY CO2? Do you have a drop checker to monitor the level? Are you dosing fertilizers?

By you signature, it looks like your about 80w of light correct? How long is your photo period? Have to find a healthy balance for that tank.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Dose with a capful of Excel every other day and most of your algae will disappear.


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## GeminiPrincess (Oct 1, 2010)

lights are on about 10-11 hrs. I need to redo my diy co2 - so currently there is none. There is something going on in the tank but i have yet to figure out what it is since all my lvls are normal. I went out of town and boom 2 fish down and a day later 2 more. Also have lost cherry shrimp. Very strange since when i left things were fine. My betta tank is a bit haywire aswell.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

I have heard that co2 in high light systems does help control some algaes.


my .02


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Light is definitely on too long, IMO. I'd cut back to no more than 8 and adjust from there. I had green spot and BBA because I was dosing too many ferts. After reading a little bit about what I was doing wrong I adjusted and haven't had a problem since. My 75g has a 260W CFL fixture on it without any type of CO2. I also started dosing Excel and it even dissolved the algae that had grown.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jrman83 said:


> Light is definitely on too long, IMO.


Nah...10hrs is good photo period. ;o)


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## snail (Aug 6, 2010)

I'd cut back to 8hrs and see if it helps.


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

10 hours is perfect, dont cut it back at all.
higher lighting and longer lighting aid in algae growth in Co2 dosed tanks. I had to raise my light 4" and cut it down by 90 minutes a day to get rid of the algae growth that you have plus GSA.

Dont dose excel to get rid of algae, too much ferts promotes algae growth as well pending what plants utilize what micros and macros in the water column.


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## radionorm (Feb 15, 2011)

I have had good luck with dosing with excel to control some brown tufted algae on several of my plants in my 55 gal planted tank. In the past my algae outbreaks have come at times when I was not dosing with excel. Once I get back on a schedule of regular dosing 2 or 3 times per week the algae dies off quickly. This aquarium has 120 watts of clf lighting on for 10 hours a day. 

Excel is not a fertilizer, it is liquid carbon. Based on my experience it should in no way encourage algae growth.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Excel is great stuff!!


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