# Algae Bloom... help? haha



## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

Okay so whats the best ways to get rid of this i know the basics

cut lighting back
clean up old food and dead plant

I cut the lighting back to actually none for about 4 or 5 days and it helpped but barely... so now i have it on for like 8 hours a day, the tank does get light from my room lights but not alot and most of the time when theyre on so are the tank lights, during the day i leave my blinds closed but enough light is in to just see in the room and it not be dark, not sure if that really hurts it or not.

As to cleaning i did clean up alot of the old food (from cycling i added first fish earlier this week) and a lot of dead plant material.

Layers are peat moss play sand and regular aquarium gravel.

It is a planted tank with amazon sword, red wendtii, a good bit of wisteria, ludwigian ovolis, 2 bannana plants, and dwarf sagataris.

What i dont get is everyone said that wisteria within a few weeks would grow out of the tank but it hasnt its all grown maybe an inch taller if that and its been about 2 months... so im thinking about buying some flourish to start adding to the tank.

lighting is two 26 watt CFL bulbs 7500k daylight 

But anyways the inhabitants are 1 dalmation molly, 1 nerite snail, and 1 ghost shrimp. 

Whats an easy way to get rid of it? i want my clear water back lol 

is there a chemical solution that wouldnt really harm anything like the fish or plants?? 

or do i need to add some fert for my plants to start sucking up everything so the algae bloom will die off?? 

Its been this way for a few weeks even after i cut the lighting back.. so i really wanna know what is the easiest way to get rid of it lol


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

you need complete black out on your tank and no feeding. use black trash bags and cover all sides of the tank, clean the left over food. Just what i've seen on the forum someone else will probably have more complete information from experience.


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

i guess the complete blackout is the option, so how long should i do this before its cleared up?? anybody thats done it how long did it take? 

Tank is a 29 gallon dont think i mentioned that earlier 

Thanks!!


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## sparkyr99 (Jan 9, 2011)

I had my first algae bloom in nearly two decades of keeping fish, towards the end of last year, my tank looked like a swamp. It was reccomended that I do a complete blackout on the tank along with daily partial water changes and reduced feeding. I blacked out the tank completely for 5 days. and did 25% water changes daily. The algae went away completely within those 5 days. It took a little longer for the water to completely clear (very cloudy) , but it did, probably two weeks. As for the wisteria, mine looked like it was gonna croak for the longest time, but it came back. It hasnt grown much taller, but the roots are growing like mad. Flourish perked everything up, but hasn't made them grow like crazy. Don't use any chemicals to eliminate the algae, or clear up the water, they don't work and will make your tank stink. 
thanks
steve.


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

okay so complete blackout, now doing that do you just leave it alone or do you at least look in to check on fish once a day? i have a dalmation molly, just one right now, and i guess my problem is i havnt fed him at all cuz i added him monday, i threw a little food in today cuz i figured he would be hungry, will he be okay with no feeding over the next 3-5 days of blackout? hes been eating algae cuz his poop is just strait green lol i have algae on the gravel and decor that he picks at. Also should i do testing? and i guess with the water changes everyday, i may not be able to do them EVERY day lol but ill try, also lol i know so many questions lol sorry, and you said within the 5 days it went away completly. well how did you know it was gone since the water was stilll cloudy? (not questioning you lol just curious what to look for!) I tested my tap water which has about 3-4 maybe 5 ppm nitrates in it, not sure if this is relevant for the algae. 

anyways let me know! as well as anyone else who has dealt with this throw your experienc in as well!


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## Niki7 (Aug 16, 2010)

do you have an aerator/airstone? If it was me I would only be worried about oxygen levels and pH, but with an airstone you are probably all set. In the dark the plants will alter the oxygen/co2 in the water and possibly affect the pH...however I don't know if they stop altering things after a day or two and remain level. Hopefully someone on the forum will chime in here!

good luck!


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

well since the site went down, i did a lot of googling, i did a 25% pwc last night, cleaning up dead plant and all that stuff, i then covered the tank with white trash bags doubled over and did two all the way around taped them up, now i then did a black blanket over al that so there should not be any light in there! 

I do not have an airstone, i do have a ornament that has air hooked up to it but i never use it cuz its so hard to adjust it to get the air right.... i dont have it hooked up thoo haha should i turn it on?? i figured the plants would give off enough oxygen to the fish and snail? could be wrong tho! cuz im very new!!

Let me know!!! i was told not to peek either haha so i guess i just gotta wait 3 days! lol


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

okay so in about 5 hours it will of been 48 hours i slightly peeked yesterday and found that if my room light was on it still let a little light threw, luckily the room light stayed off all day and it was black in there, so i covered it up with others to make it completly black, today i peeked in a corner and had a little single led keychain flashlight blue that i clicked to see haha i dunno if this actually would grow algae in the 4 seconds it was on but i did see my molly he was swimming so hes okay, im going to TRY to leave it completly alone until thursday when i get out of school! as of today it was still green but its been less than 48 hours still so i dunno 

What do yall think?


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## Niki7 (Aug 16, 2010)

As I understand it, plants give off oxygen only during photosynthesis (during daylight hours). They absorb CO2 and respirate O2 when light hits their leaves. When it is dark, they give off CO2 instead and don't give off O2. When CO2 levels go up the pH changes. Depends on how many plants and how long they are in the dark I think. I have never covered my tank so I'm not exactly sure if there is even a problem...maybe your filter will add enough O2 to the water?


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

You can open the tank up to feed your molly and shrimp if you would like. Fish can go up to two weeks without feeding though, so you should be alright leaving the molly in there. With that being said, me being me I wouldn't follow my own advice and I would open the tank up enough so the molly could at least get a few flakes and the shrimp could take care of the rest.

Niki is right - when the lights are off, plants metabolize sugar and in the process they consume oxygen and generate carbon dioxide. I would run your bubbler and aerate your water. Pretty sure you don't need it, but at the same time, the last thing you need is a dead fish or shrimp.

As for the blackout - with a bloom as bad as yours sounds, leave your tank covered for a week and only break the blackout to feed maybe three or four times during that period. When it's done, change out all your filter material so any algae that might have been strained out into the media is taken care of. Fresh media will also help clear your water up after the blackout.

OR....

You could get a pleco, more shrimp, more snails, or a combo! I've got a cleanup crew that consists of shrimp, snails, a pleco, frogs, and clams. They do a great job between all of them. 5 Amano shrimp, 2 frogs, and a pleco in my ten gallon with a horrendous algae bloom had the tank sparkling in 2 days.

Now, on to the wisteria...

The plant will grow slowly until it gets a good root system established. After that, it will grow like mad. I've had 4 wisteria stalks in my ten gallon that have grown maybe 2x their size in 4 months. Don't disturb it too much, and just remember the three basic necessities - light, CO2, and nutrients. Keep in mind the algae is robbing them of all three of their basic needs at the moment. After the blackout, dose all 3 but not in excess, and eventually your wisteria will explode. Also, one of the cool things I've noticed about wisteria is that new growth will be shaped differently based on different pH conditions.


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> You can open the tank up to feed your molly and shrimp if you would like. Fish can go up to two weeks without feeding though, so you should be alright leaving the molly in there. With that being said, me being me I wouldn't follow my own advice and I would open the tank up enough so the molly could at least get a few flakes and the shrimp could take care of the rest.
> 
> Niki is right - when the lights are off, plants metabolize sugar and in the process they consume oxygen and generate carbon dioxide. I would run your bubbler and aerate your water. Pretty sure you don't need it, but at the same time, the last thing you need is a dead fish or shrimp.
> 
> ...


well, as to the shrimp im afraid he is dead, but i cant find him when i did the water change before i tried and tried but never did find him, if it clears up then maybe i can but i never did find him, he had shed his exoskeleton about 3 days prior, and went into hiding to never be seen again haha

i probably wont open the tank until late thursday night which will make it about 4 strait days being covered, now as to your clean up crew idea, i was under the impression that they do not eat the free floating algae? the only thing ive found to eat it is the daphnia, but could be wrong thats for sure!!

I do plan on within a week or two getting a bottle of both flourish and flourish excel to start dosing! 

And also i cleaned all the filter media before blackout and plan on it again thursday night when its uncovered! i really hope it ends up being clear or at least better! 

Not sure if i missed anything or not haha, let me know if i did!


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

You're right - only 2 things I know of that consume free floating algae - clams and Bamboo Shrimp.


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

[email protected] said:


> You're right - only 2 things I know of that consume free floating algae - clams and Bamboo Shrimp.



gotcha, well if this blackout doesnt work ill look into either the daphnia or the bamboo shrimp, whatever seems to work better haha maybe daphnia as a quick fix and bamboo in the long run! i dunno im really hoping 2 days from now its clear!


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

i have a question, haha how much does peeking really hurt it?? cuz i cant resiest but peek everyday when i get home lol i turn all light out in my room lift up the side just s bit to look up in there and shine my little keychain led flashlight in there haha would this really make the algae live longer for 15 seconds of light lol 

Just wondering thanks!!!


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Each time you do that you have to add a day.

j/k


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> Each time you do that you have to add a day.
> 
> j/k


haha as i read that i was like crap! lol so im guessin by the jk you dont think it really makes a difference?


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

[email protected] JR

I think the consense was open 3-5 times during the black out to provide a little food for the fish.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

j/k = just kidding


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

so in about 6 hours it will of been blacked out for a total of 4 days! since its way past the 3 day mark i decided to check so i lifted blankets and trash bags up and turned its light on to check... 

It is a LOT clearer than it was..... that being said it is not quite crystal i dont think

So tihs is what i was thinking uncover and do a 20% pwc as well as clean out the filter media, then cover it back up until tommorow and then go back to routine lighting hours which is about 7-8 hours a day 

Now my tap water has around like 4 ppm nitrate, i could be wrong but doesnt this help algae? so should i not do a water change yet? or what? whats the suggestion guys im all ears!! 

but it does look oh so much better


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

It sometimes takes a week.

And I dont wrap the tank, just kill the lights and not add food.

my .02


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

Price,

Most of the algae is dead, but you might have some of the tougher stuff still around. Either continue with the all-out blackout for another few days or do as bob suggested - uncover the tank but keep the lights and food off. This might take longer, but at least you won't be sneaking peeks, haha.

4 ppm nitrate is nothing to worry about. Your plants will consume that in no time flat.

How is the fish? How are the plants?

You can go back to your regular lighting schedule afterwards without problems, just make sure the algae is good and dead first or you will have to do a blackout all over again.


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

Alright so i ended up crashing cuz i was runnin on 2 hours sleep, and now im bout to go to the midnight premiere of battle LA, sooooo it wont get uncovered tonight, i did take a better look, and it is a lot clearer but i can still slightly tell some green but not much at all

Fish is doin great i did turn the pump on to put air in the tank yesterday ill turn it back on in a second. 

Snail i think unfortunatly is dead he hasnt moved from where i put him, this is the 3rd snail ive gone through and im not buying another till i figure out the problem, but ill know if its dead when i do the water change for now im assuming hes just tired haha

Shrimp again think he died a week ago but no body was found

plants look great actually none of them look very sickly at all, alot of them have cahnged shape like growing up more than just chillin i guess lookin for light haha, but they look good. 

the problem is in my room if its not covered its gonna get a little light form my room light haha, so i have it set up where the light doesnt come on till like 1 and goes off around 9, however during a sunny day even with my blinds closed there is some light in the room but nothing direct at all and its only about as much as my TV puts out just enough to see around the room. so i think ill keep it covered until either tm night or saturday depending on how it looks!

What should i do when i do un cover it? 25% water change, turn the lights back to regular schedule? rinse the filter media out, all that good stuff, and then i guess just hope it doenst come back right? lol i hope my plants start taking all the nutrients out of the water so the algae doesnt get it! 

Well thats where im at guys i do have some before and afters already from today but ill post all that in the end!

lemme kno what you think!!


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

Alright so tonight i will do the tru uncover and water change, it is quite a bit clearer but deffinatly not completly but i will see how it goes, after the water change and cleaning and all tonight ill keep the lights off and then tommorow they will come on and hopefully after a week its not green again!! haha i was thinking the main problem was the dead plant and old food, so i got most of that cleaned out now, so hopefully were good!


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

I'm pretty sure you did exactly what you needed to. Isn't it hard waiting on something like that? I never have the patience and have to preoccupy myself with other tanks, haha.


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

Price said:


> Alright so tonight i will do the tru uncover and water change, it is quite a bit clearer but deffinatly not completly but i will see how it goes, after the water change and cleaning and all tonight ill keep the lights off and then tommorow they will come on and hopefully after a week its not green again!! haha i was thinking the main problem was the dead plant and old food, so i got most of that cleaned out now, so hopefully were good!


What????? Got the food out? I thought you were keeping it for something....some culture or something.


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

jrman83 said:


> What????? Got the food out? I thought you were keeping it for something....some culture or something.



haha i was till i got my fish, and secretly he ate most of it lol so i felt bad since it was old goldfish food!!!!! so i cleaned the rest up  

(actually i just decided if my cycle wasnt done i was using a fish)  

Thanks!!!


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

okay so its pretty much back, lol, and i have kept the light down, BUT i have a feeling i know what it is, i just gotta get it tested to confirm. I think its high phosphates from my tap water. Not positive but its my guess. 

IF this is the case what should i do? isnt there like phoszorb that you put in ur filter?


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

Price said:


> okay so its pretty much back, lol, and i have kept the light down, BUT i have a feeling i know what it is, i just gotta get it tested to confirm. I think its high phosphates from my tap water. Not positive but its my guess.
> 
> IF this is the case what should i do? isnt there like phoszorb that you put in ur filter?


IMHO the best phosphate consumer is the plant life like the algae you killed off.

And phaophates IMHO come almost exclusively from the bioload.

So what I think you have to do is limit the lights and feeding. 

Untill you reach a point where the plants grow but not the algae.


my .02


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## aquaticsnerd (Jan 29, 2011)

Did your tank look like this?


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## Price (Dec 11, 2010)

lol i know i really want the plants to take over, and right now the only things in the tank are , one dalmation molly, one cremecicle lyretail mollly, and one small peppered cory. 

And yes my tank looks well actually a little worse than that one haha, if i get me a job here soon then im prollly gonna grab a uv sterilizer just to get it over with haha, but thats only if i get one lol hard tring to find places to work around a college schedule!


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