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Old 05-16-2008, 03:15 PM   #10 (permalink)
JDowns
Senior Aquascaper
 
Join Date: Mar 2008
Location: Phoenix, AZ
Posts: 144
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Well IME both of those algae's are both easy and hard to eradicate. It really depends on the methods used.

A blackout of at least 3 days with water changes can be very effective at diminishing thread algae's but will have little effect on clado.

Spot treating with H202 can also be very effective at killing both of those types of algae's and should be done in small doses concentrating on a specific area at a time.

Constant manual removal is a great method to remove both types. Hair algae's can be problematic though since you run the risk of dislodging portions only to have them spread to other areas of the tank. Turning off filters/powerheads during manual removal followed by a vacuuming of the area will help greatly.

More importantly you need to determine why you are getting the algae in the first place. There are two obvious scenario's. Either your tank has an issue that is causing the issue or the introduction of new plants introduced the algae's.

IME both of those algae's are caused by poor tank maintenance. In the aspect that there are areas in the tank that have OM buildup. Try and identify area's where organic material has built up and has been overlooked.

Its hard from your other photos of the tank to determine the flow in the tank. I see a powerhead on the left with a sponge that has the flow directed down towards the crypt and wallichi. Also another outflow in the back right side directed towards the center of the tank.

I would venture a guess that Pics 2 and 3 being under the powerhead on the left probably don't have a great amount of circulation. This would be an area where OM would be collecting. Especially under the Sub. Check that area for excess waste building up.

Pic 4 is a heavy flow area in the current of the powerhead and the thread algae is just getting caught up on the plants

Pic 1 would also appear to be an area of diminished flow.

Any easy test for flow areas. Use a product like Seachem's Clarity. Pour a recommended dose in front of a outflow. As the water clouds you will be able to see in the tank what areas take the longest to appear cloudy. I would bet the areas in Pic's 1 and 2 would take the longest or would be areas of flow that dead end. Waste in the water column has to end up somewhere. Identifying those areas are important so when you do do your WC's those are the areas that should be targeted first for cleaning. I know from experience Pelia or Sub-tan seem to be magnets to collecting debris underneath. So your mixing a slow growing species with areas of high OM buildup. The same can be said for mosses, which seem to appreciate high flow areas.

Also I noticed in previous posts you added additional lighting due to poor growth from the wallichi.

Was this growth poor due to not enough mechanical lighting or was it poor due to the plant mass behind it had grown to the surface and began to shade it?

Did the growth improve due to the additional lighting or did it improve due to the trimming of the plant mass behind it giving the wallichi direct lighting once again?

I ask those two scenarios because its difficult to get the timeline from multiple posts/threads.
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