I NEED HELP

[Hallie]

My 55 gallon had a blue green algae outbreak. I have fast growing plants, my fish are fine, water levels are fine... water changes don't help... Erythromycin didn't help.. and this tank is fully established.

It looks like there are millions of little hairs floating in my water. No one seems to have seem anything like it before, but it's there, and it's serious. The hairs, from what I can gather, are from the algae which is coating everything. It's smothering my plants..

Please help me. I have no idea what I'm dealing with.

Here's a video of the weird white hair things

 

[greymatron]

bump

 

[Mythreeiggys]

Maybe you could PM Carole...she seems to know a lot about fish tanks.

 

[macawpower58]

Have you done a google search? I just did a quick one and there is a lot on information on the different type of algae that can plague fresh water tanks.

 

[Hallie]

Yes I have. I know it's blue green algae, but I cannot time anything about the hairs. There are millions flotng in the water.

 

[Greycloud]

@waterfaller1 Hopefully Carole will see this alert!

 

[waterfaller1]

Did you do the black out and manual removal we discussed? Did you update your bulbs with new? What kind of filter do you have, and what is the media in it? How long since that was changed or rinsed? If you would like, I can send you my phone number in a pm, it would make things a lot easier so we don't have to play 24 questions.

 

[waterfaller1]

Free-floating algae may also be present if nutrient value, usually in the form of fish food, is so high that the hair algae cannot develop properly.

 

[waterfaller1]

Some are attached (epiphytic), some are free floating.
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.
http://www.aquariumslife.com/featured/hair-algae-control/

 

[Hallie]

I have been doing the black out and that's when the hairs appeared free floating. :/ I am only feeding a pinch two times a week. I had thought about adding more circulation with a power head but I was afraid it'd be too much. I'll pm you!

 

[waterfaller1]

The hair algae is breaking up because it is dying from the black out in my opinion.

 

[waterfaller1]

@waterfaller1 Hopefully Carole will see this alert!

Hmm..no notice @Greycloud let's see if you get one.

 

[Greycloud]

Nope, no notification.

 

[waterfaller1]

Answers to the following questions will help, and may help others~
Copy this, then add your answers after each question

1. What size is the tank, and when was it set up?
2. What type of filtration do you have? What size is it? Brand name?
3. How often do you do water changes, and what percentage of the tank?
Describe your water change procedure briefly

4.What if any additives do you use? Does your tank have CO2?
5.What do you use to dechlorinate your water?
6. Do you use city or well water?
7. Do you know if your water has chlorine or chloramines?
8. Do you have and use liquid test kits or strips? What brand?
9. What are the parameters for the following?:
Tank
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
GH/KH
Tap
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
GH/KH
10. What type and how many tank inhabitants do you have?
11. How often and what do you feed them?

12. What type of lighting do you have, how much wattage? Brand? What is the kelvin of the bulbs?
13. How old are the bulbs?
14. Do you keep them on a timer, and how many hours do you run them per day?
15. Does any sunlight hit your tank?
16.What problem are you having presently?

 

[Hallie]

The hair algae is breaking up because it is dying from the black out in my opinion.

I think you're right. I don't know why I didn't think of that. There is SOOO much less algae on my plants now. My tank looks almost back to normal! After 4 days of blackout the algae, but will it come back when the lights go back on?

 

[Hallie]

1. What size is the tank, and when was it set up? 55 gallon, 6 months ago.
2. What type of filtration do you have? What size is it? Brand name? Fluval 70 gallon traditional style filter. I just double the sponges instead of carbon.
3. How often do you do water changes, and what percentage of the tank? 25%, 2 times a week.
Describe your water change procedure briefly
Turn filter off, syphon correct amount out and then pour it back in after it has been dechlorinated.

4.What if any additives do you use? Does your tank have CO2? I use flourish comprehensive supplement, but stopped when algae appeared.
5.What do you use to dechlorinate your water? Either Stress Coat or Tetra.
6. Do you use city or well water? City water.
7. Do you know if your water has chlorine or chloramines? It shouldn't after I dechlorinate.
8. Do you have and use liquid test kits or strips? What brand? Strips "AP" brand
9. What are the parameters for the following?: I don't remember what they were, and I'm out of strips. So I'll post later with these levels.
Tank
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
GH/KH
Tap
Ammonia
Nitrite
Nitrate
PH
GH/KH
10. What type and how many tank inhabitants do you have? 2 rainbow fish, 1 lonely neon, 2 corys, 1 Angel, 1 ballon ram, 3 skirt tetras, and 5-10 little guppies. About 20 corkscrew grasses, and they are sprouting new ones every day. 2 Amazon swords, and 3 moneyworts. I use Flourite as my substrate, and I have about 2 inches, 3 in some places.
11. How often and what do you feed them?
1-2 times a week, tetra flakes
12. What type of lighting do you have, how much wattage? Brand? What is the kelvin of the bulbs? florescent hood, 2 bulbs, I don't remember what the kelvin is, but it is the upper range. I think 5000k per bulb, so around 10,000k total. Not sure of the brand, but they're not specifically tank bulbs, but I read somewhere that was okay as long as it was full spectrum.
13. How old are the bulbs? 6 months
14. Do you keep them on a timer, and how many hours do you run them per day? 8-12 hours a day
15. Does any sunlight hit your tank? no.
16.What problem are you having presently? stupid algae.

I know I haven't done everything right, but I at least hope I can fix my tank. I love my fish.

 

[waterfaller1]

I really wish you could call. It would make this sooo much easier, but here goes...
In answer to your first question, let me answer it with exactly why algae appears. It is generally one or a combination of three things, inadequate filtration/flow, too many nutrients, and too much lighting or in your case possibly too many hours on top of that. The actual wattage -how many watts per gallon and what type would really help.{T-8's, T-5's, LED's, compact flourescents???}
You could be in a situation where you have what equates to high tech light, in a low tech setting. It won't ever work that way. You will be plagued by algae.
So, to get the tank back on track I suggest several things need to happen.
Siphon and remove as much visible algae as possible. Increase your water changes to at least 50%. Once a week should be ok, but we need to see exactly what the nitrates are presently.Buy some buckets with lids or a human grade trash can to pre-make your water.
Consider a larger filter, perhaps a large canister, or an oversized aqua-clear.
Your tank is still young, and not really stable yet. It can happen, just take it easy and eliminate all ferts. You have ferts in your flourite, you shouldn't need extra. You could add some seachem excel, which would give the plants a bit more liquid carbon{sort of like CO2, but not exactly} Eventually as they grow, you might in the future consider some root tabs mostly for the swords. But not now.
20 fish is pushing it, but not exactly over the top. Taking the guppies out would help.
Change from using stress coat or anything with the name tetra, and go buy some Prime. Use this for your water.
Test strips are extremely inaccurate. Purchase API test kits, the liquid kind. Save and buy them one or two at a time if you cannot afford them all at once, until you have the ones I mentioned.
Food, there's that tetra name again...
Switch from flakes to pellets. New life spectrum, omega one, hikari... much better brands. And much of flake food just gets away from fish, gets sucked into your filter, and causes excess nutrients. A slow sinking pellet would be more utilized and give better nutrition to your fish.
8-12 hours...12 hours is way too much. Purchase a cheapo timer{I can get a pic if you need to see what they look like} from a store like ace or home depot, put your lights on the timer and start at 4 hours for now until you get a handle on this. Increase every three days one hour, for a total of 7 or 8 hours.

 

[waterfaller1]

Acck! Hope you did not buy the Omega one! I am such an avid label reader, don't know how I missed this one. Omega One has ethoxyquin...

 

[Hallie]

Acck! Hope you did not buy the Omega one! I am such an avid label reader, don't know how I missed this one. Omega One has ethoxyquin...

Nope! I have some bottom feeder Hikari, which I know isn't the best, but it won't pollute the tank like the tetra flakes. I'm looking into the repashy.