[DanielaMarie]

Hi everyone!

I have a large piece of decor in my tank that has algae on it, and I can't get rid of it. It doesn't seem to matter how many times I take that piece out and scrub it down, it still comes back. It's not affecting the plants or anything else in the tank in any way, but it's gotten really annoying to look at. Do you have any suggestions on how to get rid of it?

The tank gets 7 hours of fluorescent light from an Aqueon Full Spectrum 15W T8 18" bulb a day and I dose it with Seachem Flourish weekly.

Temperature: 76 F
Ammonia: 0
Nitrite: 0
Nitrate: 0

Thank you for your input.
DanielaMarie

 

[CichlidNewb]

Hello
What kind of decour is it we are talking about?
there are some different methods that i found best to remove my algae but it depends on the material.
stones, plastic or polyresin?

 

[MoneyMitch]

theres excess nutrient in the water from the flourish more then likely if its coming back within days of a cleaning then reduce your fert dosing this should help the problem. over a period of weeks reduce the fert untill the growth is minimal. theres always going to be algae in a aquarium controlling how fast it grows is what were aiming for here.

 

[CichlidNewb]

The post mitch has done on fighting algae might help you somewhat.
http://www.tropicalfishkeeping.com/aquarium-plants/algae-fight-method-139905/

 

[DanielaMarie]

Thank you for the response. It's a polyresin tree root system piece of decor from Petco. I'll try reducing the fert dosing and see if that helps at all.

 

[MoneyMitch]

keep in mind you wont see a overnight change, but rather a decline in the speed of growth.

 

[Byron]

Don't be hasty, your plants may suffer.

What exactly is the algae type? We must keep in mind that algae in any aquarium is natural and will occur; an algae-free tank is a myth and a sign of an unhealthy biological system. We simply keep it under control.

I never bother with algae unless it is on plants, then I work to keep it from spreading. The light you mention is not exactly bright, and once weekly dose of Flourish Comp is not much fertilizer. If your plants are thriving now, and algae is not attacking them, I would not mess with either. Remember, one of the best ways to control algae is to have plants out-competing it; if the plants lessen their photosynthesis algae will have the advantage.

Byron.

 

[1077]

Could just take the resin decor out and give it a good scrub with Bleach/water solution and let dry completely.
Reducing fertz seldom help's with growth of plant's.Adding more plant's help's.
When large plant mass is thriving,,algae has hard time.


Edit.. I see you have been scrubbing the offending piece.(Good).
Keep harrassing the algae and add more plant's.Soon the algae will cease ,assuming lighting is not too much for too long.

 

[DanielaMarie]

This is what it looks like and has continued to spread on that piece of decor and nothing else.

 

[Byron]

I would leave it, as it does look natural on "wood" like that. I believe that is some form of brush algae, I have it.

 

[JDM]

I would leave it, as it does look natural on "wood" like that. I believe that is some form of brush algae, I have it.

Yah, I dive around old sunken ships.... you should see the stuff that is actually on old wood. Wood with nothing on it looks unnatural.

Jeff.