Green Dust Algae

srozell

Guru Class Expert
Jan 24, 2005
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Could someone please describe or post a picture of green dust algae. In 25 years of aquarium keeping I'm not sure that I've seen anything that matches that description.
 

Ian H

Guru Class Expert
Jan 24, 2005
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Shipley, West Yorkshire, UK
Re: Green Dust Algae

I don't have a piccy but it's green and looks like specs of dust. :)

Green water algae is quite different.................Your water looks green. :)

Sometimes the description does match the product.

Ian
 

tnnlynch

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Feb 1, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Green dust looks like some one left a green chalky film on your tank walls. Doesn't cloud up your water to the naked eye unless you scrape it off the walls. Seems to take 4 to 5 days after being removed before it builds up enough to be seen on the sides. I have been fighting it for a few weeks now with mixed results.

Tom
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Try filtering the water with a diatom as you remove it.
Try wiping the glass with a paper towel as you do a water change and toss each wipe sheet.

If you scrub the glass, make sure you change the water, a large amount, asap! The alga has zoospores which swim around and land right back on the glass and start growing again.

So if you remove them, they just swim around and land right back.

You can harass them and wipe every day and filter, UV, water change them away.

They do not bother the plants etc, but it can be annoying to many folks.

That makes it an ideal cadidate to study for me, but I cannot successfully grow it time and time again.

I get one shot and then I kill it.
I need to maintain a starter culture to work with it.
Staghorn, GW, BBA, BGA, and many other I don't, Cladpohora and GD I do.


Regards,
Tom Barr
 

tnnlynch

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Feb 1, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

I should send you a starter culture. :)

I am using papertowels to wipe the GD off, I do a large water change at the same time and I run a UV for a few hours afterwards. I don't do water changes daily but I will try to do harass the algae more often than I have.
Thanks
Tom
 

srozell

Guru Class Expert
Jan 24, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Heh, I still don't know what it looks like.

If I understand, it is best seen on the side of the aquarium. Is a magnetic scraper enough to remove it when you see it or does it require elbow grease?

Do snails eat it?
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Herbivires will graze but never eliminate(at least none have so far).

It's a very soft alga, you can wiupe it off with your hand, very brioght green, grows almost always on the glass, comes back real fast, enjoys good nutrient levels, CO2.

No elbow grease needed, a simple sponge will get most all of it.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

tnnlynch

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Feb 1, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

All three of my different type of snails seem to ignore it. My Bristlenose pleco and oto's seem to lightly snack on it. But other than making lighter patterns in the green they don't clean it to the glass.

Tom
 

sawallace

Junior Poster
Mar 2, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Is this what you are looking for?
greenDust.jpg


I cannot get rid of it either. :mad:
 

m lemay

Prolific Poster
Jan 23, 2005
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CT
Re: Green Dust Algae

I got it for a few weeks when I first started on the EI regimen. I'm not sure what spurred it on. I do know that my nitrates were aroun 40ppm and phosphates were around 4ppm, I also went a little crazy with the iron dosing for a couple of weeks. I wish now I had done a control to try and remove it but I didn't. I finally get rid of it but hell if I know what the catalyst was.

Here are some of the things I did.

I decreased the photo period from 12hrs to 10 hrs.
Ran the UV after scraping the stuff off.
lowered nitrates to 10ppm
lowered phosphates to 1.5ppm

I think it might have been brought on by some jobes sticks that had been stirred up during a major replanting. I think all the jobes are gone now, which might be the main reason why it finally disappeared.

Marcel
 

Laith

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Jan 24, 2005
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Geneva, Switzerland
Re: Green Dust Algae

I got this stuff last year and it drove me nuts for about two months.

I had increased my lighting from 2.35wpg to 2.85wpg. You wouldn't think this small increase would trigger something like green dust algae...

But it did. I tried everything.

I finally gave up and reduced the lighting back to 2.35wpg and it went away.

I'm pretty sure that at the time I did not have my fert levels correct (especially CO2) and that this combined with the extra light was the problem, not just the extra light. I mean some people are at 5+wpg and don't have this!

Now that my ferts are good, I may try increasing the lighting again...
 

srozell

Guru Class Expert
Jan 24, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Excellent, thanks for the picture. it helps!

I've seen that! Usually immediately after setting up a soil tank.

I'm creating an archive of algae and how to defeat it. I hope you don't mind me stealing your picture. :D

Spencer
 

sawallace

Junior Poster
Mar 2, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

If you need more pics or higher res. pics let me know and I'll snap some more.
 

srozell

Guru Class Expert
Jan 24, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Yes, the better the pictures I have the better. I'm in the process of setting up a website referring to each type of algae, with methods of growing and combatting them.

I'm also trying to document the effects of nutrient deficiencies in plants, so if anyone happens to discover some in your tank please celebrate the opportunity to pass this on to me. :D
 

Watcher

Junior Poster
Apr 16, 2005
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College Station, Tx
Re: Green Dust Algae

That sucks, Scott. From the picture it looks like you have a beautifully planted tank.

If I were you, having that algae all over the glass obscuring the view of my tank would dry me nuts.

P.S. What plant is that in the foreground? The short, carpet plant you have? I would like to have something like that for the 55 gallon I'm setting up.
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Green Dust Algae

Hairgrass.
Hargrass if you are from the south.
Har dee har grass grass if you are 4:20.

Green dust does not need a poor environment to grow, eg, low PO4/NO3/CO2/high light etc does not hurt nor induce it.

It grows well in normal tanks.
I've only seen it in PC lighting tanks anywhewre from 5.5 to about 2 w/gal.

Folks wiper it and comes back thick fairly quick.
It's easy to wipe off.

When you do wipe it off, take a good look at the glass afterwards, say 1-2 hours. You'll note a film that's formed again.

Akinosendesmus is the genus.

It'll pop up in well run tanks. But does not last too long it seems, nothing like BGA, GW etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr