Inducing Algae Growth

Emc2

Junior Poster
Jan 24, 2005
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I'd like to give this a try.

I have two tanks.

One 55 gallon, high-tech tank with 260 watts of lighting and pressurized co2 and one 26 gallon tank with no co2 and about 2 watts per gallon.

I am following EI on both tanks.

Which algae would be the easiest to start out with?
 

Watcher

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Apr 16, 2005
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College Station, Tx
Re: Inducing Algae Growth

From what I read on the EI method(I've only read it about 10 times), is that it prevents algae. Not induce it.

So maybe if you don't follow the EI method, it would be easier to induce algae.
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

Emc2 said:
I'd like to give this a try.

I have two tanks.

One 55 gallon, high-tech tank with 260 watts of lighting and pressurized co2 and one 26 gallon tank with no co2 and about 2 watts per gallon.

I am following EI on both tanks.

Which algae would be the easiest to start out with?

Do you own a UV?
If so, use NH4 to induce green water.

Add lots of cheapy fish, shrimp etc to a planted tank to over load the system with organic NH4 waste.

Parameters to measure:
NH4 with a very sensitive kit many times in the first 6 hours and then every 6 8-12 hours thereafter till gone.
O2, meter is the best thing, they cost 220$+.

GW is easy to get rid of, a flip of the UV light and it's done in a few hours.

BGA is another, easy to kill, fairly easy to induce by lowering the NO3 with a fair amount of organic matter(clogged filter or over grown tank=> leads to more NO3 being used up=> more plant biomass).

BBA is problematic, hard to remove.

GS is fairly easy by limiting PO4. Few other algae will grow then.

Staghorn often appears with too many fish as well as BBA.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Rider

Junior Poster
May 15, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

Tom Barr said:
(snip)

BBA is problematic, hard to remove.

GS is fairly easy by limiting PO4. Few other algae will grow then.

(snip)

Regards,
Tom Barr

Please tell us newbies what these abbreviations are. Even better, direct us to photos.

:)
 

Laith

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Jan 24, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

BBA = Black Brush Algae
GW = Green Water Algae
GS = Green Spot Algae
PO4 = Phosphate
UV = Ultra-violet
NH4 = Ammonia
O2 = Oxygen
NO3 = Nitrate

:)
 

Emc2

Junior Poster
Jan 24, 2005
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1
Re: Inducing Algae Growth

Since I don't own a UV I think I will start by trying to grow BGA. If that is sucessful I will set up a five gallon tank to induce the GW. That way I can just dump it out and not worry about buying a uv. Can I induce it without putting fish through the stress? Maybe do a fishless cycle?
 

reiverix

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Jan 29, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

How do you grow the fluffy green stuff that looks kinda like moss? Beard algae and hair algae is what I want. I'm planning on turning a 10 gallon into a bright green algae fest for shrimp and loaches.

I'd love to do an algae scape.

Who woulda thunk people would be asking how to grow algae.
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

For BGA, don't clean filters, do not add any NO3 sources, adding soil can help(but you do not want Green water).

You can use eI, but delete the one element, say PO4 for GS, or CO2 for BBA, etc...........this assumes you have a sample of BBA etc to add to start things, BGa will not need this though(air borne)

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

Milan

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Sep 28, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

I would be interested in knowing how to induce Diatoms in a FW tank. I had them before, and during that time my Otos were the happiest campers ever (poo-poo here, and a poo-poo there ... :) ).

I want them back ...! Tom, please help ...!
 

Tom Barr

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Jan 23, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

New tanks will get a temporany bloom. Generally they do well in lower light as a main bloom or in very nasty filmentous mat forming in waste water streams.

Those are not the diatoms you are after!
The low light ones are.

Regards,
Tom Barr
 

srozell

Guru Class Expert
Jan 24, 2005
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Re: Inducing Algae Growth

random_alias said:
How do you grow the fluffy green stuff that looks kinda like moss? Beard algae and hair algae is what I want.

I've been growing algae deliberately for a while now, and find it quite intriquing. I find that hair algae is easy to get if you leave rotting leaves or other decaying matter in a quiet part of the tank. Once you get it started it's easy to keep it going.

A really easy way to do it is put an undergravel filter in your 10 gallon tank, Use a couple of compact florescent bulbs in an incandescent canopy, leave the lights on all the time and over feed your fish. Throw some snails in to keep the glass clean, but before long I'm sure you'll have a thriving garden of hair algae. I collect handfuls of hair algae from a similar set up every week.