Spirogyra Outbreak Help

Hi,

I would not assume that c02 levels have remained ADEQUATE and/or STABLE over time. Plant demand for c02 can change with more bio-mass and your c02 delivery method can suffer from any number of components.

Are you sure your diffuser is still as effecient as when new? Have you cleaned it recently?

I would SLOWLY and carefully (as you have done) increase the c02 a bit and see how that goes..

IMO, you could most likely reduce the light a bit as well. Maybe some floating plants or something?

Reduced light will reduce the c02 demand and help ensure you have enough.

C02 levels change rapidly over space and time, and it is not easy to supply sufficient and stable amounts.

 

two words: florida flagfish

great fish for the battle against thread algae!

greets,

yme

 

+1 on what Gerry said. 3 bps doesn't seem that much for a tank your size. The fact that it worked before doesn't say that much either. Never assume your CO2 is ok. So trying to increase bit by bit is a good option, using your fish as a limitation. Anyway the Spiro won't just melt, you will still have too remove it manually. If it's established, it's hard to beat. But if you remove it as good as you can, there's a good chance it won't come back using elevated CO2 levels.

Your reduced ferts are kind of close or at deficiency level. 2x 54W is perfect.

regards,
dutchy

 

Hi borman,

couple months ago I was dealing with the same pesky alga, at least it looked similar to what I can identify from your pictures. I have good reason to believe that mine was spyrogyra as well. As the issue got worse I decided to eradicate the alga using every little hammer I knew from reading here and elsewhere. I don't know whether all steps I describe below are really necessary but in my tank the alga disappeared afterwards and did not return again.

Day one: trim most affected leaves, introduce some carbon to your canister (1/3 capacity) followed by a two day black-out, don't fertilize, no CO2, don't feed fish, airate tank

Day two: patience (many alga threads should have detached already floating all around the tank)

Day three: drain water as low as possible and spray KH2PO4 solution (5g to 100ml) onto the affected areas and wait for five minutes until filling back again (please use only 50% of old tank water), switch on lights to 50% intensity, trim most affected leaves once again, CO2 bubble rate back to normal, feed fish, add 12ml Excel to every 80L of water, introduce 20 Amano shrimp / 80L

Day four: clean filter (you'll be surprised how much green sluggish there is), remove carbon, fertilization back to normal, feed fish

Day five: all things back to normal including light


Excel does kill spiro but only at strong solutions (I have tried 1:20) which might eventually turn the plants brown as well. So there is not much sense in using it against spyro as the sole approach.


Good luck, Detlef

 

Hi Larry,

yes you understood correctly. And yes again, for a huge tank it sounds like a lot of work BUT success was on my side so I recommend doing the same procedure.

I quess the main part is the two day black-out combined with carbon filtration plus no nutrients entering the tank from outside followed by the introduction of a sufficient number of Amano shrimp. I reckon the alga detaches in search for a better place to grow when no nutrients, and I repeat NO NUTRIENTS, are available for some days.

Have a look on day two using a pocket lamp. You should already see the alga floating around!

Best regards, Detlef

 

what is the point of spraying kH2PO4 on the affected areas?

 

Good question,

to which I don't know the answer. I remember though that someone long time ago found that KH2PO4 was effective in erradicating spyro (or was it GDA?) and Tom as well as others supported the idea. Sorry can't help you any further. I'm neither botanist nor chemist so please bare with me. The more knowledgeable guys should jump in here please.

Regards, Detlef

 

Here is an answer from someone who knows.

KH2PO4 works, as well as KNO3.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/algae/74704-eliminating-bba-pure-kno3.html

 

Laundry Soap?

Hi,

The salts work well, if you have sodium percarbonate it works the best, quickest most effective, can be a danger to primitive plants you want.

Biollante

 

So is this supposed to instantly kill the algae or hurt the plants?

Also is there any way to measure 5 g of KH2PO4 using tsps?

 

the only thing that helped me get through this one was to add more plants. You can do this one of two ways:

1) set co2/light/nutrients to optimum levels for awesome plant growth

2) pack the tank with fast growers.

Spiro loves the same parameters as plants. I had some in my eleocharis belem.

 

something I have noticed is that the poster did not wait long enough when making changes. I have found that my algae issues take 2-3 weeks to really resolve once I fix what caused the problem. By changing things every week, plants are inhibited mostly, that algae can adapt better and quicker. Correct me if I'm wrong, but didn't he state he made all of those changes over the course of a month and a half?

I would suggest giving increased CO2 and proper dosing some time after manually removing as much as you can (a tooth brush works well). Also stick to a good water change schedule, even increase its frequency.

But I am not the expert many here are, this is all based upon my own experience and advice I have received from others.

 

I agree with Matt F.

I often had spirogyra outbreaks in my nano. Snails and shrimps don't eat it. It loved my Eleocharis too and especially the moss. EI/CO2 won't help when they are too much. Tried increasing the mist, using toxic CO2 levels without living stock... What works all times is decreasing light, either intensity or duration. Spirogyra loves light. In low light, it will grow, but really very slowly. In 2-3 weeks, plants will overgrow it. Without light, it will get dormant in few weeks.

For me, it was the easiest algae to deal with, each time. Much easier to get rid of than GDA, BBA and BGA. The main advantage is that it is easily removed and doesn't stick hard to plants. Once it gets dormant and stops growing, when you remove the remaining parts, you'll be free, unless you increase light