Help me get rid of this alage!

ZebraDanio12 · 12-12-2012, 04:42 PM

I thought my problems were gone of this disgusting unknown alage until boom. its back. this is not the normal green or brown. its disgusting. Looks like a blanket over the sand and when you pull it off is slimy. today it was trapping bubbles on the sand. i have a pair of apistos in the tank and they have eggs, so moving the fish isn't the best option... I really would like to get to the bottom of this. If a pic is needed let me know. Its veryyyy fast. Almost springs up overnight.

Vayurules · 12-12-2012, 04:52 PM

Well, what color is it? And a pic would be appreciated.

ZebraDanio12 · 12-12-2012, 05:16 PM

Green. Sorry. Pic will be uploaded

ZebraDanio12 · 12-12-2012, 05:21 PM

Okay, was looking things up, and it looks like blue-green algae. Like this:

How do I get rid of it?

mousey · 12-12-2012, 05:23 PM

since it is a bacteria plus algae you need some form of antibiotic. You will have to look it up.
If I remember correctly it can give off toxins.
Only ever had it when i got sunlight in the tank.

ZebraDanio12 · 12-12-2012, 05:29 PM

I've read peroxide or maracyn. Is this safe to fish and eggs? I may move mom and eggs and dad again. I dont want it to reach the plants...

Vayurules · 12-12-2012, 05:51 PM

Yeah, worst case scenario, move the mom and dad. They can always spawn again in a different tank or once the problem clears up.

**lohachata** · 12-12-2012, 08:20 PM

there is something going on that is causing the algae to grow...best to try to figure it out...light ? food ? water parameters ?
if you are going to use anything like peroxide or maracyn ; i would suggest the maracyn first....you would have to move the fish out to use peroxide in the needed strength..
you can use an algae killer as a last resort....or if it is too stubborn...i use algae fix....works pretty good...but it is not so good for the inverts if you have any...

blindkiller85 · 12-12-2012, 09:57 PM

I had this stuff growing in my tank at one point. Nasty quick growing as all get out. Gravel vac and 2 days later it's back growing again in force. Even with 3 pleco's in a 125. Was trying to control it with gravel vac's and water changes and it never even slowed it down once it got going.

I bought an algae treatment for bluegreen algae but never used it because I soon tore the tank down. Got new gravel, 10% bleach and scrub, reset the tank and it hasn't been back since (knock on wood).

**kcrunch** · 12-13-2012, 12:22 AM

Is the grave fairly new? I ask this because I stopped by a buds house and we found the gravel that he was using had already had signs of contamination and he did not see it. He set up the tank and cycled it and once the cycle was basically complete he was overwhelmed by it. Turned out the bags had it and he never realized. Algae fix is what I have heard many recommend, if not a complete break down and re-establish should do the trick

weedkiller · 12-13-2012, 01:00 AM

looks like slimer from ghostbusters has been in your tank lol.. Ectoplasm FTW!
I would call ghostbusters to tell them slimer escaped!
seriously though, algae-fix after cleaning it all out, not used it myself but a friend has and he mentioned it to me if i suffer with algae

ZebraDanio12 · 12-13-2012, 04:55 AM

Thanks everyone! The tank previously had fry, and I may have overfed. The light is actually new, but so is the tank. Parameters, I don't know. ran out of test strips....I may have to tear it down before it reaches the plants...

weedkiller · 12-13-2012, 06:02 AM

get summin like api test kit, is more accurate than strips from what ive read everywhere, clean the algae out and cut back on feeding a little and keep the lights off for a few days and a big water change peobably could help as long as ur nitrate levels are low from your tap, need the test kit to see where u stand with parameters or you could be doing a lot of nothing for the tank for no reason.

**Obsidian** · 12-13-2012, 09:26 PM

I doubt you will have to take it down. Just figure it out and move from there. I am not so sure it is a blue green algae. I have had that and it has a bluer tinge to it. And that stuff peels off quite easily. What I would do is vac it up as it shows up, and work on changing parameters one at a time until it clears.

You can also do a tank black out but you want to be careful with that as it could hike your numbers. If you black out the tank then you have to make it completely dark for at least a week. That will kill off the algae because it won't have light to feed it. I would want to do a water change in there so your numbers don't hike up. As the algae dies it sends out ammonia etc. The method can be very effective though. If you have plants in there you probably don't want to go this route.