Thread Algae

[fishfanatic2]

It is wreaking havoc on all my plants, especially the pinnate-leafed ones. It attaches around the stem and leaves and then either waves around in the water or wraps itself around other plants. Whenever I try to manually remove it, it just stays connected to the plants and pulls them out of the substrate. Which leaves me with a mass of floating, tangled, and connected stem plants. It has been getting worse within the last few weeks. Manual removal will be physically impossible since I'll end up just destroying all the plants. I used a poly-filter, and there are also a few snails that are propagating nicely, if that will do anything.

Tank Specs are:

20 gallons
45 watts of light
pH-7.0-7.2
Ammonia-0
Nitrite-0
Nitrate-30
Hardness is a bit on the low side, but I occasionally add Equilibrium
I also dose sparingly with flourish iron, potassium, and excel.

Any suggestions for getting rid of this algae would be appreciated.

 

[Anonymous]

phosphates phosphates phosphates!!!!

 

[gpodio]

Thread algae usually apears when a source of ammonia is available. I get this algae when I startup a new tank, during the first 1-3 months and also when I disturb or vacum the substrate, something I do once every couple years. The release of substances from the substrate causes problems for around 1-2 months, then goes away on it's own. Where possible I use an old toothbrush to twirl the thread algae away but the most effective way is to simply grab the effected plants and cut them below the problem areas. It leaves you with a bare tank/area for a little while but I find it to be the most effective way to combat the problem (don't cut all the plants at once obviously). Eventually it will go away once the source of nutrients has been depleted. Test for PO4, make sure it's not too high, then try to reduce ammonia production by keeping the tank clean of any rotting plant matter and making sure your biological filter is adequately sized. In my case I can never detect ammonia levels as they are being consumed as fast as they are being released.

Consistant daily doses of Excel at around double the suggested dose also helps combat the algae.

Some SAEs will also contribute by eating some of it.

Hope that helps
Giancarlo