Blue-Green Algae Overload

[thermalgibbon]

I've been setting up a 10 gallon planted tank for about 4 months and it has slowly been taken over by blue-green algae. To combat that I put in three otoclinus who always seem to be eating algae but have been inefficient in stemming the algal tide. I also put in six cherry red shrimp yesterday, but I am doubtful that they'll add much. There must be something wrong with my water quality and I'm looking for advice.

Here is a picture of the tank: Tank Picture
You can see my driftwood is completely covered as well as the java moss attached to the driftwood.

Here are my tank stats:
pH: 6.5-7
NH3: 0
NO3: 0
NO2: 0
KH: 50 ppm
GH: 60 ppm
Lighting: 2X 12 watt fluorescent on for 8 hours a day

Fish in tank:
6 Cherry red shrimp
3 Dwarf Pufferfish
3 Otoclinus

I feed the puffers bloodworms daily, but otherwise I haven't been dosing with anything in the last month. I also used to have the smaller fluval CO2 system, but moved that to a different tank about a month ago. I want to set up a paintball canister CO2 system but haven't gotten around to it. I looked into the EI dosing but it is a bit more labor intensive than what I want now.

From looking online, it seems like my low (or rather complete lack of) nitrates seems to be the main problem. I thought my fish would have put out enough ammonia, but it looks like not.

Does anyone have any help or hints? Thanks.

[Rastapus]

Blue green algae is actually a bacteria. I dont know of any fish that will eat it. Usually related to lighting, nutrients and or excess organics. Thrives in low hardness conditions as well.

[jobber604]

A quick google found the following:

Source: Blue Green Algae Control in Freshwater Aquarium | Aquariums Life

Blue Green Algae Control in Freshwater Aquarium

Description
Blue Green Algae (BGA) has nothing to do with other types of algae usually found in aquarium. This unsightly and potentially hazardous primitive life-form is notoriously hard to get rid of and is the bane of many an aquarist.

Blue Green Algae is actually not an algae but rather Cyanobacteria, a group of bacteria capable of photosynthesis. It appears as thick sheets of blue-green, purple, black or brown slime coating the tank substrate rocks and plants. The slime is actually the protective membrane the bacteria forms around the colony. If left to over-run the tank, it will kill your plants and may also kill your fish (some species of cyanobacteria produce toxins). Once it is well established, the water sometimes smells foul.

Blue Green Algae in one of our oldest ancestor. Unfortunately, the more primitive a life-form is, the less it needs to grow and adapt. Blue Green Algae is usually more tolerant to extreme environments than algae and can be found in locations where algae don’t grow. It can fix nitrogen and may therefore occur in tanks with zero or very low nitrates (but possibly high levels of other nutrients).
In its most common form, the Blue Green Algae is microscopic and harmless. We can’t see it but it’s there, floating around, waiting for the ideal location/condition to grow onto its next life-stage and begin a colony (the slimy stage). In most case, the ideal location is a dead spot with low oxygen, low water movement and lots of organic waste.

Prevention
Dose nitrates (NO3), add powerheads to aid circulation, frequent partial water changes, do not over-feed and make sure your substrate (if any) is well oxygenated.

Treatment
Oxygen: As a result of the complex chemical process that allows it to fix its own nitrogen, oxygen is toxic to the Blue Green Algae (this is actually why it likes death spot and low oxygen). Increasing oxygen level in the tank will help a lot.
You can also use a syringe to spot treat problem areas with H2O2 (Peroxide). In contact with light, Peroxide goes from 2H2O2 to 2H2O + O2 (water and oxygen) which drastically kill Blue Green Algae within minutes. It’s actually pretty enjoyable to watch! I recommend no more than 1ml of Peroxide per 5 gallons of water once every 30-60 min. Because it only treats a small area at the time, Peroxide is usually not the best way to fix a Blue Green Algae problem.

If you are lucky enough to own a dosing pump, adding automatically the equivalent of 1 ml of peroxide per 5 gallons of water every 30 min is a great and easy way to raise oxygen level. This will help a lot but won’t kill it like it does when using a syringe to spot treat.

Manual removal: Removing it manually will only temporarily help but it tends to make it grow back faster. Since it is bacteria, there is no way to get all of it out of your tank. However, it is recommended to remove it from your plants leaves. If you don’t your plants will suffocate to death and suffer from the lack of light.

Water movement: A good circulation would reduce stratification in the aquarium and thus reduce the number of death spot available for the Blue Green Algae to establish.

Well oxygenated substrate: Sometimes Blue Green Algae is seen in small quantities between the substrate and aquarium sides. This usually happen when the substrate compact and does not get oxygenated very well. For more information about substrate, please read Substrate Material For The Planted Aquarium

Cleaning crew: I must admit that I am a little confused about this. I always thought nothing eats the Blue Green Algae but, I have found some articles saying that a few species will actually eat it. Here are some of the species that could possibly eat it:
-Some of the Nerite snails
-American flag fish – Jordanella floridae
-butterfly goddeid – Ameca splendens
-Bluegreen lampeye – Procatopus aberrans
-Red Ramshorn Snails – Planorbis corneus/rubrum

Maracyn: Maracyn (rythromycin) is an effective antibiotic against gram-negative bacteria (Blue Green Algae is a gram-negative bacteria). Some people are worried about damaging the biological filter of beneficial bacteria at the point to nitrite spikes but this is very unlikely to happen. Those spikes are actually the result of dead cyanobacteria, not beneficial bacteria.

3-5 day blackout: According to many, a 3-5 day blackout can be a good way to get rid of the Blue Green Algae (didn’t worked for me). You will have to cover the tank with cardboards to block out any ambient light for 3-5 days. Leave the lights off and don’t feed the fish for that period. Aquarium plants are strong enough to survive without lights for a good week so don’t worry. After a week, remove all death leaves from the tank (if any) and do a 25% water change.

Copper treatment: Personally I don’t like copper. It’s poisonous to everything so I don’t want that in my tank. Most “miracle” treatments you buy contains copper. That should work but there can be consequences.

Reverse Osmosis water:
Excess Dissolved Organic Carbons (DOC) in the water can also be a cause of Blue Green Algae. Some of the reasons for having too many DOC’s include overfeeding, lack of filtration and the use of tap water for water changes.
Typical tap water has a Total Dissolved Solids (TDS), of 250 to 500ppm while Reverse Osmosis water shouldn’t have more than 0-5ppm.
Using Reverse Osmosis water for the next few water changes can reduce what’s in your water drastically and help fighting the algae.

[gklaw]

Ha. Thank Ming, that's what I am looking for in my neglected tank - Maracyn To the store (or my stash) I go after a filter clean and big WC.

[jobber604]

Personally, I would always adhere on the side of methods using natural ways, either manually or water changes, changing lighting periods. Anti-biotics...ehhh....i'm iffy about using any anti-biotics in my tanks. Dosing anti-biotics isn't going to solve the issue over the long run. It'll only solve the issue now and the cynobacteria will just come again.

Find what the real issue is...is it lack of water changes, over feeding, too much lighting.....

[2wheelsx2]

Black out for three days will take care of it. But to fix it permanently the source must be fixed. Bottomed nitrates will cause massive BGA blooms in a planted tank, along with accumulated organics. If your nitrate is truly 0, you have to start dosing nitrates.

[thermalgibbon]

Thanks for the detailed analysis Jobber. I thought my tank would have been getting enough oxygen through the plants, but it actually might be pretty low. I'm also going to start dosing nitrates and try the blackout. I am a bit weirded out that all my levels are zero, but the same test kits found detectable levels of nitrate in my other tank.

[Fansons]

Actually I am very "experienced" with this..

I have a 3F planted tank, around 10 small community fishes, and a Fluval 200 series linked with Eheim 2217 (now I let them run separately.) The following method is the most effective one for me.

Do the following:

1) take your fish out to a separate tank. Keep them alive for a week. Use new water, don't use your tank's water. I put my fishes in a storage bin and filtered the water with a air driven DIY filter.
2) siphon out as much BGA as possible. They smell like.... shit!
3) install a air pump with air stone in the tank and run it. Power head is okay, but you need to have the air line goes into the head, some power head has this function.
4) unplug your light
5) do a 100% water change
6) cover your ENTIRE aquarium with something that can block light. I use those black plastic bags for news paper films. I think anything will work.
7) let the air pump run for 3-4 days, no peeping!!!!!
8) on the 4th or 5th day, do 80-90% water change with minimum light (enough for you to see the water level)
9) turn on the light on the 5th or 6th day, do another 100% water change. Everything back to normal.
10) Siphon out white slim like BGA.

I fought BGA twice using this method, the last time was ... almost 3 years ago. I have not seen it since.

Another method: start over again. you need to put all your filter parts and media in hot water to kill it. Plants has to be washed with bletch. I have done this method, it works for a few months, but came back shortly. I have no idea why! So, I don't recommend it.

I hate BGA so much!!! Wish you good luck!


Fansons

[hlee72ca]

EM, erythromycin, worked for me. It took two doses over a 3 day span. Killed the nasty greenies.

[gklaw]

Personally, I would always adhere on the side of methods using natural ways, either manually or water changes, changing lighting periods. Anti-biotics...ehhh....i'm iffy about using any anti-biotics in my tanks. Dosing anti-biotics isn't going to solve the issue over the long run. It'll only solve the issue now and the cynobacteria will just come again.

Find what the real issue is...is it lack of water changes, over feeding, too much lighting.....

Agree I like Gary's black out method too. Give those a shot first. Was going to work on it last night and now the water is freezing cold without the HWT.