Ew. too much algae on my plants.

[coolcucumber]

I dont know why, but every time i buy plants, they dont end well. I've had these plants for a while now, and they're growing algae, and some leaves are turning brown and falling off. Its really gross, but i dont want to have wasted my money on all these plants. i've got a good light, and a zebra nerite snail living in the tank with my betta :) Any ideas why this keeps happening?

[Canuck Fins]

Sorry you are having trouble.

Is your tank cycled? How long are you leaving the light on for your tank? Is it near direct sunlight?

[coolcucumber]

Yes, it is cycled, and not in direct sunlight. most of my algae in in the filter, and its brown. but alot of it is hair algae. the light is on for 8hrs a day? sometimes 10?

[JackisLost]

Originally Posted by coolcucumber

Yes, it is cycled, and not in direct sunlight. most of my algae in in the filter, and its brown. but alot of it is hair algae. the light is on for 8hrs a day? sometimes 10?

how strong is your light? how big is your tank? what plants are dying? a good beginning plant that i highly recommend is java moss. these things do well in poor water conditions and low light, and are very beneficial to our tanks! tie them to a rock, tie them to driftwood, the outcome is always beautiful :D

my first tank i ever had also had a hair algae problem! i was so frustrated. what cured my problems forever was Flourish Exel. it is usually used for a liquid c02 source but it has some algae killing properties. the trick i used was tripple dose excel directly over (2-3 inches over) the problem areas with filter turned off for a minute on the first day. following days dose normally. hair algae should turn white or . . . . . lines instead of a solid ________ then fall off and die

[coolcucumber]

I've got an anubias, and im not sure what the other is. its got alot of small leaves on it on a thin green stalk

[Canuck Fins]

Originally Posted by coolcucumber

I've got an anubias, and im not sure what the other is. its got alot of small leaves on it on a thin green stalk

Is it maybe bacopa? I bought some from a store; they called it hornwort but it had no needles so I did some plant searches online.

[wallywestisthebest333]

Sounds like it may be anacharis. Did you buy it at the pet store?

Anacharis is notorious for hair algae.

How many watts is your light and how many gallons is your tank?

I also recommend putting you light on a timer. The reason I recommend this is because you might be using up all of the CO2 in your tank and your plants stop sucking up nutrients because there isn't enough CO2 in the tank. Giving your plants a four hour nap with four hours of light before and after the nap is a great way to restore CO2 levels.

^^^ Take that info with a grain of slat because I may be wrong. People who have had planted tanks for longer than I have would be better equipped to answer this question.

You can buy an outlet timer at a hardware store like Lowes or Home Depot. You set your timer as outlined in your timer's instructions, plug it into the wall, and plug the light into the timer. YOu turn the switch on the timer to "Timer" and then it does the work for you.

If that doesn't work out you could always buy more of the stem plant and toss it in there. There may be too many nutrients and not enough plants in the tank to suck them up, therefore algae.

A good scrubbing over the sink every now and then helps out too because you really need to remove it from the leaves or else the plant will get no light and die. <-- This I know is true and works. =]

Just remember to be gentle. =]

Hope this helps some! =]

[Thunderloon]

If you can read beside the tank with the tank's light off, its likely getting enough light for anubias already. The dim filament lights shipped with most aquariums aren't a sick joke, they're in the low range of the needed lighting.