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Re: [APD] How to get rid of Alage on glass walls



I've never fully understood why this works.  So this species only 
produces spores for a short period and then not again until the next 
bloom?  What is its trigger?  Does disturbing the algae before the 2-3 
weeks are up cause it to produce more spores...it must otherwise it 
would go away in a few weeks regardless.  If, for example, some tank 
condition re-emerges that will cause a bloom, after the initial bloom  
(say one week after), do you then have to wait 3-4 weeks?  In other 
words, is it only mechanical disturbances that re-trigger the bloom or 
can chemical causes, say low CO2 or an NH4 spike, restart the life 
cycle.  One thing I have never quite understood is why would this 
species only produce spores for that initial short period?  Also, if 
eradication is so dependent on not disturbing anything, would not plants 
rubbing against the glass or fish like otos cause another bloom?

Dennis

Vaughn Hopkins wrote:
> Hi,
> You now have the opportunity to observe an algae throughout its life  
> cycle!  This is green dust algae, which is exactly as you describe.   
> You can get rid of it by just leaving it totally alone for 2 to 3  
> weeks, without touching it at all.  No accidental touches, no  
> scraping, no wiping.  It is a form of algae that starts as zoospores,  
> which are free swimming algae spores.  When you wipe the glass now,  
> you just spread them into the water, where they swim around looking  
> for a well lighted hard flat place - the glass.  There it once again  
> settles in and tries to live out it's life cycle.  But, if you leave  
> it totally alone, it changes to the non-swimming stage, where it is  
> possible to get rid of it.  After 2 to 3 weeks it looks different,  
> blotchy brownish with circles of lighter material, with bubbles in  
> it.  If you did nothing at all now it would just die and fall off,  
> but you can now wipe it off, and it isn't likely to come back.
>
> I have gone thru this three times now - it took two tries for my 29  
> gallon tank, because I accidentally scraped some off changing water  
> after about ten days, which reset it, then I didn't wait another 2 to  
> 3 weeks before wiping it off.  The second time I did it right and it  
> didn't come back.   Today I just finished wiping and scraping off  
> another such growth on my 45 gallon tank.  This one really turned  
> brown before I removed it, and it looked almost like tar as I wiped  
> it off.
>
> My light fixture doesn't light the front glass except about half way  
> down and down to the substrate, so the algae didn't grow in the  
> unlighted area of the glass.   Maybe we run into this from too much  
> light?
>
> The above treatment method is one developed by Tom Barr - one more of  
> his contributions to our hobby.
>
> Vaughn H.
>
> On Oct 14, 2006, at 12:21 PM, Saugata Banerjee wrote:
>
>   
>> Hi! All,
>>
>> I have a 6 month old 90g planted tank. The tank is heavily planted.  
>> Since
>> the past 2 months I am facing this problem of alage growth on the  
>> glass
>> walls. This alage can be easily wiped with a soft cloth & in fact I  
>> was
>> doing the same thing during every w/c. However, after the w/c  
>> withing a 3-4
>> days the wall will again get covered with this alage. Some of the  
>> important
>> dtls. of my tank is as follow:-
>>
>> Light - 36w x 8 nos Philips T8 lights (6500k) @ 12 hrs
>> CO2- Pressurised - 24X7 mixed through a reactor
>> An additional Powerhead for better circulation of water (this I have
>> installed today)
>> Dosing:On the day of w/c - 15 mls of KNO3 (stock sol. of 8 tb  
>> spoons in 400
>> mls of Distillled water), 2.5 mls of KH2PO4 (stock sol. of 2 tb  
>> spoons in
>> 400 mls of distilled water, 2.5 mls of Trace elements). on the 4th  
>> days 10
>> mls of KNO3, 2.5 mls of KH2PO4 & 2.5 mls of Traces
>>
>> Where am I going wrong? What else do I need to do in order to get  
>> rid of
>> this alage issue?
>>
>> Regards,
>>
>> Saugata
>> _______________________________________________
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>> Aquatic-Plants at actwin_com
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>>     
>
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>   

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