Algae problems?

Question

I have a freshwater aquarium. The ph is about 7.5 and it is 80 degrees. I have live plants and they are getting killed by algae. First little dark green spots grow on the plants' leaves, then the leaves rot (from lack of light?). This keeps happening until the plant is dead and I have to remove it. I have tried a variety of plants, but the problem still exists.

Answer 1

Depending on your lighting, fertilizer, and CO2 status, I would look elsewhere before blaming algae. Algae is usually due to an excess of nutrients (nitrate and phosphate are most common), so the best way to prevent algae is to do water changes. This will remove the ammonia, a key ingredient in algae reproduction. Also, depending on the kind of algae (hair algae, brown algae, black beard algae), you may have too much or too little lighting. Brown algae appears most often when the lighting is too weak, so you would have to get stronger, more intense lighting.

If you have your tank in direct sunlight, or the tank receives more than 12 hours of light a day, that is probably the cause of algae, so limit the light exposure, and avoid ALL direct sunlight. Email me if you have any questions.

Soop Nazi

Answer 2

I also have live plants, and occasionally this happens to me. I have some moneywort plants, some jave moss, and a red lily, and the algae usually appears on the moneywort, but sometimes on the lily. When it appears on the lily, I just have to pick off the leaf before it rots completly. When it appears on the moneywort, I just pick off some of the leaves. Adding a pleco helps too.

Answer 3

I think that you should probably just buy fake plants.They are much easier to have.Ireccomend an algae eater