Algae - Knockdown, Nuke, or Adjust?

[PVT-Kanaka]

Diana,

Thanks. I decided to get a fertilizer ("Excel") and some quick growing plants - water sprite and "Val." I added both after a 90% water change and gravel vacuum and another shaving of the wood. As you alluded to, something else had to be done to give the system a chance to recover its balance.

FYI, I heavily weighed the H2O2 treatment you recommended. I just didn't think I could spot treat all the wood's nooks and crannies, and I think there was simply too much of this algae hiding hither and yon throughout the tank. A more system wide approach seemed the better option.

And now...I wait!

Aloha,
Eric

[Diana]

Excel is a good substitute for CO2 for many plants. Some cannot use it, though, and some can be harmed by it.
Good luck with the algae treatment.

[PVT-Kanaka]

Thanks! So far, so good!

[PVT-Kanaka]

Update...

Daily dosages of Excel have continued. Very minimal algae return (~1% of visible surface of the java wood), and it has all but disappeared from my long-suffering Cyrpt. The surviving Java fern seems to be better, too.

As for my attempt to introduce plants, the water sprite is slowly disintegrating. Such is my fate with stem plants. The val lost some leaves, but it appears to be stable.

This week is the biweekly water purge and gravel vacuum. The algae is at a level I can live with, so I will not shave the wood; rather, I will spot check with my brush and let the filter and water change get what I knock loose. I will continue the use of Excel, and I might add some more Val. If the algae stays at this low level of return, I will keep up this pattern of dosing and slow plant addition. If not, I will scour the wood again, bite the bullet, and apply the algaecide.

Thanks again to Diana and others for letting me float these ideas around!

Aloha,
Eric

[ScottFish]

Congrats on the algae knockdown!

[PVT-Kanaka]

Update:

So the pattern of touching up the algae every other week and removing the wood for a complete scrubbing every fourth week continues. On the whole, I would guess the rate of return is slower. My Crypt looks healthier, and the Val seems to be going from holding to growing, based on a few runners with daughter plants. A sword plant I bought about 2 weeks ago, however, seems to be just holding on. I continue to dose with Excel every 1 to 2 days. I almost bought the algaecide, but I want to see if the sword plant takes, hoping it will outcompeted the algae.

Patience remains my guide on this one...

Eric