Blanket Algae

Hello everybody, my first post and it’s want want want. I have an established 125 litre tank. I have 2 young ,fantastic looking Ancistrus Sp. Rio Tocantins Bristlenose, 5 Leopard Danios, 4 Mollys, 2 Galaxy Rasboros, 2 Mountain Minnows ½ a dozen shrimp and ½ dozen Assassin snails. I am awaiting 4 young Ancistrus Sp. Rio Paraguay Bristlenose and 4 Panaque L002 Tiger Plecos. I have been away at sea for the past 4 months and I returned to find my water quality less than perfect (it being looked after by family members) and a weird looking almost luminous green blanketing moss/algae covering some of the glass, and draped over the stones and my live plants, quite sticky as well. There is also a black furry kind of stuff on the grills of the pump housing. I have been home 3 weeks now and am getting my water quality back on track. I live in a rural part of Northern Ireland and the water could best be described as hard. I have been searching places to get bottled distilled water. But the blanketing moss seems to be coming back. I can’t see where it is coming from. The tank is by a window, but never in direct sunlight, I read somewhere that can lead to an algae explosion. Does anyone have any solutions to any of my problems; I would very much appreciate any help. Also is my fish species mixture acceptable, I would like to stick to all Plecos, and try a bit of breeding but that will only happen when I can find good homes for the other breeds. Thank you all in advance for any help you can provide.
Best Regards
Glensman

I am not familiar with that type of algae. But just as a warning, if you do find a way to get rid of it all at once, be prepared for a mini or moderate cycle. That amount of dead algae would greatly and unexpectedly create a high bioload.

Good luck and keep us posted!

Oh yeah! WELCOME to Bristlenose world!! One of the friendliest forums around

Look up aquarium CYANOBACTERIA on the internet. It sounds like what you are dealing with.

It looks like algae, and is even referred to as "blue-green algae", but is not an algae but a bacteria. Algea eaters won't eat it, and algae treatments won't kill it. If you can rather easily wipe it off smooth surfaces in sheets, only to have it return in a few days, that's the culprit. It's usually a water quality issue, and may resolve now that you are home to address it.

Sarah

yeah, I'd be doing some big water changes.

If your water is not much good then you can look at getting an RO filter system.

RO will be cheaper in long term than bottled water.
Reduce light and get some fast growing plants + dose Flourish Excel by Seachem. Regular CO2 system would help too.
"A black furry kind of stuff" is probably black brush algae. SAE eat it like crazy.
Out of topic, your tank might be a bit small for all these plecs you're planning. Don't forget they're territorial.

Firstly thank you very much for your help.I have done an almost 1/2 water change so far and another partial one planned for tomorrow . My water is not as hard as first thought. I have two water supplies into the house,one spring which is very hard and also the mains which is less so. So it isn't too bad . Kaban, could you tell me what an SAE is, that enjoys the Brush Algae so much. And I will be finding homes for some of my other breeds to hopefully allow enough space for the Plecs one I rationalise then when they are old enough to sex, if that is adequate ?

Siamese algae eater
http://www.google.ca/imgres?imgurl=http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/may08/images/siamese-algae-eater-lg.jpg&imgrefurl=http://www.fishlore.com/aquariummagazine/may08/siamese-algae-eater-id.htm&h=194&w=259&sz=1&tbnid=sO6-5owBqQsqAM:&tbnh=150&tbnw=200&zoom=1&usg=__GCE_3FMASBlwN4tSgGy8yUPc_UE=&docid=LAA8PpE2uXI5eM&itg=1&sa=X&ei=JIQzUY_hD-vU0gGH3YGYCg&ved=0CIcBEPwdMAo

What I wrote, wasn't about overstocking and ammonia problems so it's not about other species too. Plecs are so called bottom feeders and that's where they have have their territory.

Siamese algae eaters are great and fun fish, but unless you plan to rehome them after a time I'd be hesitant about adding them to your size tank. They should be kept in small groups. They can be kept alone, but they are extremely social and active. Without each other to chase about they may bother other fish.

They also get fairly large and besides eating algae they are extremely fond of all kinds of carnivore foods - and very quick to snatch it up before slower fish can get to it. I definitely wouldn't trust them with ANY species of fry, since they adore live foods. Your shrimp may not be safe either.

They also tend to dwell in the bottom layer of the tank, esp when older and heavier, since they cannot "float" when not in motion. When they stop swimming they will rest on plant leaves when small, but as they grow they must use the bottom.

Just a heads up, because they are charming fish that may be hard to part with once you have them! I have three big fat adults in a 60 gal. and I don't think a much smaller tank would be adequate for them.

Sarah

Hello Folks, I do believe I may have cracked this one. Thanks to the other posters of course. And tinternet. I have carried out several water changes, the last one today with a couple of inches of rain water I was able to collect with the last rain we had here. Supplemented with my mains water, not too hard, and the Aquasafe treatment for tap water. I have had the lights off for nearly a week, only having them on for a while in the morning and evening for feeding. The blanket algae/bacteria was lifted out when seen ,and I dont see any new growth. So ,plenty of water changes, lights off and lifting out of any traces of the gunk when spotted. I thank the guys who steered me in the right direction.

Very good to hear!

Keep up with regular water changes, and watch the feeding. The caretaker of your tank while you were away may have unintentionally been a bit to generous. As you've probably found out in researching, overfeeding is often a factor in triggering outbreaks.

Well done, that stuff can be hard to quell once it takes hold!.

Sarah