Eradicate Algae From Your NEW Aquascape | Aquascaping
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- Опубліковано 9 лют 2025
- I this video I show you how to reduce algae in a newly scaped planted aquarium or aquascape. The methods in this video pertain to lighting and manual maintenance, such as reducing the photoperiod or intensity of the lights, and manually removing all algae with your hands and increasing the frequency of water changes. ADU Aquascaping is here to help you become a planted tank guru. Before you can ever consider yourself an aquascaper you must first master the art of growing plants to their optimum level. Many hobbyists believe that their plants are healthy enough or are displaying satisfactory growth, but in most cases their plant health could be improved upon. You will also need to maintain good water quality if you want to achieve optimum plant growth. Eradicate algae from your new aquascape. Aquascaping
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Always the easiest variable to control, raise lighting up, photoperiod down, so often overlooked. Always a pleasure to add ADU to the day's viewing.
colinbarsby indeed. Even I was forgetting. Haha. Should have seen all the fuzz and beard algae. This method worked way faster than anything else, and no chemicals! Thanks for watching man
We all thank you Dave for sharing your knowledge and skills. THX.
Always excited to see a new vid from you man, your tanks very beautiful. Thanks for the tips, very easy and cost-effective. The light as a limiting factor definitely works!
Fish For Thought thanks for watching man. Yeah, most hobbyists should be running lower light. Medium light with pressurized CO2 is a very easy setup to maintain. Too much light or too little light is often an issue for many hobbyists.
I was cleaning a clump of weeping moss filled with hair algae like 5 minutes before watching this video haha algae is always a pain but oh well ... Great looking tank Dave, I love how the steam plants at the right gave me a depth perspective
Ricardo Ortiz sounds like my tank. It was pretty bad before. Yeah just rip it out. You'll be happy you did in a few weeks. Thanks for watching man
I have a little different technique and this might be due to my tanks are primarily scaped with stem plants with no moss or carpet plants. You are so correct when you state you need to be consistent with your maintenance and put in the work.
My balanced 40b has twice experienced an algae outbreak when I did a major re-scape and uprooted and removed too many stem plants. I now re-scape in increments to avoid this problem.
Instead of lowering the light intensity I change to a staggered schedule (4 on, 4 off, 4 on). I also don't remove all the leaves with algae but will just remove the worst ones at each maintenance as I don't want to disturb the current plant growth. I watch the new leaves at the top of the stem to see if algae is less pronounced or non-existent to check on the progress of re-balancing the tank. This may take awhile as I wait for the plants to become established after the re-scape. If I see good progress being made then I will again in increments chop a few stems at the base and re-plant the clean top during each maintenance.
As always enjoy your videos and thanks for sharing your knowledge.
Rod S hey that sounds good to me. Similar methodology. Both are from a gardening perspective vs using chemicals or gadgets. This is better overall because we are solving the issue and not just using a band-aid. Will make it easier to maintain in the end. Well I only cut all the leaves off because all of them were heavily infested with algae. Should have seen the scape before. Total disaster. So far these methods are working better than most I have tried. Thanks for the support and for watching.
Great video, great advice! Sweet tank Dave :)
AQUAPROS hey thanks for checking in celebrity. Haha. Should have seen the tank before. Total disaster.
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ADU Aquascaping 😘
this video came just in time!!! i have at least 4 tanks that im struggling with new tank algae in, i need to step my light back a bit, thanks!
Kyle Weltner glad I could help. These methods are very effective. Thanks for watching! Also no chemicals are used and it is very cost effective too
tank looking good getting that balance factor going
Robert Abila indeed. Finally. It was a total disaster.
Really beautiful tank friend. Love your professional level videos!
Lets-Make-a-Deal hey thanks for watching. Just got a Blue Yeti mic so the audio should be better from now on. Thanks for the kind words
Hi Dave, welcome back. If I may add, get some SAE’s or oto’s to help battle the algae. I had a problem with BBA and the SAE’s took care of it in a week!
Rommel R I have some Other cats and a bunch of shrimp, but they weren't doing the job. SAEs do work well. I can't mess up the scale of my tank! Haha. I am an aquascaping snob. Ha
Otos*
+ADU Aquascaping I see what you’re saying there about messing up your scale. I have some praecox rainbows and it does mess up the scale. I love them though but an aquarist told me the humane way to let go is to use clove oil if you know what I mean, it’s a terrible thought.
Rommel R Well if you do end up getting rid of them you could put them in a garden if possible. Not pleasant if you have become attached. I used to put fish in my garden from time to time. Better than nothing. Or trade them in at your LFS if they do trades.
That's coming in real nice man. Another great vid too!
Now it is. Hahaha. Should have seen it before! Thanks for watching man
Tank is looking good. Good tips for everyone
Always Good to see another video :)
fin doe thanks for watching!
Great looking tank and tips. Thanks for sharing.
JRPy Fish-n-Game you're welcome. Thanks for the kind words!
Finally a new video 😁.
The algae issue is always present in some form in the aquarium hobby. I have bba in my 190 gallon tank. I think it looks good on rocks etc but I hate when it’s on the edges of my plants. It’s really dense planted and I’ve tried most things except co2. Just have some sodastream tubes and I don’t waNt to change tubes every week 😂😂.
Haha, yeah that would be too expensive and may lead to more algae if the CO2 starts fluctuating. May have to manually remove it by hand and do some deep maintenance. Remove detritus and clean filter. I once had a lot off bba in one of my setups and I basically had to just manually remove it, increase O2 and CO2 and keep up on more frequent maintenance until it was gone. Getting rid of most algae just takes manual work once it is established. Or get SAEs, but I don't like them anymore. They always eat my mosses.
Tank looking good man!
Kicx14 thanks! Glad you are enjoying this scape. It is looking good now. Should have seen it before. Haha
Wow so so so incredible setup ...😍
Prathmesh Aquatics hey thanks for watching and glad you like the scape!!
Wow this is incredibly beautiful and awesome information.
D.P.K Fish Aquariums hey thanks for the kind words and for watching!
Great tips, helped me with my algae problem with my new tank. Love the 45U from ultum nature systems. Your vids helped me choose that one and I love its clarity.
One question pertaining to this; UNS sells their own Plant Food fertilizer similar to seachem flourish; is this needed if I use Controsoil with some ADA products under the substrate? My plants seem to be loving the controsoil which is a huge plus, but I don't want to be dosing anymore stuff if it'll just eventually cause algae from an imbalance. I have mostly stem plants in it with bucephalandra on dragonstones. Thanks!
rdrdghd soil and root tabs will add a lot of nutrients especially in the beginning. Over time you may need to dose. I usually dose liquid fertilizers if I have a lot of mosses, Buces and Anubias. If you have really fast growth and high light you will need to as well. You can always dose small amounts. Just minimally dose. Do half the recommended dose for example.
Most tank setups are low to medium light, so I always dose small amounts unless I am a setup that is really high light and CO2.
Gotcha, thank you very much! I think I'll pick up a bottle of that UNS plant food for sooner light dosing. :)
Thank you for all your input! I am currently battling my first experience with algae in my water column! Yikes! Fish don't mind though lol
lovinmzre Thanks for watching. Haha. Yeah they may love it. Just keep up on your maintenance and stay consistent!
Need my tanks looking like this one!!
j03yYunG Aquariums just keep up on your maintenance and try implementing the husbandry techniques mentioned in the video.
Yeah its hard with 17+ tanks. :/ I can keep x1 looking nice though :)
nice scape, interesting video!
Samuel St-Pierre thanks! And thanks for watching.
I had java fern that was caked in green spot. I pulled it all out and gave it away. a few months later I noticed little leaves growing all over the driftwood it was attached to. A closer look revealed it was actually from attached roots that got ripped off from the java fern. Now I got some new java fern growing in just off the roots, it blew my mind.
Pray4Mojo It is mind blowing. Plants are pretty awesome in a lot of ways. I had a similar situation with some mini pellia. Just grows from spores, so you can get a large amount from a single spore. Thanks for watching
That is such a pretty tank!
DMAN D thanks!! Glad you like it. It is now... Before I was really worried. Luckily these methods were effective. Hope your tanks are doing well.
awesome tank mate!!
Awesome video
TheBossManhunt thanks, glad you enjoyed it
Nice driftwood.How many drift wood are you used or attaching in this aquarium.
Great video, very informative!
Although, I don't know that is low light or high in terms of LED light. Should I look into lumens or lux? I don't have a PaR meter.
Thanks
Good stuff! thanks!
H.C. Aqua thanks for watching! Was a pain for a bit. Total disaster
Thinking of trying Halo lights over my Kessils. Any opinions.Like my Kessils just curious.
what kind of drift wood is that man and where did u get it!! your tank looks beautiful
E. K thanks for the kind words. It is Manzanita driftwood. I collected it locally. It grows in the Western US. And also likes to grow under Ponderosa pine trees. Just have to talk to your local Forest Service about getting a permit. That is if you live close to some
This method of making light the limiting factor is a very effective method to use. Over time you can increase light as the plant density goes up. Manually removing the algae and doing more frequent water changes also quickens the process. A clean up crew, chemicals, or gadgets do not replace the need for good husbandry techniques and consistent maintenance.
Thank you for the video! What about the plants like eleocharis hair grass? Do you recommend to remove leaves affected with algae too? I have a crazy outbreak of green and black algae :(
What kind of lighting are you using??
Interesting tip Dave!
I heard you mentioned should dial the co2 up when we rise up the light fixtures, why is that?
Jesse Norman I am actually really glad you noticed that. Light and CO2 work synergistically with photosynthesis. If you increase CO2 less energy will be needed for CO2 fixation. This frees up energy to be used towards more efficiently creating chlorophyll. This also works the other way to some degree, but if you add too much light with little CO2 it is more risky. But the extra light can free up energy so the plants can better fixate the available CO2. In a low CO2 environment it would more than likely be in the bicarbonate form and they would be fixating that. This is of course a harder environment to balance and runs the risk of algae compared to the low to medium light environment with more CO2. Tropica of Denmark did an entire scientific study on the topic. You may be able to Google: How light and CO2 work together Tropica, and it may come up. Claus is one of the authors of the paper. Of course higher light and high CO2 make it easier, but you can actually reach a saturation level of light that is too much for some plants and slows down growth. This is why shade loving plants love the shade and produce more chlorophyll in low light. They will also grow faster and spread out more in low light. High light can shock them and reduce growth and chlorophyll production. Hope this helps. Most people will probably not even pick up on the significance of that comment. Thanks for noticing and for watching.
Pretty tank dude! Interesting thoughts and stuff you tend to forget when you've had a tank running a while. The lovely black beard has reared its head in my 'big' tank, pretty sure it's a flow issue for me though.
I battled hair algae in my Walstad bowl for months but all of a sudden it just seemed to right itself, now it's gin clear and good to go. Could've been the cycling process?
matthew smith It could have been a cycling issue. The BOD may have been high. Most tanks start off with high BOD and then it gets Lower as root mass and bacteria mature. Well you can have Black beard in high flow, but low flow could induce it even more.
I have a gnarly GSA problem in my 40 breeder. It just won't go away; I tried spot treating with phosphate, increasing overall phosphate levels, reducing the light intensity, and reducing the photoperiod. The stuff has just been really persistent! So I just added pressurized co2 (first go at it)...hoping that eventually optimizing co2 levels will do the trick to finally eradicating this crap. :(
can’t find your video about glutaraldehyde… i’ve forgot the dosation and frequency
This tank is absolutely stunning! Does anyone know if that scape would be betta safe?
Sullivan Proctor thanks, glad you like it. It would be safe plant wise, but a Betta would probably eat the shrimp. I have a lot of baby Sunkist Orange Sakura shrimp in here.
Hi Dave, nice video. Please why are you using 2 Halo for this tank?
Steve Hung Currently I am running only one. I had two on there from my last scape. My last scape I needed two just for the look I was going for. I ran the lighting at only 35% of full power for both lights. Currently, with one fixture, I am running it at 50% of full power.
I personally precycle all my tanks. I set up all hardscape and put soil in. Then i run the tank with my filter and surface skimmer ect. for a few weeks WITHOUT the light while adding bacteria such as Seachem Stability. The soil will leech ammonia into the water and with the bacteria the tank will cycle. Then I am planting into a cycled tank with no ammonia spikes from new aqua soil. Avoid a lot of algae with this method but requires patience
Sorry for noobie question, do you or ada setups use tap water in planted tanks? Or do you guys use RO/RODI?
I do both. Currently I am using tap water. Also, my tap water is liquid rock. It has really high carbonate hardness. If you have a neutral pH than even better. If you have really hard water than you may want to use pressurized CO2 and dose liquid fertilizers. Essentially a high-tech setup. A low-tech setup doesn't do as well with hard water. It is harder to get the plants to grow as well or as easily. In a low-tech setup you always want a more neutral pH. If the tap water is too hard it will impede growth. Hope this gives you some more ideas. Also, when I use RO/DI water I only use it because it allows me to know exactly what is going into the tank. It is more of a control measure if using it with a high-tech setup. Just allows you to have a consistent and measured approach.If you ever do use RO/DI water you can reconstitute the water with potassium bicarbonate.
Nice video man,
I have one question though.
So if you can increase the photoperiod/intensity of the light as the the plant mass increases does that mean that after a big trim of plants (significant enough to make the tank look fairly bare again) should you lower the intensity/reduce the photoperiod to make up for a loss in plant mass?
Harry Finley no you won't have to. It is based more on submersed growth vs the initial emersed growth, for most hobbyists. And also relative to the root mass and microbial fauna mass as well. In the beginning of a setup all of these criteria are in an immature condition.
ADU Aquascaping nice one Thankyou!
Longtime fan Dave. I finally beat black beard algae in my 75 gallon,but now I have milk algae bloom in the water column. Twin T5 bulbs, flourish comprehensive dosing once a week cap and half full, DYI yeast CO2m and medium to low light plants. The plants are growing great, its the water. I started feeding frozen foods recently, Is this the problem? I am looking at UV. Any help appreciated
Roger Dedham hey thanks for watching!! Milk algae? Is it a bacterial bloom?
UV will help with bacterial blooms and green water. Frozen food should be fine. Maybe just dial it back a bit.
Light and CO2 work synergistically. That's why if you reduce light and increase CO2 it will boost growth. Additional CO2 frees up energy to be better spent on more efficiently producing chlorophyll, which more efficiently utilizes the available light. That's why I said if you reduce the light than slightly increase the CO2. Plants at lower levels will then be able to better focus on chlorophyll production.
I don't have CO2, can I use excel and how much? I have 5 gal fluval spec V and now after 2 months I started seeing string algae. I am removing it everyday with tweezers but keeps growing back. as per your advise, I will cut the plants with algae and do more water changes (twice a week) and reduce light period from 8 hours to 6 hours ... anyother advise or would this be enough? Thanks bro!
Shawky hineidi Excel, if overdosed with caution, can help subdue algae growth, but as a CO2 alternative it actually doesn't add much additional CO2 to the aquarium. You can use it and even slowly increase the recommended dosing amount to double those levels. It has some algicide like properties.
ok, will slowly increase the excel hoping it will help beat the algae. will also start saving up for a proper CO2 system. Thanks for the prompt response bro. I was actually watching your other videos on water flow. MAN if I knew about your channel before, things would have been much easier. I am new to this hobby but I think with your informative videos, I will learn a lot and fast!! keep it up Sir!
Hi
Did you buy the driftwood online and if so where?
I didn't. I collected it in the woods. You can go to manzanita-driftwood.com/
Hey Dave,
How much longer do you have to do in school? I just trimmed out a shit ton of my java moss about a week ago. I was a little apprehensive about it, but there's already a lot less algae.
James Goose After this semester just 18 more credits to go. Should be done by next Christmas. Will be a total of 5 years, which is about average for a science degree. Can't wait. I am getting tired of school. Haha. Sounds about right. That's usually how it is for me. Had to do that with some of my mini Christmas moss, but now it's doing a lot better. My next video is going to be on how to care for mini Christmas moss.
what filter do you have on this?
Aquaria Photography An API Filstar medium size canister filter.
Does this apply to diatoms as well ?
Watch my Diatoms series
New planted 10 gallon tank with sand substrate and a finnex stingray. Haven’t had too much algae issues on glass, ornaments, or plants but I’ve noticed the sand is starting to turn a little green. Any ideas on what I could do? The only plants are 8-9 Corkscrew vallisneria and 1 Blyxa Japonica. The light is on for 1 hour in the morning and 6.5 hrs in the afternoon. Any advice would be greatly appreciated
Steve Story I have seen that quite a bit with sand too. Probably just dust algae. Not much you can do other than mix the sand or siphon the top layer if you find it unattractive.
What about brown algae? Is that detritus or diatoms? It keeps appearing!!!
Candyfloss well it should be diatoms. Usually a sign that the microbial fauna have not fully matured. Is it a new tank or any fluctuations in water quality or oxygen levels?
ADU Aquascaping Tank's been setup for a year. Have a powerhead breaking up the surface for oxygen. Has been planted from the start. I hear that silicate from sand can do this?
Candyfloss that isn't true. Just a myth. It is a sign of fluctuating microbial fauna. Nutrient imbalances, O2, etc... May have to do a deep cleaning of filter, increase O2. Over time microbial beds naturally balance to include mostly Ciliate colonies. The cycle may be restarting or being reset by other factors. Usually fluctuations in water quality.
When you say 'microbial fauna' do you mean the beneficial bacteria in the filter?
Candyfloss yes, everywhere really. Growing in the filter, on plants, rocks, etc... Over time a microbial colony will have different stages. Usually it starts with diatoms. This is why you see them first. Healthy microbial colonies include mainly Ciliate colonies. Besides bacteria. These are multi cellular organisms. It is just a natural occurrence seen throughout nature. If the water has a good bioload balance, which is related to organic levels, O2 levels, and circulation, than the multi cellular organism colonies will be primarily Ciliates. A balanced aquarium will usually have low organic waste if you are keeping up on your maintenance, so our aquariums are rather sterile in these colony concentrations versus a natural body of water. If you keep getting diatoms than your colonies may be resetting or are stressed. May be from low O2, fluctuations in filter performance, etc... It is hard to say exactly what the cause is, but this is how the colonies operate. It is a bell curve on a graph. Far left is diatoms, ciliates center of curve, and larger protozoan on the far right. Colonies with more predatory protozoan on the far right of the curve usually appear when there is far too much pollution. Ciliates I explode eat all the organics and then predators step in. You may be seeing Rhizo algae. This algae looks very similar to filamentous diatoms, but is an algae. Try increasing O2, circulation, and cleaning the detritus from the top layer of substrate and within the filter. Treat your water if using tap water with Seachem Prime, and trim and prune decaying or unhealthy leaves from plants. And keep up on maintenance. Consistent maintenance is key to success. And also high O2.
My water keeps turning brown, and has been for almost 7 months
I boiled my wood before I put it in serveral times and have been doing more water changes for the past few months and it's still brown
Is it just the wood or is it maybe algae spores in the water? What should I do
Dream Team It is more than likely tannins from the wood if it is yellow brown tea color. It can take some wood a long time to release all the tannins. Algae isn't usually brown in color. Could take the wood out and do a few water changes and see if the coloration goes away after you take the wood out. That way you can determine if it is the wood causing the discoloration.
Dupy nie urywa: ) Ale fajne. Good Job: )
KUBUSS SS thanks!! Glad you like it
Great video and information, thanks.
Potentiometer? Ha ha swallowed a dictionary, dimmer would have sufficed.
Haha, what's funny is I probably didn't know what to call it, so I went with it. Actually got it from electric guitar lingo haha
In my next life I want to be with you fish
jack sparrow hahaha, thanks. You will have to put up with me staying up all night and constantly rearranging the scape. But I do play guitar to my fish
would love to feature you on my channel bud im switching back to plants and keeping shrimp now that i can get the varieties i want i have learned so much from you and a few others and just want to rep the guys that have helped me all through my years i dont want anything in return just would love to feature you!! my half moon didn't work out the wife just couldn't handle the fish in the BR lol but ill post my new scape soon i think you would like it Dave ive always loved your nano setups ty for the comment you left take care man awesome video as always good sir hope you enjoy the jbj 20 cubey im almost done with it i built a shrimp city out of lava rock and silicone ive got 15 hours into the scape lol along witha 12 pack cant wait to put it together im also going to add RGB LEDs just to set her off lol cheers Dave until next time
Thanks for watching as always man. At this time I am not doing any promotional videos or spotlight videos. Just too busy with school. I am doing senior classes and projects. Thanks for the offer and as always thanks for watching.
all my moss has algea on it , ...i think my tank is too warm .
theklrdude oo Yes it may be too warm for the moss if the lighting isn't very high
Good looking tank, you can’t even tell there was algae in it.
sagrath1982 thanks as usual!!!! I agree. Should have seen it before. Tons of fuzz and Black beard algae. Even some chladophora
ADU Aquascaping can’t believe it! I set up a need tank and this tank was the inspiration for is but since it is discus many plants don’t like warm
Water but these ones seem
To work good, I got little algae since I set up with cycled media and substrate. Awesome video as usual and tank.
I cannot get rid of BBA in my 40 no matter what. I want to blow the tank up
MASS Aquariums may just have to manually remove it. SAEs can help. Increase O2 and CO2. Just to make the gas concentration more stable. A higher gas flux creates more even distribution of gases throughout the tank.
Reduce organics. Clean filter and top layer of susbtrate. Prune and trim plants
In a high intensity fertilised tank with CO2 limiting light will achieve the opposite.
Without enough light, plants can't out-compete algae.
Of course, this is a different story.
Tilman Baumann that would be limiting it too much. I agree. Hobbyists usually have too much light or too little light when running into algae issues or poor growth. Not including flow, temperature, and O2 levels. Those also play a role, but a medium light tank with CO2 and adequate fertilization is very easy to maintain. More sustained growth as well.
Boop
Wes Ley я не знаю
Just add algae eating fish
yep yes that can help. I have a clean up crew. This method of making light the limiting factor is a very effective method to use. Over time you can increase light as the plant density goes up. Manually removing the algae and doing more frequent water changes also quickens the process. A clean up crew is not a substitute for good husbandry techniques.
Totally agree. I had 2 tuna suns on a 40g and found it was too much. Either burned the plants. So did exactly what you said.