Algae – Green Dust & Fuzz

At the last GWAPA meeting, I gave a presentation called Algae in the Planted Aquarium. While preparing for the presentation, I had to gather a lot of information from a number of different sources on the Internet. I’ve decided to declare this week Algae Week, and share that gathered information by posting about two types of algae each day. This is the fourth installment featuring Green Dust & Fuzz Algae.

Green Dust Algae (GDA)

Green Dust Algae (GDA) is a “dusty” green film that appears on the surface of the glass. It’s caused by zoo-spores, and seems to avoid attaching to hardscape items or plant leaves.

Cause:

• Unfortunately, I haven’t been able to locate a concrete cause for GDA.

Cure:

• Leave alone – GDA appears to have a finite lifecycle, so that if you allow it to run full cycle without scraping it from the glass, it should harden, and fall off after roughly 21 days. After this time, scrap any remaining GDA from the glass, and do a thorough cleaning and water change.
• Nerite Snails – Nerite snails can help eat through some of the GDA on the glass, but the approach above will likely have to be undergone for full removal.

Fuzz Algae

Fuzz algae often shows up on plant leaves giving their edges a slightly fuzzy appearance.

Causes:

• Nutrient Imbalance – Strive for the following nutrient levels: N (10-20ppm), P (0.5-2ppm), K (10-20ppm), Ca (10-30ppm), Mg (2-5ppm), Fe (.1ppm).
• Low CO2 – Strive for 20-30ppm concentration of CO2, as permitted by fauna.

Cure:

• Maintain proper nutrient/CO2 levels
• Algae Crew – Siamese Algae Eaters (SAE), Amano shrimp, Otocinclus, and Mollys are known to eat this algae.

Sources:

Aquatic Plant Central Thread
Aquatic Plant Central – Algae Finder
AquaticScape