The problem that many aquarium lovers face is the black beard alga, which it is quite difficult to remove from a home pond. It is an intertwining of black-green hairs up to 5 cm long, fastened to stones, leaves, driftwood, on any surfaces, and becomes a real problem for the beauty of the aquarium. Algae grows quite quickly and spoils the appearance of the living corner. It does not affect the health of fish and other plants.
The cause of the appearance of an unnecessary black beard in the aquarium may be improper care - it often appears in the old water with an overabundance of organic. First you need to understand what was done wrong: there may be strong or vice versa, weak lighting, many fish or overfeeding, for a long time did not clean the aquarium. Algae appear in those cases if the optimal balance of light, carbon dioxide and organic substances has been disturbed in water. Before removing the black beard from the aquarium, all possible causes of its appearance must be eliminated.
Means from a black beard in an aquarium
A radical option is chemical, it involves the use of brown, boric acid or antiseptics. This method is effective, but it can harm fish and healthy plants.
There are specialized means for algae control, for example, Aljifex. It removes algal fouling, and copes with the flowering of water. For fish and plants, it is non-toxic and keeps the aquarium clean. Some aquarists are sure that the chemical method gives temporary results and it is necessary to take out the black beard systematically - to deprive it of all nutrients.
Fighting a black beard in an aquarium
To stop the growth of unnecessary algae, we must ensure that all the nutrients are consumed by plants, and nothing gets to the beard.
For this, it is necessary to increase the biomass - to plant the aquarium with fast growing plants, such as hygrophila, nasas, ludwigia, riccia , hornwort, and others. They will absorb nutrients. To stimulate them, you can cut and plant young shoots in the ground.
One of the most effective ways to get rid of a black beard in an aquarium is to purchase an aquarium fish: an anthracis or a Siamese algae. They will help significantly clear water from unnecessary algae.
It is important to reduce the feeding of all fish in half, give them food in less quantity, so that they completely eat the feed.
It is necessary to ensure the purity of the aquarium, since all organic compounds go to food for algae. It is often necessary to clean the bottom with a siphon. These methods will allow in the water to reduce the amount of organic matter. It will help in this and increase the frequency of water changes in the aquarium - at least twice a week, 20%.
If possible, you can still fish the fish into another vessel.
In the aquarium, aeration should be reduced, since the flow of water to the algae will bring useful substances.
It remains only to observe how in a month and a half the hairs of the black beard will become flabby in appearance, whitish in color. A few days later
If you do everything constantly and do not interrupt the cycle of fighting black beard in the aquarium, you can get rid of algae, because it will not be able to withstand such inconveniences.
In the future, to prevent infection, new plants should be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate for several minutes before being planted in an aquarium. After that, rinse the plant thoroughly with running water.
If you adhere to all these simple tips, you can defeat the attack from the algae, and the aquarium will become even more attractive than it was.