John N.

What is the Best Way to Defeat Green Dust Algae?



Let's hear your experiences.

-John N.

epicfish

I left mine alone for about 12 days, then wiped it off....never came back. =)

Or, it hasn't yet...*knock on wood*

spcyamada

Increase phosphate levels. No idea why but it has worked for green spot and this for me.

bigstick120

This isnt on option on your poll but this is what worked for me

Do a large water change and as you syphon the water out wipe the glass with the end of the syphon right by the sponge, wipe only the lower half of the tank not touching the upper half where the algae is on the glass. When you have the glass clean and about 50% of the water changed, wipe the upper half that is out of the water with a paper towel. Repeat for a few weeks until its gone. The idea is to not let the algae free floating in the water and I have gotten rid of it in about a month or so doing this method ever week in a 55 gallon tank

redstrat

I have been battling GDA for about 2months now. I recently started being very carefull at waterchanges to wipe the algea and keep the siphon hose close to the scrubber padd allowing it to suck up as much GDA as possible cleaning the scrubber off with the siphon after each wipe. This seemed to slow the GDA down but never really get rid of it. This week I decided since the GDA isn't to terrible I can live with it for another 2 weeks or so and let it complete its lifecycle. I'm tired of looking at it and I'd rather not have to look through green dusty glass to see my tank. I hope I can stick with it for 3+ weeks and not touch it during the weekly W/C.

trenac

This is what worked for me: Reducing nitrates

slickwillislim

I had a minor case in my 29g but I lowered the lights and it went away with the help of a pair of otttos.

cs_gardener

Mine comes and goes. Its more prevalent in my 2 higher light tanks and really quite rare in my 2 low light tanks. I just clean it off when doing a water change. It's really a minor irritant when compared to the other algaes. I don't think I'd ever be able to wait it out for a month so I'll just keep cleaning it off when it shows up.

BryceM

I second this. This might be counter to the thinking of many people, but it has worked for me. I get GDA anytime the nitrates go above 40.

Zapins

Same experience w/ slickwillislim. I lowered the lighting from 4wpg to 2wpg and reduced photo period from 10.5hrs to 8.5hrs. Also added ottos.