[sheilaanderson]

When I first set up my peacock/hap tank I was buffering the water to match, at least as close as I could, the ph and hardness of Lake Malawi. For the last few months I've stopped doing that, letting the water get to my tap water levels, PH of around 7.6, and hardness quite a bit lower. Ever since then, the green algae has gotten a bit worse. Could the lower levels be advantageous for the algae, increasing it's growth? Wondering if I should start buffering again.

 

[Cyphro]

Probably the opposite, if anything. I have natural malawi water from my tap and get plenty of algae if I don't counteract it ie by having plants. In general it takes a while for algae to set in and also you probably have gotten more nitrates over time even if you change the water just as much.

Algae is actually very complicated and it's typical to have no algae, then a lot, then a different kind, on and on. Often without any easy way to figure out why, not unless you want to learn a lot and spend a lot on expensive water testing.

 

[wryan]

Similar experiences here ... I have pretty hard water here with mid pH (around 7.6 - 7.8 ...) ... have no problems getting "stuff" - of various types - to grow.

Brown diatoms, stringy green hair algae, colonial blue-green algae (which, like brown diatoms, isn't really algae at all)

I just set up a couple of tanks with Caribsea Aragonite - which, given the amount of fine dust it still had in it even after repeated rinsing - may possibly be increasing the pH in those two tanks. I had both brown diatoms and CBGA starting starting to cover the substrate within 1 week of setting the tanks up and the green string algae on a rock that I stuck in there from another tank seems to be doing fine.

Personally, I'm pretty much fine with all of it ... since:

1. It all may be a potential food source

2. Some of it will consume nitrates.

The only thing I really concern myself with is keeping the front glass clear ... so I can see into the tank.

 

[DJRansome]

I don't think it is related...I would look for another cause.