Ooooh... Algae Control!

Yes, the green monster has reared it's ugly head. I probably got a little too cocky about being able to avoid it thus far. I think I had been more luck than good up to this point. It has not only overtaken the foxtail and the rotala, but it is even showing up on the ludwigia and bacopa! The glass is not overcome by it, but is getting its fair share as well. I performed a water change and flushed out all the crap in the filter. Additionally, I knocked off an hour in the morning and an hour in the evening on the timer, so we're down to 10 hours of light now.

The nitrates aren't all that high (look like less than 20 ppm), but I'll hold off on fertilizers to try to starve the alage. I'm going to stop dropping in cucumbers, seeing as the otos should have plenty to eat now. I'm wondering if this has anything to do with the addition of the driftwood. I wouldn't worry about it, but the two smaller pieces I left in the bucket have been consistently turning their water brown. There's no discoloration in the main tank, but maybe the filter's not getting everything, and something from the driftwood may be boosting the algae. I can't add AlgaeFix anymore because of the ghost shrimp now present -- the directions warn against having crustaceons in any treated water.