Algae+Snail+tank size ratio?

[JLStevens]

Not sure if this is the right thread to post this, but feel free to move it to wherever it should be lol

My 55 gallon is nicely cycled, and with that came some algae to contend with. I have two nerite snails (ones in hibernation and the other just lays eggs everywhere -__- ) Is two enough for the tank? Is there another "clean up" species i could introduce? My red tail black shark picks off some algae from time to time off of my air tube. But i was cleaning some glass in between a water change and there was quite a bit of algae... It hasn't got out of control yet, but i would like to keep it that way!

any suggestions would be great!

Thanks

 

[Mebbid]

Buying animals to take care of the algae is nothing but a band aid. With some more information we can probably solve your algae problem without any new additions.

First - What type of algae is it? A picture can help
Second - What light fixture do you have?
Third - How long do you leave your lights on daily?

 

[JLStevens]

There is no problem yet, i was just curious to see if 2 nerite snails were enough for a 55 gallon tank or not. They usually scoot around and clean a lot. But they have been distracted lately with all the egg laying and hibernating lol

Theres not enough to take a picture of. You can't "see" any, just noticed a small amount on the glass when i wiped it off in between a water change.

Its brownish haha

I have LED's that run the length of my tank, nothing fancy! and they are on from 8am to about 7pm

 

[44Paps44]

I have two nerites in mine who are pretty active. I only leave my lights on for 6-7 hours a day so no algae issues for me. (knock on wood) they've been in there for 3 months now and i've yet to see any eggs.

Mebbid, side question for you. Does blue led light time contribute to algae growth? First thought is no but figured i'd check.

 

[Mebbid]

Ahh, gotcha. There's no real equation for snails to tank size. However, even with snails they tend to leave bit patterns on your tank wall so they don't cut back on cleaning at all since you have to clean just as much.

However, I will say that long of a time for your lights to be on will very likely cause algae problems down the road. 10 hours is generally the very longest you want to leave your lights on.

 

[JLStevens]

Ahh, gotcha. There's no real equation for snails to tank size. However, even with snails they tend to leave bit patterns on your tank wall so they don't cut back on cleaning at all since you have to clean just as much.

However, I will say that long of a time for your lights to be on will very likely cause algae problems down the road. 10 hours is generally the very longest you want to leave your lights on.

Perfect! I will cut back on the light timer. For some reason in my head i thought it was only on for 10 hours, but i just did the math ... LOL

 

[JLStevens]

I have two nerites in mine who are pretty active. I only leave my lights on for 6-7 hours a day so no algae issues for me. (knock on wood) they've been in there for 3 months now and i've yet to see any eggs.

Mebbid, side question for you. Does blue led light time contribute to algae growth? First thought is no but figured i'd check.

Ah your lucky! There are tiny little very annoying eggs all over my pretty driftwood and lava rocks haha If they are fresh enough my Kubotai and red tail will gobble them up, but once they harden they are very ahem *difficult* to get rid of lol