Hair Algae problem after 7 weeks

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stevelikesfish

Aquarium Advice Regular
Joined
Oct 4, 2004
Messages
56
Location
ENGLAND
Hi everyone,

I've had a small 40 litre puffer tank running for 7 weeks. We have been experiencing a hair algae problem now for about 3-4 of those weeks, and cant seem to get rid of it. I disturb its growth every 3 days or so, but within 2 days, its covered the gravel and rocks again.

Is there anything I can add, or what would be the causes of this? The puffer is very messy, but only small at present. Is it due to his 'messyness' ? :)

Edit - I think its also worth noting that I have a couple of other tropical tanks that use the same water (treated tap water) and there is no hair algae problems with those.

Thanks
 
Algae caused by 2 sources:

1) Light. How long does your light stay on each day? I would suggest putting this tank on a timer of 4 hours light per day, during your primary viewing hours.

2) Nitrate/Phospate in your water. The messy feeding habits of your puffer are contributing to increased biological processes in the aquarium and increased Phosphate production. This problem is accelerated if you have an u/g filter. You can help by not overfeeding and by cleaning your filter pads daily (for HOB filter) OR vacuuming your gravel thouroughly (for u/g filter).

By the way, do not treat with any commercial algicides. They won't work anyhow and they will only cause you more headaches down the road.
 
One more thing... if your light bulb is more than 9 months old replace it. Be sure to buy a quality bulb. The cheaper bulbs have more of a yellow spectrum and will cause your algae to bloom faster.
 
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