Algae

[Monster tamer]

How can I kill Algae, any suggestions would be appreciated.

 

[Coursair]

How can I kill Algae, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Algae The main thing is to address why you have Algae. http://freshaquarium.about.com/od/algae/a/attackalgae.htm Too much Light Too much Food Not enough Water Changes It's one or all of them. A little Algae is normal, a lot means something is out of balance. I don't have an algae problem. I do have algae eaters, but I supplement them. Otos, snails and Shrimp. Plus LOTS of plants to compete with the Algae, plus lights are on timers, plus weekly PWCs. Plants will compete with Algae. No more than 8 hours of light is needed.

Test your water.

 

[Rivercats]

A lot depends on the type algae you have! Can you post a picture for identification? How long do you run lights daily? What are your nitrate and phosphate levels? What is your WC schedule and how much do you change out weekly? We need information about the tank along with pic's in order to give you the proper information on how to deal with the type algae you have. Some can be spot treated, you could have cyanobacteria, or green water algae bloom.... and the list goes on.

 

[BBradbury]

Controlling Algae

How can I kill Algae, any suggestions would be appreciated.

Hello Mon...

There are a number of different kinds of algae, but most of the stuff the normal tank keepers get in their tanks is the result of poor water conditions. If you feed too much and don't follow a good water change routine by removing and replacing large amounts of tank water every week or so, you create a good growing environment for algae.

Many answers to algae problems will include a chemistry lesson or suggest using UV equipment, elaborate testing procedures, lighting changes and so on. All you really need to do is improve the water quality. You do this by starting an aggressive water change routine. Change half the tank water every week, no slacking. Hopefully, your tap water is good. This removes excess nutrients. Cut back on the amount you feed. Aquarium fish don't need to be fed but a little variety, 2 to 3 times a week. Add more plants to the tank. Anacharis is a good one. It gives off a mild chemical that most forms of algae don't like and more plants use more water nutrients. I grow this floating plant in all my tanks and I have very little visible algae.

Just one reporter's opinion, though. This works for my tanks.

B

 

[Monster tamer]

This is the tank

 

[Rivercats]

Answering the questions would also help but what I can see from the picture is you have green dust algae on the glass. Is there any other algae I'm not seeing, like on the plants? Is this a fairly new tank? This algae is normally found in new tanks or tanks that run lighting too long and nutrients too high. What is your WC schedule and how much do you change weekly? How long are you running lights? For this you need to get and use an algae magnetic glass cleaner and use it as needed. Then only run lighting 6 hours and see if the algae goes away. Once it's gone you can up your photoperiod but I wouldn't run lights much past 8 hours daily. As you raise lighting hours if you begin to see algae you need to back down the lighting to a time where you were getting no algae. Also be sure to do a good 50% WC weekly to keep nutrient levels low.

 

[Monster tamer]

Currently I'm running two 13 watt compact lights on a 8 gallon tank. I switched to 1 light for 6 hours

 

[Monster tamer]

I do 20-45 % water changes every week and feed twice a day.

 

[Rivercats]

You really only need to feed 1x daily and if your a heavy feeder you really need to be doing a 50% WC. Also because the tank is so small a 50% WC is recommended as toxins build up in small tanks quickly.

 

[Monster tamer]

I was thinking of using excel

 

[Rivercats]

I was thinking of using excel

Using Excel is no guarantee you'll be algae free. Reduced lighting, bigger WC's weekly, and cleaning the glass with an algae magnet will go a long way. I'm not saying not to use Excel just that it's not the cure to your algae as you need to address what's causing it.