Algae & pH questions

[KymH]

Fairly new to the hobby here... I've had fish in my tank for 5 months or so...
I'm constantly battling algae on the walls & decor in the tank. It's so frustrating. My tank looks kind of cloudy -- not sure if that is related to the algae or not. Any advice on managing the algae?

I typically do a 30% water change bi-weekly or every 3 weeks. I also scrape algae from the walls as needed, which is typically every week - 10 days or so.

I just tested my water, and here are my levels:
Ammonia -- 0
Nitrite -- 0
Nitrate -- 10-20ppm
pH -- 6.6
Temp -- 79

Could there a link b/w my pH & algae?
Is there an easy way to raise pH?
Do the store bought liquid treatments -- like Clarity -- help clear the tank? (And are they truly safe to use?)
I currently have 3 babies who are, I think, big enough to avoid being eaten. But I'm afraid to vacume right now b/c I'm afraid I'll suck them up.

Any thoughts appreciated.

 

[Colin_T]

What sort of fish do you have?
This will determine what the pH should be.

If you have to raise the pH, add some shells, limestone rock or dead coral rubble to the tank. Monitor the pH over the next few weeks and if it is still too low, add more shells, limestone or coral. Continue doing this until the pH is at the desired level.

Doing water changes more often, and or bigger water changes, as well as gravel cleaning the substrate each time you do a water change, will all help stop the pH dropping too quickly.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.


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TURNING LIGHTS ON AND OFF
Stress from tank lights coming on when the room is dark can be an issue. Fish don't have eyelids and don't tolerate going from complete dark to bright light (or vice versa) instantly.

In the morning open the curtains or turn the room light on at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the tank light on. This will reduce the stress on the fish and they won't go from a dark tank to a bright tank instantly.

At night turn the room light on and then turn the tank light off. Wait at least 30 minutes (or more) before turning the room light out. This allows the fish to settle down for the night instead of going from a brightly lit tank to complete darkness instantly.

Try to have the lights on at the same time each day. Use a timer if possible.

If the lights have a low, medium and high intensity setting, have them on low in the morning, then increase it to medium after a couple of hours, and then high for the main part of the day. In the evening, reverse this and have the medium setting for a few hours, then low. Then turn the lights off.


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Post pictures of the tank and algae so we can identify it.

The pH has nothing to do with algae. Algae grows anywhere there is light and water. Throw in some nutrients from fish food and waste and an aquarium is a great place for algae to live. If you have lots of live aquatic plants in the water, they use the light and nutrients and limit or even stop algae from growing. If you don't have many or any live plants in the tank, then algae will grow quite happily.


How long are the tank lights on for?
Try having the tank lights on for 8-10 hours a day.

If you get lots of green algae then reduce the light by an hour a day and monitor the algae over the next 2 weeks.
If you don't get any green algae on the glass then increase the lighting period by an hour and monitor it.
If you get a small amount of algae then the lighting time is about right.


Add live aquatic plants if you don't have any. Floating plants like Water Sprite (Ceratopteris thalictroides/ cornuta) are great because they use lots of nutrients and shade the tank, thus reducing algae.


Some plants will close their leaves up when they have had sufficient light. Ambulia, Hygrophilas and a few others close their top set of leaves first, then the next set and so on down the stem. When you see this happening, wait an hour after the leaves have closed up against the stem and then turn lights off. It's worth investing in a couple of these plants just to see how they do. They are generally good in most aquariums and give you a rough idea of if you have enough light on the tank.

 

[ADsnail]

Consider Nerite snails, super algae eaters that keep tanks clean. There are many pretty varieties and, while not the high entertainment value of Mystery snails, are still fun to watch. Your local fish store(s) will hopefully have them; also available online from different sources. Easy to keep.