alge problem advice needed

[unskilled]

i seam to have green beard alge (or at least it looks like it) on my plants (all plants are fake) and a touch of brown alge i got 2 ruberlip plecs that eat the heck out of the brown but arent touching the gba what else could i put in to keep it under control

my stocking is 1 firemouth 1convict 1 jack dempsy 1 syndo cat 2 ruberlip plecs and 2 apple snails and about 6 white tip tetras as dither fish

tank size is a 55gal and i do a 30% water change every sunday

ammonia 0/ nirites0/ nitrates 10

also i feed once a day (i have to or the convict bullys the other fish)

 

[rkilling1]

Do you add anything to this tank chemical wise?

What type of lights and how long are they on for?

 

[unskilled]

it has a coralife lite with 50/50 lights in it i believe
i bought the tank used from a saltwater fish store i use stress coat about once a month or two other than that i dont add anything

 

[rkilling1]

How many watts would that be? and how old are the light bulbs?

And again, how long do you keep the lights on?

 

[unskilled]

they are 65w bulbs about 6 months old on 12 hr cycle

i could drop the cycle a bit but what can i put in to eat the alge thats in there now

 

[theotheragentm]

I won't speak about compatibilities of the fish you have there as I am not familiar with all of them, but generally you can't count on a fish or other creature to really clean up a tank of algae. Anything that can clean up a tank decently is generally too large for the tank and will need another food source.

A Siamese Algae Eater may put a dent if it's Black Beard Algae you're talking about, but again even fish and snails that are renowned for algae eating abilities may get spoiled very quickly on fish store foods.

Nerite Snails are supposed to be supreme algae eaters. They're not the easiest to find. They will lay eggs in freshwater, but the eggs are only viable in salt or brackish water.

Check out this resource for some information on algae. It's probably best that you actually try to cut back on light and excess nutrients first before trying to add another creature to eat algae.

 

[rkilling1]

How many bulbs. It curtainly sounds like you are running way to much lighting for a fish only tank.

IMO, the easiest way would be to remove the fake plants and dip them in a 1:20 dilute bleach solution, rinse with plain water, and then dip them in a plain water solution that has dechlor in it.

 

[snowangeltae]

I have a similar problem in my tank. I have a freshwater 80 gallon fish only tank. I get the hard green algae growing on the walls of the tank. The bulb I have is the one that came w/ the tank when I bought it. It's an All-Glass Aquarium bulb and is 32W. The light is only on for about 6 hrs a day. Is there a different buld I can by that would keep the algea to a minimum?

ph 7.6 - am 0 - nitrite 0 - nitrate 20

 

[Purrbox]

SnowAngelTae - Sounds like you're dealing with Green Spot Algae. In a non planted tank the best way to deal with it is a razor blade and some elbow grease. For algae control in general make sure the aquarium isn't getting any direct sunlight and only turn on the aquarium light when you're actually viewing it.