Help: 16g Tank Problems

[killrsheep]

About Half a year ago i got a 16g fishtank and three small 25pesos a piece koi fish (thats roughly 2 dollars each) , i had done quite a bit of research, and i thought i was doing a half decent job, they seemed happy but i turn to you guys to help me out from "noobing" out on this one, most importantly i just want my Finned frendz to be happy

i am having a brown algae problem (maybe diatoms?) its everywere!,

So far this is how i have cared for my tank:
- Cycled it when new before adding fish
- changed my cheap Resun waterfall filter for a fluval 105 (stocked with 3/4 carbon and 1/4 Ceramic)
- took all decorations and gravel out once, brushed them with aquarium water, sundried and then put back in, water was not changed
- i do PWC (30%) once a week, just recently ive changed to 10% PWC each 2 days or so, i use that water to clean only one decoration each time (and once a week to clean my filter)
- used to feed em daily (all they can eat for 3 minutes or so), now i feed em every 2 days (this is bcuz i left them one week on vacation food and when i got back the tank was as clean as it was when i left... no leftovers from vacation food tho)
- no direct sunlight on my tank since i installed it, no air drafts either
- Lighting is on a timer, timer goes on from 10am till 6 pm
- all my fish (3) were added at the same time from the same LFS, acclimated first and ive been watching them a lot to ID when they get sick, so far they have been healthy

i have tested my water and on average i get:
before pwc when i have the brown algae:
ph 8.0, Hardness 300ppm, Alkalinity 300ppm, Nitrate 80, nitrite 0, amonia 0
1 or 2 days after a 30% PWC (done weekly)
ph 7.5, Hrd 150, ALk 180, Nate 40, Nite 0, Amm 0

ive read the instructions on the test kit to lower my hardness and alkalinity and Nitrates but id like some advice from a real person

sorry for the long post...

 

[Coursair]

Google Koi
They can get over 3'
They live in Ponds not tanks. Or if you want a few baby Koi in a tank for a little while I'd do a 200g for 3. They'll still need a Pond.

 

[siva]

Welcome to AA!

Sadly you'll need to rehome those fish. Your 16 gal cannot make a proper home for them for any real length of time. As mentioned koi are pond fish, reaching several feet long. To keep them in a tank so small will cause stunting and internal damage to the fish. If you know someone who has a pond large enough maybe they can take them for you, or find a fish shop that sells pond fish and surely they will rehome them for you. Then research thoroughly the right types of fish for this size tank. Your options are somewhat limited, but there are still great options available to you. I would recommend you ask for stocking advice here on the forum when it comes time to restock and we can help you find the right fish options.

 

[killrsheep]

OMG 200 gallons?! but.. but, my fish are like 2 inches each...

My LFS even told me i should add more stock i might stop taking their advice

Tanks for the advice, i dont know anyone who can give these fish a proper home all my friends think im weird for having pet fish, so what can i actually have on my tank?, one or two guppies? or does it depend mostly on the "average adult size" of the species , i really want to have a nice aquarium but 60 liters (16g?) is as big as i want to go for now, and i wouldnt like to be stuck with just one fish

 

[siva]

I would definitely stop taking their advice.

They are 2" now but they grow to several feet. Clearly your tank cannot support a species that is supposed to grow this large. They are simply not tank fish. They are pond fish. Rest assured no one here will think you're wierd for having pet fish, but it would be cruel to continue to keep koi in that tank.

I suggest you attempt to return them to the place you bought them.

It depends on alot. The adult size is crucial, as is the waste the fish produces, and it's activity level. You could have many guppies in a tank that size, or guppies and other fish. I will go ahead and list some of the fish for you that can thrive in a 16 gal tank:
guppies, platties, endlers livebearers, least killies, ember tetras, neon tetras, glowlight tetras, marble hatchets, neochela dadyburjori/orange hatchets, chili/mosquito rasbora, pork chop rasbora, harlequin rasbora, microdevario kubotai, celestial pearl danios/galaxy rasbora, danio erythromicron/emerald rasbora, peacock gudgeons, sparkling gourami, licorice gourami, dwarf gourami, betta splendens, kuhli loaches, yunnanilus cruciatus, dwarf chain loaches, hasbrosus cories, hastatus cories, pygmaeus cories, panda cories, normans lampeye killies, clown killies, lucania goodei/bluefin killies. There are cool inverts as well such as nerite snails, apple/mystery snails, rabbit snails, ramshorn snails, red cherry shrimp, blue pearl shrimp, crystal red/black shrimp, blueberry shrimp, yellow shrimp, pumpkin shrimp, dwarf mexican cray/CPO, dwarf cajun cray/cambarellus shufeldtii.

 

[killrsheep]

Tanks for the advice... any help on switching over

im about to head out to a "hopefully better" LFS to see if they can re-home my fish, and get new fish that can thrive in my 16g tank, however i have many doubts on how to do the swichover.

i just did a 20 % PWC yesterday and the brown algae problem is... borderline under control, so i wonder if this is due to the tank being overstocked and will eventually go away when i get the right amount of stock on it (also doing regular pwc's of course)?

or should i just clean everything up, sundry all of my decorations and gravel, add new dechlorynated water, and cycle the fishtank, then add new fish?

i also plan on getting some bottom dwelling algae eating creature... any good prospects?

thank you and i hope i can return the favor in the future when i become a better ( at least a decent one ) aquarist