overrun with algae

[nelwyn]

I have a 75 gallon tank chock full of guppies. My problem is the algae taking over all the ornaments and bottom rocks. I want to clean it up but am afraid of "sucking" up too many fry with the vac. Should I remove the ornaments and artificial plants and clean them - what about the dark algae on the rock
bottom? Also, how many guppies is it safe to have in the large tank? I do
water changes and add water as it evaporates and the fish seem really healthy
and are very beautiful. I have 4 small albino cory cats and one a bit larger but
the algae continues to grow. I know it isn't a "hair" algae but just a darkish green/black on everything and some on glass sides.
Hope you can help.
Sincerely, N. Mills

 

[BBradbury]

Overrun with Algae

Good morning nel...

I have several large tanks of Fancy Guppies and Corys too. All healthy tanks have algae, it's natural and good nutrition for your fish. You likely have too many nutrients in your tank. So, the best thing to do is get a lot of plants growing.

Next time you do a water change, I change half the water weekly. With the water level low, plant some plants that require a lot of food. Water sprite (floated), varieties of Hygrophila, Pennywort and Hornwart and some good ones. Depending on your lighting, Anacharis is good too. It requires stronger light.

I have probably 1,000 or so Fancy Guppies and half a dozen different kinds of Corys. These guys love heavily planted tanks and the algae doesn't. There's too much competition for food. I have little or no algae in my tanks, because I do large water changes weekly and keep the tanks well planted.

Sorry for the long post. But one other thing, avoid using "Algae Destroying Chemicals". They may damage your plants and though these chemicals kill algae quickly, the dead and decaying algae just creates more nutients for the next algae bloom.

PM me if you have any questions.

B

 

[melosu58]

Moving to the FW general discussion forum. You `ll get more answers there for your problem.

 

[NoMoreGoldFish]

A couple of nerite snails would decimate your algae. I bought two for my 30 gallon and after three days, I had to go out and buy them sinking algae wafers to make sure there's enough food for them to eat.

 

[aqua_chem]

"Algae" is a blanket term for a wide swath of organisms. Looking for advice on "Algae" is like looking for advice on "Fish". If someone came on and asked what kind of food he should feed his fish, we would need to know what kind of fish he has first. Likewise, we need to know what kind of algae you have before we can suggest a remedy. Nerite snails eat some types of algae, but many they do not. If you can identify it, that would help. "Dark green black" algae sounds like BGA. Please look it up (google image search maybe?) and tell us if that's similar.

Additionally:

#1 Is your tank planted
#2 What kind of light do you have on it.