algae and heaters

[Lt.]

So my dads always told me (until a few years years ago, he'd had fish tanks continuously for 20 years) that keeping the fish tank warmer increased your chance of algae? My tank is currently at room temperature, 68-72degrees. And I've only had an algae issue once in 2 years. So my question is, is there a correlation between tank temperature and algae breakouts? Also, what temp. do you guys maintain your tank at, and how often, if ever do you have algae breakouts, and what do you do when it happens?

 

[Lt.]

Hello?

 

[smallfry53]

If you have tropical fish most likely your tank should be 76-80ish degrees F. You should research the fish you have to see what temps. they require. I keep my tanks at about 78-80 degrees F. I'm pretty sure as long as you keep up with your weekly pwcs. you shouldn't have much of an issue with algae. If you do increase the temp. in your tank make sure you do it slowly. I think I have read roughly 1 degree a day is safe.

 

[Bbarb27]

I think algea outbreaks are correlated more with water quality, over feeding and too much light moreso than temperature.

I have white cloud minnows that prefer cooler temps so I keep them at 70 degrees. My tropical tanks are at about 78 degrees, depending upon the stock.

 

[tamtam]

Tank temp should come down to your fish and what their needs are. Meet these needs above all else first.

There are many things that can encourage the growth of algae. Lighting and water conditions are big ones. A tank that has too much light is more likely to have algae issues, as well as a tank with high nitrates or certain other water qualities. There are lots of things that impact algae growth, there are also several types of algae. People often refer to diatoms as brown algae, this doesn`t really take light into account so much as what is in your water, it feeds of silcates in your tank.

My tank is maintained at 76 or so. I have all tropical fish and this is a temp that meets everyones needs well. I`m sure tank temp can play a role in algae growth but there are also many other factors that I think weigh into it heavier. There are many people that keep there tanks running in the high 70s with no algae issues and it`s because other factors are kept maintained.

 

[aqua_chem]

I would bet money that temperature and algae growth rate are related on a metabolic level, maybe not significantly so, but I can not imagine a scenario where I would bring my tank temperature down for algae related reasons. I would think of it more as potential perk of cold water tanks than anything, on a similar level of importance as 'saving money by not heating the tank an extra 8 degrees'.



So related? Probably so. Significant in any meaningful way? Probably not.

 

[xwesx1978]

I keep my tank at 82 and have zero algae issues