algea problem...need suggestions

[fergie615]

Hi everyone

My 55 lives in the foyer where there is lots of natural light but no direct sunlight. The location is perfect for my house and I really hate to move it. I have a problem with algea both on the glass and on my decorations (mostly plastic w/3 live plants). I thought some live plants might help. My signature shows my inhabitants. I just upgraded from a std one bulb hood to a twin perfecto, bulbs are a coralife colormax and a 6700k fw plant bulb (can't remember brand). Water test last night is amm 0, nitrite 0, nitrate 20.

Looking for suggestions to control this, be it new fish, chemical help or any ideas.

Thanks for your time

Fergie

 

[fergie615]

I've also noticed that I even have algea growing on the leaves of my real plants.

 

[frog girl]

Hornwort or anacharis will really suck up your nitrates. I have algae on my plant leaves to part of the time but my otos are great at working on that. You could always add a few to your school. My best luck in controlling algae is supplementing my CO2 a bit with a DIY system & supplying plant micronutrients.

 

[FishLover14]

If you dont want to go with live plants a BushyNose Pleco stays small 5inches and will control algea great, brown algea, and green algea.

JMHO

 

[Fishyfanatic]

In a 55 gal tank, you should be safe with 2 Pleco's. The second one should pick up with the first one didn't. We had two in our 55 gal and they lived perfectly fine together. Now they are in a 150 and we plan to get two more once the tank is finished its cycling process (AUGH)

 

[Jchillin]

You have a great spot for algae control so don't move the tank. Your algae is being created by excess nutrients in your water. As stated above, the addition of pleco's will help diminish it.

The other is to reduce the amount of time your aquarium lights are on. Try for 6-8 hours only and reduced feedings can also help.

 

[travis simonson]

Does the algae on your glass look like little hard green dots? If so, you can remedy this by bringing your phosphate levels up to 1-1.5 ppm. It will just go away. Of course this would require a little additional supplementation and water testing, but it really does the trick for green dot algae and your live plants will thank you for it

 

[lp26kwan]

BushyNose Pleco is the best!

 

[ChileRelleno]

Forget adding more Plecos, they just add lots more nutrients to the water thru their waste, plecs of any size are poop machines.
Being as your already well stocked in that tank,
I highly recommend adding more Otocinclus (6-10, some usaully die during introduction) to what you have already.
Oto's are "The" best algae eaters, the only fish that compares is the true SAE, get the Oto's..........
Trust me

 

[Fishyfanatic]

If SAE's are so great, then how come our 29 gal had tons of algae (had 3 SAE) and our 55 had nothing visible (2 Pleco's)? The 55 is closer to the window and the lights are kept on longer than the 29.

 

[travis simonson]

If SAE's are so great, then how come our 29 gal had tons of algae (had 3 SAE) and our 55 had nothing visible (2 Pleco's)? The 55 is closer to the window and the lights are kept on longer than the 29.

Almost certainly a nutrient deficiency/excess. Fish alone rarely keep algae under control. So many factors can influence the growth of algae that I would hesitate to draw any conclusions from the types of fish kept in the tank.

 

[frog girl]

I'm with Chile otos are amazing.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

We replaced the SAE's with a small rubber pleco and it is now under control. Whenever we notice algae, the little guy is not far behind. Who knows why the problem is there, but it's just odd that when we added the pleco, within 2 or 3 days, it was taken care of.

 

[ChileRelleno]

If SAE's are so great, then how come our 29 gal had tons of algae (had 3 SAE) and our 55 had nothing visible (2 Pleco's)?

http://www.wetwebmedia.com/FWSubWebindex/saes.htm
Were they "True" SAE's, SAE's are often mis-ID'd even in some reputable fishbooks. This is why so much emphasis is often put on the "true".
Also SAE's do not eat all types of algae, and niether do Oto's.
You may not have had enough Oto's to take care of the job, they are much much smaller than a pleco, larger appetite on the Plecos.
And Oto's do best in a good sized shoal, 6-10 Oto's just for a 10gal with med-high algae growth foe example.
You could also very well have different types of algae in two different tanks, palatable to one but not the other perhaps?

 

[MyDog]

Try more live plants. If you can establish a good foundation they are your best bet on reducing or eliminating algae.

 

[SerLunchbox]

I personally match the fish with the algae type. for example:

For my hair algae, i have ameca splendins (butterfly goodeids)

for my diatoms/brown algae, i have an otocinclus cat (they just die off in my tank and the 1 is doing fine ont he diatoms)

and for all other algae i have my rubber mouth pleco. Since adding my panaque, i have noticed a small change but not enough to warrent that fish as taking out some of the algae.

extra plants will really help to suck extra nutrients out of your water. Extra nutrients mean algae

 

[Orca]

As above, I also keep my algae bases covered with a combination of algae eaters. In my case I have Otos, true SAEs, and a Rubber Lip Pleco.

I can only assume that fishyfanatic didn't have true SAE's, because mine are ferocious algae eaters. (Ferocious to the algae that is, not to other fish). They are by far the most effective algae eaters in my tank.

 

[Brandontheman]

Chinese Butterfly Algae Eaters are AWESOME for controlling algae growth, those things never quit eating !

 

[Shimpoe]

i would just put a blanket over it when ever you plan to have the light off to keep out all light and like Jchillin metnioned only keep it lit for 6-8 hours a day... it should clear up in about a week then you can lay off the blanket