Blue Green Algae

[EdgarMedina1010]

There seems to be Blue Green Algae growing slightly in my 10 gal. tank ...what can I do to get rid of it??....(out of topic)also how accurate are those little thermometer strips?...should I buy a float glass thermometer??(im asking this since its starting to get chilly here and I dont want my temp to be moving around much) ok but im a little confused .. I did some reserch on BGA and it said to do 40-50% water changes...but if im short on nitrates doesnt that lower them??.....thanks

 

[CaysE]

Get a Nitrate tester to see where you're at (it's probably at or near zero if you're getting BGA). You may need to dose Seachem Nitrogen in your tank to bring the Nitrates up; your java moss gobbles up Nitrates pretty fast.

I have both a temp strip and a floating glass thermometer, and they both are pretty close to each other. I would think the floating kind is more accurate, though.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Definitely the floating type, or a digital with a probe that goes in the water. The stick-ons are not very accurate. I started with a stick-on, then when I went digital, found that the stick-on was 8 degrees off.

As for the BGA, definitely need to dose Nitrogen. But since it's started in your tank, even with dosing Nitrogen, will probably keep spreading. Mine was that way. I just finished a 5 day black-out. No lights, and no food for the fish. The fish handled it great, and most of the plants did to, and best of all, absolutely no sign of BGA or any other algae.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

thanks ....could I also use this?.. http://www.petco.com/Shop/petco_Pro...merch_1.aspx?cm_re=219-_-TopSellers0-_-118958

 

[Lonewolfblue]

It does an ok job at getting rid of algae, but one major problem. If you haven't fixed the problem, the problem will just come back. I've used it before, but have learned that the only way to truely keep algae to a minimum is water quality and proper dosing, if in a planted tank. I would not use chems, as it may work, but is only temporary, and can also affect the fish. And lighting is the other alternative. A 5 day blackout is much more effective than Algae Destroyer, and won't hurt the fish.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

It does an ok job at getting rid of algae, but one major problem. If you haven't fixed the problem, the problem will just come back. I've used it before, but have learned that the only way to truely keep algae to a minimum is water quality and proper dosing, if in a planted tank. I would not use chems, as it may work, but is only temporary, and can also affect the fish. And lighting is the other alternative. A 5 day blackout is much more effective than Algae Destroyer, and won't hurt the fish.

ok thanks but im a little confused .. I did some reserch on BGA and it said to do 40-50% water changes...but if im short on nitrates doesnt that lower them??.....

 

[Purrbox]

Products like that Algae Destroyer will temporarily mask the problem. Unless you fix the underlying problem like LoneWolfBlue mentioned, it will just keep coming back. Often these products will cause it to come back even worse than before.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Actually, it's good to do 40%-50% PWC's. Yes, it does dilute the nitrates, but that's why we dose after doing a PWC. What the large PWC's do is resets your tank and allows you to get everything back in line. And that will eventually solve the problem. But until you solve it, it won't go away. I did just about everything I could, and my BGA in my 29G just kept coming back. But now I finally did a 5 day blackout. It's gone. And with my dosing now, hopefully it will be for good.

 

[EdgarMedina1010]

ok thanks