Algae problem

The friendliest place on the web for anyone with an interest in aquariums or fish keeping!
If you have answers, please help by responding to the unanswered posts.

somnomania

Aquarium Advice Newbie
Joined
Feb 2, 2012
Messages
4
I have a 5-gallon tank with a betta and two snails living in it. I've attempted to get several plants to grow in it, and out of the six already-grown plants I started with, I have two that have survived, and from one of those TopFin packages of mixed bulbs, I have a single lily that grew (but only after I put a brighter lightbulb in the tank). My problem is that after I put the brighter light in, the algae population EXPLODED. I'm pretty sure that's what killed some of the other grown plants, as even after I rubbed the algae off their leaves, they still slowly turned brown and died. I have a partial shade on the surface of the water to block some of the light, because the betta seemed to dislike how bright it was. So I guess my question is: do I need to do something about the algae? The remaining plants seem to be untouched by it. Also, could I go back to the less-powerful lightbulb and expect the plants to be fine, now that they're grown?
 
What kind of light is this? A lower wattage CFL can go into the same fixture, but T8s won't work that way. Regardless, less light will fix your problem.
 
Back
Top Bottom