WilliS
Aquarium Advice Apprentice
ok guys, im tired of it
i really want my tank to be algae free or only have to be cleaned lightly once a week or so... here is what i have:
80 gallon bowfront tank
fluval 404 canister filter
1 watt per gallon of lighting, (1 of them is an 18,000k bulb)
lights are on for 12 hours per day (im cutting back but see nothing helping)
6 assorted sword plants (been in tank for about 5 days)
5 water whisteria (been in tank for about 5 days)
15 small african cichlids
1 synodontis eu-something or other... (he hids in one of my decorations all night and day... does no good at all.. and even if he did, i have more algae than 20 of them could eat
so thats my tank.. its about 8 feet from a fairly large window...but only the side of the tank gets much light from it.
here is my problem:
1. i thought plants would eat up the nutrients that algae needs to grow, and hence i would have no algae once i had real plants in my tank... but that does not seem to be the case
2. i scrub and scrub... water change 1/2 every week.. still not seeing an improvement in algae...
any suggestions? please help...im new to this stuff... i just want it gone..and to see clean glass again!
**edit**
im up for suggestions for any algae eater that will do the job and can hang tough with 15 african cichlids... but i would like to avoid snails
i really want my tank to be algae free or only have to be cleaned lightly once a week or so... here is what i have:
80 gallon bowfront tank
fluval 404 canister filter
1 watt per gallon of lighting, (1 of them is an 18,000k bulb)
lights are on for 12 hours per day (im cutting back but see nothing helping)
6 assorted sword plants (been in tank for about 5 days)
5 water whisteria (been in tank for about 5 days)
15 small african cichlids
1 synodontis eu-something or other... (he hids in one of my decorations all night and day... does no good at all.. and even if he did, i have more algae than 20 of them could eat
so thats my tank.. its about 8 feet from a fairly large window...but only the side of the tank gets much light from it.
here is my problem:
1. i thought plants would eat up the nutrients that algae needs to grow, and hence i would have no algae once i had real plants in my tank... but that does not seem to be the case
2. i scrub and scrub... water change 1/2 every week.. still not seeing an improvement in algae...
any suggestions? please help...im new to this stuff... i just want it gone..and to see clean glass again!
**edit**
im up for suggestions for any algae eater that will do the job and can hang tough with 15 african cichlids... but i would like to avoid snails