Help please

[PowderD]

I have had a tank for about a year and a half with absolutely no problems. recentely(about 3 months ago) i decided to get rid of my ciclids and go straight to puffers. i know how a brackish tank with 5 puffers. it's a 55 gal. tank. no live plants. 1/4 saltwater at this time.

my problem is over the last 2 weeks, algea has begun to grow EVERYWHERe. i have never had algea or even hints of having a problem. i have gone to the LFS to see what was availabe, but most of those jackasses don't know what they are talking about. i would rather get advice on here from real people and experts. i need to do something pronto because my fish have to be pissed at me(at least i would be) :? if that was my home.

any suggestions, medications, or anything that i could get would be helpful. i hope i provided enough info for people to know what i have going. thanks so much

 

[Fruitbat]

PowderD...

Welcome to Aquarium Advice!

What does the algae look like? Is it light green in color or a dark bluish-green?

Algae will generally only flourish if a couple of conditions are present:

1) Adequate light. Algae, like all plants, are photosynthetic and require light. One thing you might try is to cut down on the amount of light your tank gets.

2) Adequate nutrients. Algae need raw materials to survive. Have you tested your aquarium water for Nitrates? High Nitrate levels will sometimes cause algae to go crazy. Overfeeding and/or overcrowding will often lead to excess Nitrate levels.

Generally it is best to avoid the chemical 'algae removers' that aquarium shops sell. Cut back on your light, vacuum your gravel and try a 25% water change.

 

[PowderD]

I would have to say that it is greenish brown. it is on the walls and on the rocks. i typically do a 25% water change every two weeks, and then check my salt level to get it back to 1/4 levels. are puffers notorious for being dirty? like excess waste or something. i had about 6 or 7 large ciclids in the same tank and never had an issue. i also recentely got new lights, maybe that is contributing to the issue. is there any way to combat the issue other than cleaning the walls and water change and less light?

thanks for your help, and the fish thank you too.

 

[Fruitbat]

You could try adding a squadron of some sort of algae-eating fish. I've never kept puffers but I do know that most of them are fin-nippers. There are other folks on this forum who keep puffers and they may be able to help you choose some critters to help snuff out your algae.

 

[TheNewGuy]

you can add snails but they are going to need some cover cause the puffers will eat them like they are kids in a candy store. I had a algee problem in my qt tank so I added 5 small snails and within a week they had it in check I'll be uploading some pics soon.

 

[TankGirl]

Depending upon what kind of puffers they are, snails will not last long enough to do anything with the algae. Puffers generally eat live or frozen food, so the waste is a little different than the flake food eating fish. I would definitely increase your water changes to once a week (I do them on all my tanks every 3-4 days, but that is just me! ) and I'll bet you will see a decrease in the algae. Your nitrates are likely to be higher now with the puffers. Post a pic if you can, I'd like to see the tank. I definitely want to get a brackish setup going myself.