Algae Annoying Problem!

[chocolicious]

In a tank we've had setup for 6 months we've not got this big algae problem it's in the water, It's turned the water green.

We had a test done on our water and everything was fine apart from PH now we've had it tested again and everything's fine.

The water has a nasty smell to it, Not sure what it smells of.

The algae problems only started occuring after we switched to sand, I don't know what has triggered it we do everything the same as we did before and we never had a trouble like this.

Any know of a solution of what it could be?

 

[OldMan47]

If it is green water algae, the cure is simple. When I try to grow the stuff I always fail because I can't get enough light into my indoor tanks. When I grow it in a pond I get great results because the sunlight is plenty to grow tons of the stuff. My summer tub gets so much green water that I can't see my hand 4 inches under the water surface. It is a useful food for growing daphnia in case you are wondering why I want it to grow.

 

[chocolicious]

If it is green water algae, the cure is simple. When I try to grow the stuff I always fail because I can't get enough light into my indoor tanks. When I grow it in a pond I get great results because the sunlight is plenty to grow tons of the stuff. My summer tub gets so much green water that I can't see my hand 4 inches under the water surface. It is a useful food for growing daphnia in case you are wondering why I want it to grow.

hehe, but we switch lights on when we get home from work, and turn them off when we go to sleep so that's like 6-7 hours of light they get, Which isn't much really, Would a huge water change get rid of the algae or would we be better leaving the light off for a while.

 

[BigC]

Hi,
The outbreak of algae can be attributed mainly to two things within your aquarium or a combination of both.
Namely, too much light (or the wrong spectrum), or Phosphates. Phosphates are naturally occurring inorganic salts, which are found in all living things. i.e. there are too much nutrients in your water from decomposition of uneaten food or fish waste, from death of plants and animals in the tank even leakage from rocks etc can, and do, all contribute to exasperate the nuisance algae
Using Tapwater for waterchanges can also be a source of phosphate introduction so that wont help your situation.
First you need to assess you lighting and the light spectrum of your tubes or bulbs.
Also you need to cut down, if you can the amount of lighting from windows etc (is your tank situated in a sunny position)
Reverse Osmosis water is better to use than tapwater as it strips 99% of the nasty chemicals etc from your municipal supply.
but using RO does require some work to make it usable for aquatic life (buffers etc)
I would advise you to employ a Phosphate reactor
http/www.qbaquariums.com/image/Phosban%20Reactor%20150.jpg
Which can be filled with phosphate remover such as Rowaphos.
If your gonna purchase one of these Two Little Fishes models then buy the one with the small pump included
Finally an external Diatomic Filter (If you can get hold of one in Europe) will make your water Gin Clear, They are not used 24/7 and dealers in times gone by used them to "polish" their water in their sales aquariums.
I hope all of the above helped you to identify the problem and offered you some options to combat the issue.
Regards
BigC

 

[danb]

Do you have sand or gravel?

 

[chocolicious]

We changed to sand from gravel that's when the problem started.

Our light is a very powerful one, http/www.arcadia-uk.info/userfiles/image/Arcadia_aquarium_img.jpg we have something similar to that with 3 lights in it.

Maybe if we turned the colour off and maybe put an extra filter in?

We used to leave the light on 18 hours a day and we never had this problem so not sure why it's changed since we turned to sand.

 

[GrubbyGirl]

Do you have plants in the tank to use up the excess nutrients? My advice would be (as well as the light issues mentioned by others) is to get a load of plants for your tank, and a BN.

 

[chocolicious]

We have about 4-5 plants in the tank, They are pretty big.

Maybe get some more?

 

[chocolicious]

I went to C.M.C aquatics and wigan today and asked about the water and he said it could be because we are overfeeding them and too many nutrients are in the water, This could be true i'll hold my hand up to overfeeding purely on the fact i feel sorry for them lol.

How often do you guys feed your fish? This guy said every 3 days personally i think it's not enough but when they all follow me i think... hmmm maybe they're hungry i'm sure many are guilty for this.

Anyway gonna do a 10% water change everyday add a few plants stop overfeeding them and see what happens!

 

[Truck]

This algae is caused by ammonia and excess light, nitrate and phosphates do not cause algae, do a 50% water change and black the tank out by wrapping it in cardboard or another opaque material for 4 days, and it should go, just make sure that your filter is working properly and is well maintained. The aspect of over feeding maybe true, but only if it is causing ammonia.

 

[GrubbyGirl]

I feed my fish every other day

 

[BigC]

Phosphates do not cause algae yes but.....
Phosphates are a nutritional source for algae. So therefore trying to eliminate the available food will in turn deplete the algal growth (starvation)

BigC

 

[Truck]

Phosphates are a nutritional source for algae. So therefore trying to eliminate the available food will in turn deplete the algal growth (starvation)

BigC

Phosphate will sustain algae yes, but keeping it eliminated can prove expensive, once it's gone and the phosphate is allowed to rise again, the algae will strike back because the cause has not been removed.

 

[GrubbyGirl]

Get a BN, I don't have a spot of algae in my tanks!

 

[chocolicious]

Not sure exactly what to do, Any ideas?