Algae Bloom

[dee dee]

One of my 30 gal tanks had only 4 mollies. Set up for 4months. No live plants, 1 inch of gravel, weekly water changes. Out of five tanks, this one started a bloom. It is not near natural light.

The only thing different is the filter system. I have never used this type before. It has a foam layer, charcoal bag and ammonia/nitrite remover bag.

I moved the fish (and the 6 babies they had last night) to another tank.

Should I treat this tank or start over?

I don't measure co2, all other levels are normal for my area. We have hard water, very alkaline. No nitrites, nitrate 20 ppm.

While I'm at it, what is a reliable test kit?

Thanks to anyone who may comment. dee dee

 

[nry]

What type of algae do you now have?

Without plants, I guess the only way to treat it is to cut the lighting down, how long is your tank currently lit?

The algae is not likely to be bad for the fish, why have you taken them out of the tank?

 

[dee dee]

What type of algae do you now have?
-I have a little hair algae that I picked off, but this is a whole tank, green water bloom.

Without plants, I guess the only way to treat it is to cut the lighting down, how long is your tank currently lit?
-I have many tanks, so it is expensive to plant, even with starts from established plants.I was waiting awhile to start planting.-
-I keep it lit 10-12 hours with 17 watt lamp.


The algae is not likely to be bad for the fish, why have you taken them out of the tank?
-The tank is murky and needs some kind of treatment, I was supposing.-
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[nry]

10-12 hours with no plants is possibly too much. My 14gallon has a 15watt tube, this is only on 7.5 hours per day, and I have a fairly heavy plant load, any more than 7.5 hours and algae goes mad.

You could try a blackout for a few days, with no light the algae should disappear.