Algae On Clear Silicon

[cambspaul]

Has anyone ever had trouble with algae on clear silicon , i have to pick between clear or black for a new tank and someone told me that clear can look abit nasty after awhile . Or is this just myth ?

 

[mark4785]

Has anyone ever had trouble with algae on clear silicon , i have to pick between clear or black for a new tank and someone told me that clear can look abit nasty after awhile . Or is this just myth ?

If the silicone is in the path of light then algae could potentially photosynthesise on it. I've not experienced major problems with algae on my silicone, it seems to be most attracted to the glass and areas in the middle of the tank which the fluorescent lights are directly above.

 

[cambspaul]

Has anyone ever had trouble with algae on clear silicon , i have to pick between clear or black for a new tank and someone told me that clear can look abit nasty after awhile . Or is this just myth ?

If the silicone is in the path of light then algae could potentially photosynthesise on it. I've not experienced major problems with algae on my silicone, it seems to be most attracted to the glass and areas in the middle of the tank which the fluorescent lights are directly above.

Thanks mark . Can you clean it off the silicon though . A mate of mine said it is almost impossible to get it off the silicon , or is he just being limp wristed . The tank i have now has black silicon and i never see any algae on it .

 

[mark4785]

Has anyone ever had trouble with algae on clear silicon , i have to pick between clear or black for a new tank and someone told me that clear can look abit nasty after awhile . Or is this just myth ?

If the silicone is in the path of light then algae could potentially photosynthesise on it. I've not experienced major problems with algae on my silicone, it seems to be most attracted to the glass and areas in the middle of the tank which the fluorescent lights are directly above.

Thanks mark . Can you clean it off the silicon though . A mate of mine said it is almost impossible to get it off the silicon , or is he just being limp wristed . The tank i have now has black silicon and i never see any algae on it .

It depends what kind of algae it is and how awkward it is to get at it. I personally use a product named 'Wizard heavy duty Aquarium Cleaner & scraper' manufactured by 'Penn-Plax' which is basically a sharp textured sponge-like material fixed to the end of a long handle. It's easy to get it into tight corners where most of the silicone resides. If you have green-dust algae or diatoms (which are more harder to remove) I'd strongly recommend using the product mentioned above.

If you find that brown algae or blue-green algae appears you can usually remove that with just a cloth.

Your friend may not be applying pressure for good reason as certain areas of the tank may be prone to being scratched at a certain friction level.

 

[cambspaul]

Thanks for the help mark , ill stick with the clear then . I think it looks better than black . Ill pick up one of those cleaners you said about and give it a go . Cheers