Clean It Or Keep It?

[pica_nuttalli]

so, i've been "cultivating" (see: ignoring) a healthy growth of some sort of algae on the top of my Whisper internal filter. i think its mostly Cladophora aegagropila since i have several moss balls in the 10g and the growth has the same texture as the moss balls the few times i've pruned it.

so whadda think? keep it for the extra nitrogen processing or clean it because it's algae? i know my answer; let's hear yours!

 

[Fish_Mike]

Keep it! I let algae on my tank's surfaces (other than the glass). Not only does it reduce nitrates and aid in nitrification, it absorbs harmful materials, and produces oxygen for your fish! What could be better than that?

 

[Vegan Peaches]

Huh. That's actually kind of rugged looking, not like the annoying brown algae that grows on my glass when I leave the lights on >.< I say keep it

 

[Somethings Fishy Here]

It certainly cant hurt!

 

[onemisterchristian]

I bet that smells excellent! Divide it up, share the wealth

 

[wuvmybetta]

I'm extremely jealous of your awesome algae, I say keep it!

 

[pica_nuttalli]

wuv, here's the secret to my success:

$7.99 at target.

 

[prankster705]

Keep it it's very beneficial.

 

[wuvmybetta]

That's an awesome set up ya have there, pica B) But sadly I'd probably only get brown slime
I do usually get traces of green algae in my spawn tanks, when they fry are a few weeks old and I've been using my light faithfully, but then I dump the tanks and start over. Maybe I'll try to keep it going next time.

How much do you know about algae? I had an awesome tub of green water going on out back, but I stopped feeding it fish waste when I finally accepted the fact that one of my lfs's was never going to get daphnia in I noticed last night that the water is nearly clear now...? Did I kill my algae?
Seriously, it's quite sad that I'm so bad at aquatic plants that I literally kill algae!

 

[Dorkhedeos]

keep it, i would guess that it would act like the moss in a river. itll clear the water up. its like getting organic filter media

Edit: oh yeah, i would also spread it to other filters

 

[littleimp]

Keep it, as already mentioned controlled algae is beneficial to the system. It will also help to prevent annoying algaes due to it using up the nutrients. This stuff would be good in a sump system for nutrient export too.

 

[Dorkhedeos]

if that stuff didnt clog filters, that would be the only media i use