"Algae in an un-cycled tank is a trivial cosmetic problem that you should worry about later. Algae doesn't kill fish - but algae can directly use ammonia, which is probably why algae-covered tanks are assumed to be unhealthy tanks. I copied this from the cycling piece on the forum."
I read this and forgot where but it doesn't make sense.
Sorry yes I am an idiot it really just does not make sense could someone help explain.
It basically means that the only real bad thing about algae is its appearance, which can look quite unsightly, so it is not that vital that you remove it if you do have algae, it is more of a personal choice over the appearance of the tank whether you should decide to remove it or not.
However i would say that the statement is not completely true, since free floating algae which causes green water when it blooms can lower the oxygen content of the water if the bloom is particularly thick, which can make life uncomfortable for the fish in the tank.
I think if the algae covers live aquarium plants enough though, it can also make the plants grow not so well- however in an established aquarium where the plants are really thriving and there aren't any excessive nitrates or levels of organic matter or excessive or inadequate lighting etc, you shouldn't experience this problem.
Algae problems are sort of part and parcel of new tank set ups or cycling tanks, getting algae is a very common problem for such tanks, but as the tanks ecosystem establishes itself and everything is running as it should be, you shouldn't experience algae problems in long term.
If algae problems persist and you have done everything you can do and don't fancy scraping algae off the sides of the tank for months and months to come, then an easy way to deal with the problem is to get a fish which will eat your particular type/s of algae, for example oto's make very good algae eating fish as they have a good apetite for the stuff and stay small and are very peaceful fish. The only drawback to keeping oto's is that in general they're very fragile/sensitive fish and can be difficult to acclimatise to the tank successfully in the long run, they also do best in groups of at least 3-4 depending on the size of the tank.
.
.
