Fighting Algae Bloom

[GatorJ]

i dont have a chemical kit yet, everyone in town wanted too much i am looking for one ebay. so sorry for no readings.

i have been fighting this algae bloom and getting tired of doing water changes and my plants are getting eaten since cutting down on food and lights, and the situation as not gotten better im sad (fish look and seem healhty though).

Talking with someone at work he said save myself the time take the gravel out of the tank, soak it in very mild bleach solution, rinse very well, then let sit in a water for 24 hrs then put gravel back in the tank.

Good advice or no?

 

[smegforbrains]

We could really do with some background info on your tank bud.


How long has it been set up? How long have you had fish in it? What fish? What size tank?


Water test results are something you should consider a necessity. Hang the expense. An API Master Kit should cost less than £30 from an LFS and will last you 12 months.

 

[OldMan47]

If your algae bloom is just green water, don't worry about it. It will not harm your fish. The best way to deal with it is to not feed your fish enough to put the high nutrient levels into your water and reduce the lighting to the point that the algae just dies back on its own. I have a green water culture, on purpose, and find that I need to fertilize it and give it direct sunlight to keep it intensely green. I also push a lot of air through the green water with an air stone. When I intentionally pour some into a fish tank, I can't even detect any green a few days later. These are tanks with intense lighting for my plants.
If you are running without a test kit, how do you know you are changing enough water to keep the fish healthy? I would say that an established, who knows about cycled, tank that is not being tested would need at least a 30 to 50% water change every week just because you can't know whether the water is safe without it.