How To Get Rid Of My Algae?

[arobinson1984]

I've got green fur like algae growing on my live plant and ornament, and its growing fairly quickly.

What is the best way to get rid / prevent this?

Which fish are best algae eaters?

I'm getting a powerhead soon, will this help prevent the algae from growing?

Tank light is on 10 hours a day on a timer from 12pm to 10pm.

Cheers

Andy

 

[bolivian_d]

Plant some hygrophilia polysperma. If you're still having problems, do a large water change and plant some more. The algea will eventually disappear as it loses the battle for precious nutrients.

Having a planted tank is the only long term solution if your tank is getting light.

Edit: You said you had a live plant, but evidently you need some/more fast growing plants. There's some useful topics in the planted forum on algea busting plants.

 

[arobinson1984]

Thanks, I do have 3 live plants in there, but 2 of them are small so I may well add some more plants to the tank

Andy

 

[arobinson1984]

My algae is getting worse, its like green hairs everywhere.

What is the best way to get it off my ornaments and stuff? also should I remove the plant that has it all over it's leaves?? Is it harmful to the fish at all? They all seem fine.

I'l be adding more plants soon and ordering external filter & powerhead tomorrow so hopefully when they are installed it will help prevent the problem.

Andy

 

[aaronnorth]

check the algae guide in my sig.

 

[saz326]

As a temp fix until you get the algae spore in the water under control,

Use an old toothbrush and a bleach solution to clean the ornament, and use a "bleach dip" on the plants.. not sure of the details of this but it would certainly help.

Whos got the details...?

 

[aaronnorth]

19parts water : 1 part bleach

i would rather clean the algae off with a brush, and trim the plants. Bleach dips make the plant weak and more suceptible to algae attacks

 

[arobinson1984]

Thanks aaronnorth,

From your guide is looks like blanket weed, like I said, I'm getting an eheim with spray bar and a powerhead so hopefully the increased aeriation and flow will help prevent it for good.

For now I will clean the ornaments and trim the plants that are affected.

Andy

 

[mixmaster jay]

Thanks aaronnorth,

From your guide is looks like blanket weed, like I said, I'm getting an eheim with spray bar and a powerhead so hopefully the increased aeriation and flow will help prevent it for good.

For now I will clean the ornaments and trim the plants that are affected.

Andy

I would never use any kind of bleach in any quantity for an aquarium you will kill your fish.

buy an inline uv steriliser or use some king british (or any other make) green algae control soution.

To get it off your plants just wash them in tank water in a bucket when you do a weekly 10/20% water change

 

[aaronnorth]

you dont add the bleach directly to the tank!! You remove the object then bleach dip, then rinse with ta[ water after.

UV's are only affective against floating organisms. So only for green water, as the cells will pass through.

Green algae control is a chemical and therefore it can be just as detrimentaal to fish & plants if overdosed.

 

[Fishin Pole]

Your never gonna get rid of all the algae................the best you can do is control it.............I'm really suprised no one has mentioned about getting some nerite snails for your tank..............The best snails for algae and they do not reporduce in freshwater...........Did wonders for the algae growth in my 90 gallon tank...............they will not eat your plants, but will eat the algae off of them

 

[mixmaster jay]

you dont add the bleach directly to the tank!! You remove the object then bleach dip, then rinse with ta[ water after.

UV's are only affective against floating organisms. So only for green water, as the cells will pass through.

Green algae control is a chemical and therefore it can be just as detrimentaal to fish & plants if overdosed

read the instructions very carefully thats all i can say

iknow bleaching is safe if done right but i would laeve that to the well experianced fishkeepers personally

i found this on the net if you want to go down that route


1 part bleach, 20 parts water is a standard sterilizing solution, used in more than aquatics. I have used this countless times on tanks & related equipment. Rinse thoroughly with tap water afterwards, double up on dechlorinator when filling.

Bleach is chlorine, the same that is added to your tap water. It will gas out of a weak solution in 24 hours, the same as your tap water. When you understand what it is, and use it properly it is a useful chemical. Since it is obvious that none of the folks posting here have any real experience with the use of bleach in an aquatics environment you may want to look this over; http/www.fishforums.net/content/forum/...

 

[aaronnorth]

adding axtra fauna isnt always suitable, nor the best idea. WHat happens if they die? Algae will attack again. far better to fix the imbalane in the tank rather than covering it up. Besides, i am pretty sure nerites dont eat blanket weed