I have some plants in the tanks but all of my tanks arent planted. They eat all thier food so I think this isnt the problem. I feed all of my fish shrimp. It costs me a fortune to feed them this but they are worth it...
There are several ways to combat algae without resorting to chemical means.
1. Consider a break period during the day when the fish lights are off. Like 4 on, 3 off, 4 on. Your basically reducing the photo-period.
2. Reduce the photo-period, to say about 8 hours.
Both these possible solutions require timed lights.
3. Invest in a good algae eater. There are smaller plecos out there, otos, shrimps, even snails that tackle algae. Some gouramis and livebearers also contribute to algae consumption.
4. The most extreme solution is a 3 day blackout. No lights, and cover the fish with a blanket. No peeking for three days, the fish will be fine.
These solutions have worked for me in various stages, but the algae will return. What you really need to do is evaluate why you have algae. Algae is caused by an over abundance of nutrients in the water that's not being used by higher plants, too much light, too much nutrients in the water. This is a generalization. I think that a possible suspect could be your feeding regimen, but I can't know for certain until I know a bit more about your systems. How often do you feed a day, and how much? How long are your lights on? Can you describe the nature of your algae? Is it green, is it black, is it brown, is it hairy-looking? Just because your tank isn't near a window, doesn't mean your rooms don't receive a lot of light.
