New Tank, Algae Problem

matt_storey · May 11, 2011

Picked up a Juwel Rio 125 from a generous member on this site. Unfortunately he fell out of love with fishkeeping at the tank was left a month so there was a large build up of algae.

I've got all of it off the glass, but theres a thick fluffy layer on the black filtration unit. There is also some brownish stuff on the sand.

The tank should be pretty well cycled

my word was there some good bacteria in the filter media lol

Could i add my plecos (3 are being sold to MissKitty in the next week) the largest is 5inchs to control the algae? There is also a snail issue, will my khulis sort this?

just to add, i rinsed the sand for a few hours swirling it every half hour to get as much of it out, ive also tried swirling the sand to let the filter deal with some of the ... dirt?

mislisa · May 11, 2011

not sure about the pleco, as some of them aren't great at eating up algae, but khulis aren't that great at eating snails IMO. mine just ignore them completley.

matt_storey · May 11, 2011

yer my plecos seem more interested in bogwood

i suppose it does give the tank a more "natural" look.

Could i add some sort of algae remover? the same sort you would add to a pond?

Tizer · May 11, 2011

Stop being a wimp and rip everything out and clean it properly

matt_storey · May 11, 2011

i did! lol i finish work at 2, yesterday i got in emptied the sand stuck a hose in it and left it for a few hours! during that i spent until about 8pm cleaning, filling, setting up the tank

woke up this morning to a nice clear tank but with messy sand and algae unit

i may just take the sand out and plonk some old gravel in for now. how will the plecos fair with gravel?

Tizer · May 11, 2011

might be harder to clean with all their poo! at least with sand it sits on the top.

matt_storey · May 11, 2011

thats true but they'll only be in there for a week, 2 max as miss kitty is having them.

minnnt · May 11, 2011

Get scrubbing! Whats wrong with you? It should come off just with a bit of pressure from a scouring pad. If not then use a bit of white vinegar (obviously with the tank empty). Or... Keep your 105 and run that in the tank and remove the juwel corner filter altogether. I believe they are just siliconed in. A number of members have removed them completely for more space.