green algae

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T

tamara323

~*Animal Loving Aquarius Aquarist*~
Feb 2, 2002
31
0
0
36
Canada
Hey everyone :)

A friend of mine recently came over and saw my tanks, his reaction was, "Why can't mine look like that?" Of course if he had seen some of your guys' tanks, he would have been speechless.

Anyhow, to the point - he wants my help in re-designing his 10 gallon tank with him, to make it more natural. So out will come the multicolored rainbow gravel, the floating scuba diving man, the treasure chests and the 'No fishing' sign. ;)

The problem is that he's got about a years build up of green algae on three of the glass walls (he kept the front wall clean so he could alteast see his fish ;)) lol. His fishing being guppies, 7 of them (5 female, 2 male, and no fry, continuously eaten I assume).

What can I do to get the green algae off the inside of the tank walls, preferably without removing all the water and fish? (But if that's what must be done, I suppose we could manage it using one of my tanks.) And any ideas how to keep the green algae from building back up again? I'm not sure if otos like green algae, but they didn't help, he had 3 of them in there. The tanks on incandescant lighting, not overfed, away from direct sunlight and weekly maintenance/water changes. Would a CAE or SAE or maybe a bristlenose pleco help in this tank?

Lol, sorry for the lenghty post, but any help on how to get rid of the algae that's there now and prevent it in the future would be great :)
 
OrionGirl

OrionGirl

No freelancing!
Aug 14, 2001
14,053
342
143
Poconos
Real Name
Sheila
1) check the age of the bulb. Long before the quit working entirely, many bulbs shift spectrum into the red zone, which is just what algae use. If he doesn't want plants, swap the bulb for something in the blue and green range.

2) If he wants real plants, get lighting appropriate for this, and start the new plants now. The sooner they become established, the sooner they will rob the algae of nutrients.

3) Manual removal to supplement some algae consuming fish, as long as it's long term needs will be met. Many fish consume algae as juveniles, but shift to a meatier diet as they mature. Bristlenose tend to be harder working than many fish, but I know that my adult bristlenose does little to nothing compared to the hard working juveniles. Not a bad thing, as long as it's part of the plan. There are several hard working algae eaters out there, but they each have specific needs. I'd go with the bristlenose, just because they seem to have more personality and character than the SAE/CAE/FF group.

I'd go about a week without feeding the tank as well. The fish will be just fine, and may graze a bit more if it's Hobsons choice.

When you swap out the gravel, you will be much better off if you pull out everything, put in the new substrate, and refill. Obviously, the filter type may dictate using some of the surface gravel for a bacteria source; the toe off a pair of nylons is great for this.
 
125gJoe

125gJoe

2009 VMAX
Jul 6, 2002
3,047
0
0
SAE's Work...


I've had CAE's and they didn't help at all...
SAE's will cut the algae - they love it..

 
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