Algae bloom

Peter99

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Feb 24, 2004
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My 10 gallon tank is having an algae explosion. I changed 2 gallon worth of water and when I dumped the water out, it had a slight greenish tint. The water parameter is good 0ppm amonia, 0ppm nitrite and <10ppm nitrate. The growth of green algae is pretty bad, I can't clear it up. Is there any way to get rid of the algae? The edge of the tank g

ets some sunshine in the morning, so I understand the cause of the algae bloom, but I have no other place to place the tank.
 
What's living but isn't a plant in the tank?

(for those of you who ar reading this hunover at 8am, that would be fish)
 
Get a cleanup crew!

If your not fully stocked then a small posse of Otto's would take care of that algae for you nicely!

:D
 
Peter, I’m not sure a little direct sun is the problem. I have a 75 gal that takes a little direct sun and a lot of ambient light and I have no algae problem.

How long is your light on every day?
Do you have plants?
Low NitrAtes is good but high PO4 from over feeding will cause severe algae problems.

You may need to do a black out to solve your immediate problem, do a search for lots of articles on that.

I agree a handful of ottos are a good thing but nutrient and light management is better. Weekly vacuuming and water changes are a must.

And still, a little algae into every tank will creep.
 
I have always used the blackout method, just cover the tank with something that will block all light, for 4-5 days. I usually do a daily water change during the blackout just to keep anything from going spastic while the algea is dying. I have also heard that UV sterilizers and micron filters will do the job. As far as future prevention, many things were hit on in the above replies. If it is a FO tank, and I read your parramiters correctly, it is either a feeding or a light issue, both of which are fairly easy to deal with.
HTH
 
Sorry for not replying earlier, I went home and I didn't bring home my PC.

My tank is overstocked actually. The 10 gallon tank is my temporary tank for fishes that I adopted from other family members. I'm going to be looking at <75 gallon tank next week after graduation.

The light is on for about 12 hours a day (fluorescent), I have live plants in the tank, but I don't think I have too much.

I currently have 5 tiger barbs and a yellow lab in the tank. They all get along fine. The PH is 7.4 so its either within range or very close to the PH that both fishes live in. Temp is between 80-84F (warm room).
 
I'm not the expert that a lot of folks here are, but my understanding is that more plants make things easier when it comes to algea. Although you may be overstocked, the tank is clean ( according to the numbers given), so your maintenance is good, I would cut the food in half unless the fish start fighting. I usually don't feed at all during the blackout, the fish will be fine for four or five days without food. and cut your light back to 8 or 9 hours a day max, once the bloom is killed.
You will still have to kill off the green water, it won't go away otherwise, but something to bear in mind is that it doesn't hurt your fish to live in it. To clean algea off plants and ornaments, mix a bleach solution at 19 parts water 1 part bleach, and swish everything in it for about 10 minutes. Then drop it into a bucket of water with declorinator to rinse it. Clean all the algea off the glass ( and anywhere else) that you can. Do as big of a water change as you and your fish can stand. And then cover the tank with a banket, cardboard or something so no light can enter for about 4 days 5 is better. As said, I like to do a daily water change during the blackout to help remove the dying algea. You will also want to keep an eye on your filter media to make sure it doesn't plug up, and rinse it well (in tank water) at the end of the blackout period to remove any build-up of dead algea. after the blackout, your tank should be algea free. A little less light, and more plants if you can, and you should be headed in the right direction. Look for fast growing plants that eat a lot of nutrients. I'll stop now and let the experts take over.
HTH
 
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