Algae bloom

50% change

I did the 50% change and rinsed the mechanical media. I will do 25% change tomorrow night. Should this totally eliminate algae or just hold it in check? Would I be advised to buy more plants to absorb light wattage?
 
I would buy some more plants or lower the light wattage. If this doesn't clear it up, do another 50% water change 3 days AFTER you do the 25%. Or mybe you can try another 50% water change. I will sleep on it and fihure out exactly what you should do. DO NOT BUY AN ALGAE KILLER!!!! This will leave dead algae in your tank and it will foul your water!!! Waterchanges are your best friend right now!!! How many GPH is the filter on your tank?? If this doesn't work, I would suggest cutting all light off to the tank for a couple of days. Is it in direct sunlight? With the amount of lighting you have, the sunlight may be causing this!!
 
A good plant to help outcompete algae is hornwort, or so I've been told. It grows quickly, so it should help level the battlefield for nutrients between plants and algae. That might be a good plant to get if you think it would help.

Also, is the algae actually growing on the tank walls, plants and decorations? Or is it more like a great green cloud in the water itself? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but so many people mean so many different things when they say they have "green algae".
 
Algae

mandimoron said:
A good plant to help outcompete algae is hornwort, or so I've been told. It grows quickly, so it should help level the battlefield for nutrients between plants and algae. That might be a good plant to get if you think it would help.

Also, is the algae actually growing on the tank walls, plants and decorations? Or is it more like a great green cloud in the water itself? Sorry if this is a stupid question, but so many people mean so many different things when they say they have "green algae".
Click to expand...

I have a light covering of algae on everything (green) and see the cloud of green dots.
 
There's this one really good article I found once with some nice pictures of different kinds of algae, how they were caused, and how to keep them under control. Gimme some browsing time, I'll see if I can find it for you, since it might help. ^_^

ETA: Found it! http://www.plantgeek.net/article_viewer.php?id=9

Also, try reading through this thread from the plant section if you haven't already. It has some good advice, and some more good links:
http://www.aquariacentral.com/forums/showthread.php?t=24916
 
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If it is a 12 gallon tank, that is bad. Not as bad as most people, but thw tanks volums should be circulating 10-15x an hour. A 12 gallon tank needs 120-170GPH. I would suggest for you to go to walmart and buy a Whisper 10-20i. It pumps 120gph and is suction cupped inside the tank or can be hung by a filter hanger which is included. I would suggest you to go to the petstore and buy REGULAR SIZE TETRATEC PRO II CARTRIDGES. Good luck!! I will continue to help!!!
http://www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=566
http://www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=281
http://www.tetra-fish.com/catalog/product.aspx?id=60
Some people don't like these filters, but I swear by them!!!
 
ggrowney,

Please do not go out and buy a new filter for your tank. It's not the filter that is causing the algae.

Repost your problem in the Plants Forum here and one of the plant gurus will help you out. They don't venture out of there very often.

Roan
 
fishieperson321 said:
If it is a 12 gallon tank, that is bad. Not as bad as most people, but thw tanks volums should be circulating 10-15x an hour. A 12 gallon tank needs 120-170GPH. I would suggest for you to go to walmart and buy a Whisper 10-20i. It pumps 120gph and is suction cupped inside the tank or can be hung by a filter hanger which is included. I would suggest you to go to the petstore and buy REGULAR SIZE TETRATEC PRO II CARTRIDGES. Good luck!! I will continue to help!!!
Click to expand...

No offense, but please stop pushing filters at this guy. His filter is fine. He only has a couple of corycats in there and does not need 10x turnaround with them. The filter has nothing to do with the algae bloom.

FWIW please go to the plants forum and do some reading on aglae. Search on "algae" and "nutrient imbalance".

Thanks

Roan
 
Filter debate

I appreciate all comments. I am going to try water changes for a while before buying a new filter. I am surprised to hear 106 is low as I feel like my water is very turbulent. If I need to filter more, i will, but I won't get to a fish store for a couple days, anyway.

I do appreciate the advice.
 
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