Algae takeover...whats the deal? Please help!!

Briko03

Briko03

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Sep 20, 2004
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I have a 10g tank (see below), not planted (because im not sure how to go about doing that), and I have a severe case of algae. I have two algae eating shrimp, and i thought the rule of thumb was 1 per 10 gallons would enough to maintain it.

Now the algae is getting out of control. I scrub it off the glass and its back two days later. The algae is now growing alot all over the gravel and I dont intend to scrub every piece of gravel.

I have already tried blacking out the tank and cutting tank light times. I dont know what else to do. Does anyone have any suggestions? Should i get more shrimp, or a snail or something else?

Any suggestions greatly appreciated.

Nate
 
First you need to know what kind of algae you're dealing with - there are some methods that work with one and not another. Some algae aren't paletable to fish at all, some are eaten by certain fish and not others.
Next, I'd say you need to try to find the root of the problem; otherwise, you're destined to scrub forever.
Can you test your water and post the results? If you don't have test kits, many LFSs will test for you - you're looking for the level of nitrates (NO3) and phosphates (PO4) in particular, since these are prime sources of food for algae. If it's feasable, you can also take some of the algae (maybe on some gravel or a decoration) to the store and ask them to ID it. In the meantime, water changes will help to bring the levels down and give you an opportunity to pull more of the algae out of the tank.
When you mentioned that it's growing all over the gravel, it made me wonder if you're dealing with blue green algae - a type of photosynthetic bacteria, not a true algae, and very difficult to deal with sometimes. If what you see is gelatinous sheets of dark bluish green that peels off the gravel easily, this could be it. There are lots of sites online with pictures that can help you ID the algae, I'd say that would be a good first step.
 
Well my levels are all good. I dont know how to test for P04.

Ammonia-0
Nitrites- 0
Nitrates -5ppm

As far as ID the algae... I have seen the shrimp eat some of it off the decorations. The algae on the gravel started in one spot and not has virtually spread all over the bottom of the tank in less than two days.

Im gonna put some pics up in a few mins
 
pics

algae1.jpg


algae2.jpg
 
good pic

It looks like an outbreak of brown algae.. My best recommendations would be to scrub the sides of the tank, especially around the bottom part near the subtrate. Since your gravel is in the blue spectrum the brown algae is alot more visible, do regurlar vacumming stir up the gravel and disturb the top growth of the algae.. With your stonehedge type decorations you should take them out once a week and scrub them really good with either hot water or as someone recommended minor traces of salt water either way scrub em really well... The thing about the algae is that you want to contain it and not let it get out of hand untill its under controll, once under controll you wont have any serious outbreaks, and it will hopefully go away. I use to have it bad in one of my tanks but i would do the scrubbing every other day or what ever it would take and eventually the algae would resede and not flourish as well, now its all but gone.. good luck hope something works for ya .. :D :D
 
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When did you set up the tank? Brown algae (diatoms) is very common in newly cycled tanks, and often goes away by itself as the tank matures.
Some people have said that adding more light will help - brown algae thrive in low-light environments. I'd be cautious, since an overabundance of light can encourage green algae and you'd just end up dealing with a new problem.
Otocinclus affinis - oto cats - eat brown algae. Many other fish ignore it, but otos do a nice job of eliminating it. They prefer to be kept in a group, but they stay very small so you could add 2-3 to your 10g without increasing the bio-load too much (as long as the tank isn't overstocked atm).
 
Honestly, I'd say it would be pushing it - it would be better to return something and exchange it for a few otos - but otos stay small (under 1.5") so they don't add too much to the bio-load. If you're over filtering and you're diligent about weekly water changes you should be okay.

Just a thought - you mentioned that the reason you don't have live plants is just a lack of know-how. If you want plants but just aren't sure how to start, the planted forum here on AC is great, there are people there who can answer any questions you've got about lighting requirements, plants themselves, fertilization, etc. I recently made the jump from plastic (with A LOT of help from the guys on the planted forum!), and I'm SO much more 'into' my tank now - it looks better to me, and my fish are acting happier and more relaxed than I've ever seen them. Plants will compete with algae for nutrients and help keep nitrate levels down as well - a huge added bonus if you're going to push the stocking limits of your tank :D
 
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today i ran out to the fish store and got 3 ottos... i put them in, went to work, came back about 6 hours later, and 80% of my algae was gone... and my algae was horrible, it covered about a foot square surface of my tank's walls and was brown and nasty. i'm extremely happy..

I heard that ottos ussually come home super hungry, so i guess that's why they killed my algae problem... it's amazing
 
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