alge problems

[Lakota]

I have a 29 gallon fresh water tank and it is very cloudy. I have been told that it is alge that is making cloudy so I have been using stuff to kill the alge. Now, my question is now, what can I get(fish wise) to prevent this from happening again? I have a chocolate pleco and a emerald cory(I had a panda cory, but he died the other day ). Anyways, do you think that these two are enough to keep the alge at bay, or should I get somemore bottom feeders or alge eaters? Just wondering, any help would be appreciated, thanks

Lakota

 

[labont865]

Well Cories are scavengers so will not do too much to get rid of algae, they do help prevent it by eating left over food off the bottom of the tank but they are never going to get all of it. And although Plecos are great algae eaters they are not an overly active fish therefor dont eat as much as some other types of algae eaters or catfish. I would recommend getting yourself a few (2-6) otocinclus catfish or even a few Chinese algae eaters. They are much more active fish therefor need to eat more frequently. a 1 inch oto will consume the same or more food in a day as a 3-4 inch Pleco. And the great thing is you can pick up an oto for 1-2 dollars. Also if you dont have any overly aggresive fish in your tank you may even want to pick up some ghost shrimp(algae eating shrimp). they are also very efficient algae eaters. There are many options out there it just depends on what type of fish you like and what type of fish you already have

 

[labont865]

One more thing I forgot to post in the last one. These fish will not help with the cloudiness of your tank they will only get rid of algae that grows on the surfaces in your tank(rocks, gravel, etc.). The only really effective way to get rid of the cloudiness in your tank is to do daily water changes and vacuuming your gravel everyday aswell. Adding a chemical will help but it not always necessary.

 

[Shierkahn]

Is this an established tank or new set-up? If it's a new set-up it's probably a bacteria bloom and not algea. You might be able to tell if it's algea if you put some tank water in a plastic bag, hold it up to a light with a piece of white paper in front of it and looking through the paper. If it's got a green tint to it it's algea, if not it's most likely bacteria. If it's indeed algea, do a black out on the tank for a few days(turn you lights off, cover the tank with a towel). That should kill off most if not all the algea.

 

[Lakota]

My tank is quite established. I don't think that it's the bacteria bloom because it's been running for a good 3-4 months now. And, I have been doing water changes every day, and in the bucket that I use, the water seems to be very green. So, I know it's the algae that's doing it. I was told by my pet store that I should use some thing called "No More Algae" by Jungle. I've been using that for the past few days and I also did the black out for about 3 days. It's still cloudy, but it is getting better. But, I really do appreciate you guys helping me, I really hate it when first off I can't see my fish, and second off, they start dying off because of ph fluctuations. Anyway, thanks again. Anymore suggestions would be greatly appreciated.

Lakota

 

[daveedka]

As said fish won't help with green water. A blackout is the best fix, but many people don't do the blackout properly. You have to literrally make your tank devoid of any light. block all avenues of room light etc. so that it is 100% black in the tank. any light at all and some of the algea will survive and grow when the lights come back on. I always used 4 days for algea as 3 never seemed as effective, but many folks here see success with 3 days. Either way at least 72 hours of black. there is no need to feed your fish during the blackout, and if you want to doa water change it won't hurt to uncover the tank long enough to do one and then immediatly cover it back up. Once green water has started, it must be killed off completely or it will continue indefinately.

The algea killers flat out scare me and I never let them near my tanks. Chemical treatments even when effective can have a multitude of adverse consequences. They are also far more expensive than a blackout.

Now once the algea is dead prevention is a different story. if you are doing daily water changes you should not have any trouble keeping it from returning. Just keep the tank clean (daily shouldn't be needed as a rule). if you don't have plants keep your lighted period to a minimum. with fish only tanks, just have the lights on when you are there to see the tank and leave them off otherwise. also it seems to help to use bulbs that aren't really good plant bulbs. cool white worked for me very well. the most common underlying cause of algea is excess fish food being converted to plant food. try reducing feeding a bunch and see what it does. Fish need about 1/10 of the food we usually think they do. even my big eaters are very happy and healthy being fed a couple of times a week. It is close to impossible to undefeed fish IME.

dave