I have a horrible algae problem. I clean all my plastic plants and ornaments, yet within two days everything is turning brown again. I have an algae eater, who seems to be on strike, my tank (20 gal) temp averages 79-81 degrees, and my lights are only on a couple hours a day. It's driving me nuts, and now my plants aren't coming clean anymore. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciated! Thanks.
Bad algae problem-help!
- Thread starter sdb
- Start date
I had a slight algae problem after slacking off on water changes (nitrates were through the roof, feeding the algae). I did a couple water changes back to back, scraped the algae off... and no more occurrance of algae. Test your water for nitrates, they could be a little high.
Other than that... maybe someone else has more ideas for you.
Other than that... maybe someone else has more ideas for you.
Yes, my nitrates are high. I just did a water change the other day, then today as well because the nitrates were high. The nitrates are still high. I use Cycle (don't hit me, I've found lately that a lot of people don't like it here. My fish store highly recommended it for fish health, so I had kept with it), and I've recently heard it can skyrocket nitrates. I didn't add Cycle to todays water change. But the funny thing is, other people report their nitrates as being "10 or 15", numbers like that. My kit (Hagen) says that "anything above 110 mg is high". Well, mine is 110 still. Do these numbers make sense? Anyway, should I do a water change everyday until the nitrates are down? Thanks a million, fishlvr, you gave me a great start.
The reason why others quote their nitrAte levels as 10's or 15's is cos they quote them in Parts Per Million of nitrAte .. or ppm. What you're reading is in milligrams.
Does your test kit also have readings in ppm ? If not, I'm sorry but I have no clue how you would convert mg to ppm. Maybe some of the more knowledgeable people might know
Does your test kit also have readings in ppm ? If not, I'm sorry but I have no clue how you would convert mg to ppm. Maybe some of the more knowledgeable people might know
I've now noticed the booklet says "tests nitrates from 0 - 110 mg/L (ppm). Looks like mg/L = ppm. My numbers are off the charts. No wonder I have an algae problem!
Back before I did that first water change, my nitrates were 200+ppm . After a couple water changes it was down to 80ppm... and now, they are very low and I do water changes every week.
I really dont know if mg/L is the same as ppm... but my advice: ditch the Cycle and have your water tested at your LFS. Ask them what the ppm reading is. If it's the same as mg/L then all is good. Keep up the water changes and testing until those pesky nitrates are under control. then just keep a routine going.
I now honestly believe that my past fish loss was due to high nitrates cause I was terrible at water changes. But since finding this forum, my passion has been renewed and my fish love me for it
. After a couple water changes it was down to 80ppm... and now, they are very low and I do water changes every week.I really dont know if mg/L is the same as ppm... but my advice: ditch the Cycle and have your water tested at your LFS. Ask them what the ppm reading is. If it's the same as mg/L then all is good
. Keep up the water changes and testing until those pesky nitrates are under control. then just keep a routine going. I now honestly believe that my past fish loss was due to high nitrates cause I was terrible at water changes. But since finding this forum, my passion has been renewed and my fish love me for it
Thank you for the clarification. I don't why they have to confuse us! Anyway, the Cycle is "ditched", I'll be doing another water change tonight, and a re-test. My fingers are crossed!
Test shows nitrates are still high, but they are definately down from last test. I will keep doing the changes, and I think I'm on the right track. Thanks again for all the help.