What would be the best way to control algae in an african cichlid tank, are there any good algae eaters? I am planning on putting a huge holey rock in my 90g deep(29") tank and have 96w of PC light. I was told that PC causes lots of algae, if that's the case what would be the best way to prevent my holey rock from getting green. Thanks!
controlling algae in cichlid tank
- Thread starter rahimsach
- Start date
PC light doesn't cause algae. Light is a contributing factor to algae growth but alone doesn't do it. Proper tank maintanence will reduce the amount of algae that grows, occasional scrubing of rocks also helps. At pretty much 1 watt pper gallon of light, you don't really need to worry about the lights at all.
As for fish that would go in there. Pretty much depends on the temperment of the fish. A large pleco would probably survive fine, but will add a lot of waste and I doubt there would be enough algae to keep it alive. You would need to add food.
As for fish that would go in there. Pretty much depends on the temperment of the fish. A large pleco would probably survive fine, but will add a lot of waste and I doubt there would be enough algae to keep it alive. You would need to add food.
True, but a lot depends on the color temp of the bulb. A 96" power compact at ~5500-6500K tends to spit a lot of light that nuisance algae loves. A 10000k better yet, and half actinic even better yet at making fish look pretty and keeping algae down. My advice on this has always been if ya' don't want to grow plants but want to make your fish look pretty, get the higest color temp bulb you can get.
The problem with most plecos it that they get big and lazy, and stop eating algea and eat the food you are feeding your other fish. Also their their poop is huge and long, and gets caught on your rock work plants and just about anything else. It just looks disgusting. What you need to do is find some rubbernose plecos. They stay smaller and I have never seen them eat food, just eat algea off the rocks and the glass. Mine are a good 1-2" and they dont seem to be bothered by the cichlids. If they were a little smaller they might get eaten. I have 2 in a 55 gal and they do a great job in keeping the algea in check. I dont have a phosphate sponge just mechanical and biological filtration with a 96w pc. A little bit of algea on the rocks but i like the look makes it look more natural.
I had a Rhino Pleco in my 100gal with no issues from any of my African Cichlids. They just ignored him as he cruised by.
