Hmmmm, sorry for the double post, dont know how that happened.
I think it depends on the type of cichlid first. Not trying to insult your intelligence or anything, but I have found that most people who say they have non-aggressive cichlids only know that because of what an LFS employee told them. That is not your problem right now, of course, but it could in the future become one.
I think the pleco may be adding too much waste to your tank, even if it is of a small variety, they are just massive bioload strains and this could be part of your algea problem.
I think you could easily limit or reduce the amount of time that your lights are on. Many people find that there is no problem with leaving the lights on for 24 hours, but others have problems with any amount of light. I believe this has part to do with the way that the tank is set up and stocked, but quite a bit of it depends on the water that is used in the tank. Some tap water sources (including mine) have a pretty decent amount of phosphates in them and is why I was forced to switch to RO water in my saltwater tank. I do use it in the freshwater tank I have up right now, but it is full of cichlids that like to munch on whatever grows usually. The rest I scrape out.
I think the fact that the pleco does not eat this algea could be a sign of cyno or diatoms. I am not the expert on either per say, but if it is cyno, reduce the lighting and see if it slows down. You could also try to change the way the filter puts water back into the tank in order to get some moderate water flow, it cannot make it for long in moving water apparently. However, this is hard on the fish too, so dont go over board.
If none of these help at all, try the blackout and if that doesnt help either, you can dose with a bacterial medication that has a main ingredient of erythromyacin (sp?). This is a good broad spectrum antibiotic and will kill the cynobacteria pretty quickly. In my tank, I found that I did not have to dose at full strength though so work your way up, not down. Also keep in mind that some of these meds, especially the fizzy tablet type, has a dye in it and can stain clear air tubing and maybe some of the silicone that is used to seal the tank corners (if any). Dosing in low amounts will really help that or you can dissolve the tablets in a cup of water and pour it in slowly. This seemed to help with my tank and the plastic cup I used ended up being dyed more than anything else.
Like I said though, start slow and easy and work your way up. Try reducing your lights on period to 8 hours and if this helps or gets rid of your problem, you could maybe increase a little bit, or stay there. (This is when timers come in really handy as a cheap insurance policy for forgetting to turn the lights on or off).
If that doesnt work, try other 'non-invasive' type things first. Just do not over feed (fish are not as hungry as you or many people may think and they are not at the water's surface because they are hungry, but more beacause it is a learned behavior from seeing you feed them more than anything) and do regular water changes to reduce the nitrates in your tank (this is by far the best, and in many cases only way to get them out).
Sorry if I sound like I am treating you like a kid as that is not my intention. I just didnt want to assume that you knew what I was talking about. My ability to type fast is sometimes a curse to others because I can be long winded without taking a lot of time! :thud:
I think it depends on the type of cichlid first. Not trying to insult your intelligence or anything, but I have found that most people who say they have non-aggressive cichlids only know that because of what an LFS employee told them. That is not your problem right now, of course, but it could in the future become one.
I think the pleco may be adding too much waste to your tank, even if it is of a small variety, they are just massive bioload strains and this could be part of your algea problem.
I think you could easily limit or reduce the amount of time that your lights are on. Many people find that there is no problem with leaving the lights on for 24 hours, but others have problems with any amount of light. I believe this has part to do with the way that the tank is set up and stocked, but quite a bit of it depends on the water that is used in the tank. Some tap water sources (including mine) have a pretty decent amount of phosphates in them and is why I was forced to switch to RO water in my saltwater tank. I do use it in the freshwater tank I have up right now, but it is full of cichlids that like to munch on whatever grows usually. The rest I scrape out.
I think the fact that the pleco does not eat this algea could be a sign of cyno or diatoms. I am not the expert on either per say, but if it is cyno, reduce the lighting and see if it slows down. You could also try to change the way the filter puts water back into the tank in order to get some moderate water flow, it cannot make it for long in moving water apparently. However, this is hard on the fish too, so dont go over board.
If none of these help at all, try the blackout and if that doesnt help either, you can dose with a bacterial medication that has a main ingredient of erythromyacin (sp?). This is a good broad spectrum antibiotic and will kill the cynobacteria pretty quickly. In my tank, I found that I did not have to dose at full strength though so work your way up, not down. Also keep in mind that some of these meds, especially the fizzy tablet type, has a dye in it and can stain clear air tubing and maybe some of the silicone that is used to seal the tank corners (if any). Dosing in low amounts will really help that or you can dissolve the tablets in a cup of water and pour it in slowly. This seemed to help with my tank and the plastic cup I used ended up being dyed more than anything else.
Like I said though, start slow and easy and work your way up. Try reducing your lights on period to 8 hours and if this helps or gets rid of your problem, you could maybe increase a little bit, or stay there. (This is when timers come in really handy as a cheap insurance policy for forgetting to turn the lights on or off).
If that doesnt work, try other 'non-invasive' type things first. Just do not over feed (fish are not as hungry as you or many people may think and they are not at the water's surface because they are hungry, but more beacause it is a learned behavior from seeing you feed them more than anything) and do regular water changes to reduce the nitrates in your tank (this is by far the best, and in many cases only way to get them out).
Sorry if I sound like I am treating you like a kid as that is not my intention. I just didnt want to assume that you knew what I was talking about. My ability to type fast is sometimes a curse to others because I can be long winded without taking a lot of time! :thud:
