MichellePifer

We're having trouble with the lighting in our tank, it's growing algae everywhere! It's a 4ft. fluorescent light fixture, and the bulbs we bought are obviously not the right ones, we need to know what wattage or even what type of bulb to buy to keep it from re-growing the algae. It's growing at an unbelievable rate, cleaning the glass every day or 2 and can barely keep up with it. We also had a recent problem with "ick" and wondering if the light issue could be the problem.

sirdarksol

I notice that you haven't ever tested the water.

High nitrogen levels (ammonia, nitrite, and/or nitrate) could be responsible for both the algae (which needs nitrogen to grow) and the ICH (which doesn't often bother fish unless they are stressed).

A recently changed light tube could have touched off a burst of algae growth (new tubes produce better light) even if it was the right color/wattage, if there was an excess of nitrates and phosphorous in the aquarium.

Oh, and, Welcome to Fishlore!

agabr123

hi and welcome to fishlore

i'm having an algae problem in my tank as well, you can try leaving the light on for less time each day (i.e. 8 hours instead of 12), or if that doesn't work you can do a complete blackout for a few days.

also, is the tank near a window? if it's getting any direct sunlight that's definitely contributing to the algae growth.

do you know the wattage on the lighting?

as a side note, it says that you don't know about the nitrogen cycle. here are a few links that will help you understand what's going on in your tank. i'd also recommend buying a test kit API freshwater master test kit is the best in my opinion, extremely accurate and will last much longer than the paper strips you might find.
http://www.fishlore.com/NitrogenCycle.htm
http://www.fishlore.com/Articles/TheNitrogenCycle.htm

do you have an actual koi in that tank? they grow up to 3 feet long and need at least 1000 gallons of water.