Algae problem & multiplying marimo balls?

[hannahmbatts]

Hi all,
For the past few months I’ve been having an algae problem in my tank. I’ve tried frequent water changes and taking out plants/decorations to thoroughly clean. On top of that, I have 3 marimo moss balls in my 20 gallon community tank, and I think they are spreading (pictures attached) around my tank. I honestly don’t mind the way it looks as long as it’s not a problem, it brings character to the tank. But I do want to get rid of that yellow tinted water and the algae on the glass. Any tips or tricks? Should I be doing something different than using an algae scraper and doing about 30% WC ever week to two weeks? It’s in pretty bad condition right now because it’s been a week (I’m about to do a WC), but I wanted to show you all how quickly it gets this way. (Look on the bridge and the Amazon sword to the right to see the “spreading marimo balls” I’m referring to) Thanks in advance!

 

[BettaBoi23]

You could try a school of otos. They don't take up much space and 3 or 4 of them make the perfect sanitation crew, or at least from my experience.

 

[hannahmbatts]

You could try a school of otos. They don't take up much space and 3 or 4 of them make the perfect sanitation crew, or at least from my experience.

Ok, thanks. I already have 3 albino cories in there, so I’m not sure I have the room for them.. :/

 

[Unknown9182]

Hi all,
For the past few months I’ve been having an algae problem in my tank. I’ve tried frequent water changes and taking out plants/decorations to thoroughly clean. On top of that, I have 3 marimo moss balls in my 20 gallon community tank, and I think they are spreading (pictures attached) around my tank. I honestly don’t mind the way it looks as long as it’s not a problem, it brings character to the tank. But I do want to get rid of that yellow tinted water and the algae on the glass. Any tips or tricks? Should I be doing something different than using an algae scraper and doing about 30% WC ever week to two weeks? It’s in pretty bad condition right now because it’s been a week (I’m about to do a WC), but I wanted to show you all how quickly it gets this way. (Look on the bridge and the Amazon sword to the right to see the “spreading marimo balls” I’m referring to) Thanks in advance!

For the algae issue get a UV filter or at least a very small UV light which you put inside your filter.

 

[jkkgron2]

Hi all,
For the past few months I’ve been having an algae problem in my tank. I’ve tried frequent water changes and taking out plants/decorations to thoroughly clean. On top of that, I have 3 marimo moss balls in my 20 gallon community tank, and I think they are spreading (pictures attached) around my tank. I honestly don’t mind the way it looks as long as it’s not a problem, it brings character to the tank. But I do want to get rid of that yellow tinted water and the algae on the glass. Any tips or tricks? Should I be doing something different than using an algae scraper and doing about 30% WC ever week to two weeks? It’s in pretty bad condition right now because it’s been a week (I’m about to do a WC), but I wanted to show you all how quickly it gets this way. (Look on the bridge and the Amazon sword to the right to see the “spreading marimo balls” I’m referring to) Thanks in advance!

Marimo balls grow very slowly, so they’re not the issue. I’m guessing it’s either black beard algae, or hair algae. Maybe staghorn algae. Algae usually comes if there’s a water quality issue, so I would try doing 50% water changes weekly to help combat the algae. Otos usually won’t eat black beard algae, staghorn algae, or hair algae. For now I would do water changes and add in more live plants. You may also want to look into using seachem excel. It can be used for spot treating the algae.

 

[hannahmbatts]

For the algae issue get a UV filter or at least a very small UV light which you put inside your filter.

Ok great, thanks!

 

[APColorado]

How long do you leave your lights on? Does your tank get direct sunlight?

 

[Fisch]

Or snails are cleaning up the algea pretty well. Nerites don't reproduce in freshwater, so there is no danger of overwhelmin your tank.

 

[hannahmbatts]

How long do you leave your lights on? Does your tank get direct sunlight?

The tank doesn’t really get any direct sunlight, and I leave the lights on for 6-8 hours a day.

Marimo balls grow very slowly, so they’re not the issue. I’m guessing it’s either black beard algae, or hair algae. Maybe staghorn algae. Algae usually comes if there’s a water quality issue, so I would try doing 50% water changes weekly to help combat the algae. Otos usually won’t eat black beard algae, staghorn algae, or hair algae. For now I would do water changes and add in more live plants. You may also want to look into using seachem excel. It can be used for spot treating the algae.

Ok thanks!! I’ll start doing larger water changes and I’ll look into seachem excel. I know I have pristine and stability already.