Best way to get rid of lots of algae fast!!

[Fishguyforsure]

so I have a 20 gallon tank and it is full of algae like probably 2 feet of just algae I’ve tried everything is there any treatments that i can buy that will do better I’ve been in this hobby for 4 years so dont tell me beginner info pls try to help me

 

[Dechi]

Do you have plants that need to survive ?

 

[SheepAquatics]

What kind of algae is it?

 

[Fishguyforsure]

Yes i have lots of plants that could be causing it

What kind of algae is it?

Pretty much every type there is about 7 or 8 types hair algae black beard algae moss algae glass algae and some like hair algae on my sand

 

[Cyberfish]

Yes i have lots of plants that could be causing it

Plants generally don't Cause it. The best algae nuke is usually less light. Do you have anything that needs a lot of light to survive?

 

[Fishguyforsure]

Plants generally don't Cause it. The best algae nuke is usually less light. Do you have anything that needs a lot of light to survive?

Not really my light is on for about 16 hours a day but my massive anubias loves lots of light but i could turn my light on for less hours would that make it nice and clear like your pfp?

 

[Rusty_Shackleford]

Not really my light is on for about 16 hours a day but my massive anubias loves lots of light but i could turn my light on for less hours would that make it nice and clear like your pfp?

There's a start right there. Try cutting back to 6-8 hours of light per day.
Anubias are a low light plant.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

There's a start right there. Try cutting back to 6-8 hours of light per day.
Anubias are a low light plant.

Ok tysm for helping ill report back to you in a week!

 

[kansas]

I got control of algae by removing it by hand, some extra water and changes and some amano shrimp.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

I got control of algae by removing it by hand, some extra water and changes and some amano shrimp.

I would get amano shrimp but they are expensive plus my angelfish might eat it and my white skirt tetras ate my cherry shrimp

 

[Fishfur]

Depending on what livestock you’re keeping, scuds might be a big help.

They’re detritivores but algae appears to be their all time favourite food. I use a culture of them as live food and any plant that acquires some algae gets dropped into the scud culture.

Within a few days at most, the plant will be completely free of algae. Any loose algae I pull out of a tank goes in the culture.

Not everyone likes having scuds around in a tank but they certainly are dedicated little algae eaters.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

Depending on what livestock you’re keeping, scuds might be a big help.

They’re detritivores but algae appears to be their all time favourite food. I use a culture of them as live food and any plant that acquires some algae gets dropped into the scud culture.

Within a few days it will be completely free of algae.

Not everyone likes having them in a tank but they are dedicated little algae vacuums .

That might help but will my angelfish eat them or my white skirt tetras?

 

[Cyberfish]

I usually only have the light on for a maximum of 12 hours. Is the tank getting direct sunlight? That's very common to get algae from. A solution is also just completely blacking out the tank for 3 days. Most plants have enough energy reserves to last that long.

 

[Fishfur]

That might help but will my angelfish eat them or my white skirt tetras?

Any fish that can catch one will eat them but since they reproduce at warp speed, in the long term that’s usually a good thing. Scuds can overpopulate and if they get hungry and food becomes scarce, they will eat plants.

It’s a bit of a balancing act.

If you only get a few scuds to begin with, best to culture them for a few weeks until you have substantial numbers of them. Then you can replenish their stock in the tank if too many get eaten.

They are ridiculously easy to culture.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

Any fish that can catch one will eat them but since they reproduce at warp speed, in the long term that’s usually a good thing. Scuds can overpopulate and if they get hungry and food becomes scarce, they will eat plants.

It’s a bit of a balancing act.

If you only get a few scuds to begin with, best to culture them for a few weeks until you have substantial numbers of them. Then you can replenish their stock in the tank if too many get eaten.

They are ridiculously easy to culture.

Ok that might be the thing i do thank you for your advice!

I usually only have the light on for a maximum of 12 hours. Is the tank getting direct sunlight? That's very common to get algae from. A solution is also just completely blacking out the tank for 3 days. Most plants have enough energy reserves to last that long.

I’ve done that about 10 times and it has some effect but not enough to get them low and i have no sunlight in my tank

 

[Fishfur]

Ok that might be the thing i do thank you for your advice!


I’ve done that about 10 times and it has some effect but not enough to get them low and i have no sunlight in my tank

The problem with reducing light exposure after algae has got a big head start is that it won’t really discourage the algae that’s already present.

Lighting is a common trigger that causes algal spores to germinate. Avoiding having them germinate is easier than dealing with the algae that’s already present, which grew from germinated spores.

Prevention is generally easier than dealing with the algae will ever be.

 

[Dechi]

Yes i have lots of plants that could be causing it

As others have said, plants aren’t causing it. Algae is competing against plants for survival and winning, so you need to deprive it of what it needs while helping your plants grow faster.

Not really my light is on for about 16 hours a day

That’s your problem number 1. Anubias don’t need light for that long, no plants do. I would cut down to 6 hours per day until algae is under control, and then no more than around 8 hours.

I would manually removed everything I can, cut leaves that are too damaged and do a water change. See if you can get utility fish or CUC to help you with the worst kind of algae you have.

Then just do regular maintenance and keep removing damaged leaves and manually scraping what you can. It will take a while to stabilize everything. Co2 would help your plants grow faster and get rid of algae, if it’s something that was in your plans. But I wouldn’t buy it just for that purpose.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

Thank you so much that’s amazing that you know so much going forward this might be what i do

As others have said, plants aren’t causing it. Algae is competing against plants for survival and winning, so you need to deprive it of what it needs while helping your plants grow faster.


That’s your problem number 1. Anubias don’t need light for that long, no plants do. I would cut down to 6 hours per day until algae is under control, and then no more than around 8 hours.

I would manually removed everything I can, cut leaves that are too damaged and do a water change. See if you can get utility fish or CUC to help you with the worst kind of algae you have.

Then just do regular maintenance and keep removing damaged leaves and manually scraping what you can. It will take a while to stabilize everything. Co2 would help your plants grow faster and get rid of algae, if it’s something that was in your plans. But I wouldn’t buy it just for that purpose.

Also thanks for that like your my 25!

 

[Fishy888]

Manual removal where possible would help greatly, at least with hair algae. What kind of lighting are you using? How many watts? That’s also a factor. If you have really high lighting, and your plants don’t grow above the waterline, you’ll need CO2 to keep your plants healthy and growing fast. That’s especially true of plants that feed directly from the water column. If your plants aren’t growing and healthy and you have high light, algae can and will grow rapidly. 16 hours of low light isn’t as bad as 16 hours of high light right now.

How many plants do you have, and what kinds? Are the leaves more than half covered in algae? If so, like was posted above, scuds love them some algae. So do bladder snails. Bladder snails will eat the algae or whatever else might be on the leaves of your plants but not the leaves themselves. Pond snails however WILL eat your plants so don’t get those! Thankfully they’re rare in the hobby. If you go to PetSmart and ask, they’ll gladly give you bladder snails for free.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

Manual removal where possible would help greatly, at least with hair algae. What kind of lighting are you using? How many watts? That’s also a factor. If you have really high lighting, and your plants don’t grow above the waterline, you’ll need CO2 to keep your plants healthy and growing fast. That’s especially true of plants that feed directly from the water column. If your plants aren’t growing and healthy and you have high light, algae can and will grow rapidly. 16 hours of low light isn’t as bad as 16 hours of high light right now.

How many plants do you have, and what kinds? Are the leaves more than half covered in algae? If so, like was posted above, scuds love them some algae. So do bladder snails. Bladder snails will eat the algae or whatever else might be on the leaves of your plants but not the leaves themselves. Pond snails however WILL eat your plants so don’t get those! Thankfully they’re rare in the hobby. If you go to PetSmart and ask, they’ll gladly give you bladder snails for free.

K sounds good thanks for helping and welcome to the community

 

[kansas]

It also helps to have fast growing plants. I have hornwort, it sucks up nutrients that the algae can't have.

 

[Fishguyforsure]

It also helps to have fast growing plants. I have hornwort, it sucks up nutrients that the algae can't have.

Ya my anubias grows very fast I think I might get 3 rubber lip plecos for my 28 gallon with my angelfish and white skirts would that work?