Controlling algae

[Bubble]

It turns out that my fish tank is an incredibly good algae farm.
Weekly 30-40% water changes aren't helping, and the algae is growing surprisingly fast.
I'm going to add java moss and possibly duckweed/ similar when I can find some to try and reduce it.
I also have a planted "fishbowl" with some tiny pond snails living in it. Would it be worth adding some of these snails to my fish tank, or would that just cause new problems?

 

[fhdjkaisiddjje]

Hey, I personally don’t have a problem with any kind of algae but I might be able to help! The only method I really know of controlling algae is snails! The little buggers will glide everywhere to eat the algae but they can’t just eat algae, be sure to give them blanched vegetables and bottom feeder foods like wafers you may have seen in store, they can like in a temp range of 68-82 (something like that) and thrive in alkaline water so a ph of about 7.4-8.4 if you tend to have harder water that’s also good for them! Hope this helps!

 

[Bubble]

Thanks!
The only problem is that I try to keep my water slightly acidic for my rasboras..
The snails I have in mind are surviving in a bowl with some java moss, so they seem to be pretty easy to keep alive in terms of feeding. (they were accidentally introduced with the moss)
My main concern is introducing a "pest" into my tank on purpose.

 

[fhdjkaisiddjje]

Thanks!
The only problem is that I try to keep my water slightly acidic for my rasboras..
The snails I have in mind are surviving in a bowl with some java moss, so they seem to be pretty easy to keep alive in terms of feeding. (they were accidentally introduced with the moss)
My main concern is introducing a "pest" into my tank on purpose.

That’s understandable, try scrubbing your walls with either a regular sponge that hasn’t been used or a specific sponge with a grip meant for algae, I believe there is a type of snail that is unable to reproduce unless it has salt in the water, pretty sure it was a nerite snail? So if you are worried about an invasion of snails try those guys out but research them as I don’t know too much about that kind! If you’re unable to re home the snails you have now or take them back to the store the only thing you can really do to keep them from breeding is removing the eggs if you have mystery snails they lay their eggs on the waters surface/lid of the tank if your water level is high enough, it takes I believe 2 weeks before the start to hatch so a lot of time to spot them and take them out, crush them, and throw them out. Some people even take care of some of the snails and sell them as a sort of “side hustle” lol, so feel free to do that if you wish! Some snails might have more tolerance to more acidic waters than other, I just read they’re okay in as low as a ph of 6 but with that you’re risking their shell being slowly broken down, hence why they like higher phs, I think if you fed egg shells or cuttle bone or just veggies high in calcium you might be able to help keep the shells from being broken down, but you’ll have to research that a little more possibly and see if there are snails out there good for your fish! I hope I helped you out a little! I’m sorray I wrote so much, I just like to give as much info as possible!

 

[Bubble]

The guys I have at the moment live in a planted bowl I did as an experiment, so I don't mind them too much.
Nerite snails look perfect, I'll need to see if there are any in my area.

 

[Bubble]

Okay it could cost me about $60...
Would lambchop rasboras and cory catfish be safe for small shrimp?
They're about 1.5 cm (0.6 inches)

 

[Jerome O'Neil]

It turns out that my fish tank is an incredibly good algae farm.
Weekly 30-40% water changes aren't helping, and the algae is growing surprisingly fast.
I'm going to add java moss and possibly duckweed/ similar when I can find some to try and reduce it.
I also have a planted "fishbowl" with some tiny pond snails living in it. Would it be worth adding some of these snails to my fish tank, or would that just cause new problems?

Duckweed is awesome. Total nitrate sink, grows like a weed, your fish will enjoy the comfort of an overhead environment, and it is easy as pie to pull after it turns into a lovely green mat floating on the surface.

I love the stuff.

 

[Bubble]

I tried duckweed. It looks really cool and my fish love it, so I'm happy with that.
But now stringy algae is growing from the roots.. oops...

It turns out it's illegal for shops in my area to sell nerite snails...

Does anyone know how big mystery/ apple snails grow? They seem like the best (fully legal) option but I'm not sure I want a giant yellow snail dominating my tank.

 

[GlennO]

It turns out it's illegal for shops in my area to sell nerite snails...

Really, I didn't know that, I've occasionally seen them for sale from Aussie sellers. Assassin snails are definitely illegal, and for good reason.

Is it normal green algae? Have you tried adjusting light levels?

 

[fhdjkaisiddjje]

I tried duckweed. It looks really cool and my fish love it, so I'm happy with that.
But now stringy algae is growing from the roots.. oops...

It turns out it's illegal for shops in my area to sell nerite snails...

Does anyone know how big mystery/ apple snails grow? They seem like the best (fully legal) option but I'm not sure I want a giant yellow snail dominating my tank.

Mystery snails don’t get too big at least in my experience, I’d say a big one would have a shell maybe a little bigger than my thumb fingernail or somewhere around there, on average they get to one inch diameter or something like that. But be aware that mystery snails have a larger bio load than other snails, like I mean they poop at least 3-5 times a day (had white gravel and ONE blue mystery...) so be aware of how many you get at once just in the case of your bio filter, to prevent ammonia and nitrite spikes. They’re hard workers, mine went on for hours on end (and was surprisingly fast) to remove any possibly algae that could grow (didn’t have much.) Also keep in mind that they have really long antennae they like to spread out so if you have any nippy fish in your tank be aware they’ll probably end up nipping the antennae, they’ll grow back after awhile if it does happen, just be aware if it’s excessive or whatever. Lastly they do breed but they lay eggs on the surface of the water so you can simply just scoop up the eggs, squash them, and throw them out, I haven’t heard of them laying eggs underwater but they possibly may so I’d read into that just in case. They also have many fun variations like Blue, Golden, Black mysteries and other colors too, making it possible to find any color that goes well with your tank! That’s all I can’t think of right now but if you have anymore questions I’ll try my best to help.

 

[qldmick]

my bristlenose take care of algae in one tank and a sailfin and goldspot pleco on another tank. if the algae becomes apparent dont feed the bottom dwellers for a few days.

 

[Bubble]

GlennO I can see why.. I'm not sure why my state won't let shops sell nerite snails though, even the native ones.
A timer for my light is probably next on my list of things to try. It's a variety of green algae, though it looks like a new darker kind has started to grow. Before I got my duckweed there was an ugly green-grey algae, but that's gone now.

MarioDario that might work! The only problem will be making sure I don't get an apple snail instead.. most places I've seen only sell them as "mystery apple snails", and only the golden colour for some reason. I might need to look around a bit more.

qldmick I think my tank's a bit too small for any of them.. it's 30 gallons but there are lots of decorations so there's not much open space on the bottom anyway.

 

[MacZ]

Mind showing a pic of the tank? Maybe there's a way of Algae control without adding animals.

GlennO I can see why.. I'm not sure why my state won't let shops sell nerite snails though, even the native ones.

Erm... Australia has a problem with invasive species and endangered native species. I am not surprised at all as trading either invasive or endangered species is always illegal.

 

[qldmick]

Mind showing a pic of the tank? Maybe there's a way of Algae control without adding animals.



Erm... Australia has a problem with invasive species and endangered native species. I am not surprised at all as trading either invasive or endangered species is always illegal.

their is a site in Australia selling nerite snails.
peacock bass is the latest to be caught in the wild here in Australia, silly fish keepers, hopefully they dont become established.

 

[Bubble]

MacZ other states allow people to sell both the native and non-native varieties. We're allowed to buy apple snails which are invasive in the US, and bettas and mosquito rasboras which both have established feral populations in Australia.
I'll take a pic of it soon. I've apparently got a few fish missing, so I need to figure out what's happened. I'm hoping that they're all just hiding in my decorations but it seems unlikely...

qldmick I know, none in WA though. I'd have to get them in from another state, which is expensive in the best of times...
I hadn't heard about that.. I know of a lot of easy to grow plants that are now illegal because people kept dumping them in waterways though.

 

[qldmick]

Peacock bass captured near Mackay, Qld - Fishing World

 

[MacZ]

MacZ other states allow people to sell both the native and non-native varieties. We're allowed to buy apple snails which are invasive in the US, and bettas and mosquito rasboras which both have established feral populations in Australia.
I'll take a pic of it soon. I've apparently got a few fish missing, so I need to figure out what's happened. I'm hoping that they're all just hiding in my decorations but it seems unlikely...

qldmick I know, none in WA though. I'd have to get them in from another state, which is expensive in the best of times...
I hadn't heard about that.. I know of a lot of easy to grow plants that are now illegal because people kept dumping them in waterways though.

Hmm, could be a state and not a federal thing. Or as often just one species got the attention of the lawmakers. Here you can't buy Mystery snails (neither the south american, nor the chinese ones).

And yeah, looking forward to see your tank.

Peacock bass captured near Mackay, Qld - Fishing World

Oh man, not good.

 

[Bubble]

Macz yeah I think so.. my state's weird like that, it's hard to get a lot of stuff. Or like, you're only allowed to keep native amphibians but for some reason you can keep axolotls here without a licence.


I apologise for the terrible photography, this computer only has a forward facing camera.
The plants are all fake except for two grass-looking ones which aren't growing too well. the green square in the top left is my duckweed.
The window that you can see in the reflection isn't ideal but because I live with my parents I don't have many options for it.

 

[MacZ]

Macz yeah I think so.. my state's weird like that, it's hard to get a lot of stuff. Or like, you're only allowed to keep native amphibians but for some reason you can keep axolotls here without a licence.


I apologise for the terrible photography, this computer only has a forward facing camera.
The plants are all fake except for two grass-looking ones which aren't growing too well. the green square in the top left is my duckweed.
The window that you can see in the reflection isn't ideal but because I live with my parents I don't have many options for it.


View attachment 681750

Yes, your state is weird. I totally agree.

Hmm... ok, the tank is packed with fake plants, which makes it almost look real on first glance, good choice of plants and quite a talent to place them so one has to take a second look.

Usually when there are algae problems it's one of two things: Too much nutrients in the tank because people use fertilizers in a tank with to few plants or weak lighting or, as in your case far to few live plants in the first place.

I mean, you could get algae eating fish or snails or shrimp, but those would actually only add to the bioload, may become lazy and only go for the supplementary foods you offer, possibly making the overproduction of Nitrates and other nutrients even worse and forcing you to do more waterchanges.
Or you could replace your fake plants (which I know aren't cheap) one by one with real plants, which would use up the nutrients from the fish waste and leftover food easily and the algae would recede step by step. You already said you'd be putting in Duckweed, which is a great Nitrate sink, as Jerome already said, and Java moss. Good start.

Decision is yours, though. Long term best solution is going from plastic to planted.

My recommendation though ist to take almost only easy to grow and quick growing plants, so you are not forced to get fertilizers at some point or up the lighting. Advanced plants have a lot of hidden following costs and especially if you go into nutrient supplement-territory it get's complicated and the whole system tends to be unstable.

 

[Yannick]

My tank is running for over 2 months now (1 month with the fish) and they are doing fine. No deaths so far...

My biggest concern are the algae and I don't know how to control them easily... The worst I have now are the green ones on the glass. I clean them every day, sometimes twice a day and after a few hours they leave a small film on the glass again.
I use a scrapper that does a really great job of removing them from the glass but I can't seem to control them...

The tank is medium planted and the plants are doing fine.

I leave the light on for around 10 hours a day.
Would it be ok if I leave the lights off for a day or 2 to try to get rid of the algae? Or will that hurt the plants as well?

I've read that high amounts of nitrate are a good contributor to algae however mine is always rather low. I do a 30% WC every week and I always measure the parameters before the WC and I never see a NO4 higher than 5 so that's low, right? I can't imagine that's causing the algae...

In the fish store a while ago, they told me I also should have a good ration between NO4 and PO4. I believe it was 10:1 so with 5 NO5 I should see 0.5 PO4 however I always meassure 0 PO4. Could this be an issue?

 

[DoubleDutch]

Old school algae prevention : An overdue of nutrition or light is causing this.
New school algae prevention : There is a lack of certain ferts or something else (CO2 / right light)

How are the plants doing? Do you add ferts ?

 

[Yannick]

I was using a fert but I stopped using it a few days ago as I thought that might be causing the issue...

The plants are doing fine from what I can tell. Leaves are not dying, they seem to grow although they have some algae issues on their own... These dark green hairy algea around a cm or 2cm high.

I also feed my fish once a day and they seem to finish it all in approx 5 to 10min.

 

[DoubleDutch]

I'd simply add those again and think about adding some phosphates as well. It might be a lack f those indeed.

BTW : An 100% algaefree tank isn't an option .

 

[Yannick]

Yes I understand 100% algae free isn't possible but having to clean the glass every day becaue otherwise you can't see through it anymore seems a bit to much

I was using the fert for a week or so before I saw these algae so that's why... That fert should also take care of the phosfate but I never saw a measurable amount.
Should I add much more fert than the recommended on the bottle because I might have an unbalance to start with?

 

[DoubleDutch]

Every day ?????? It isn's cyano is it ?

Always add what's recommended.

 

[Yannick]

No it's green and not green blue.
It's also very easy to remove from the glass.

It's this green film on the glass that makes it look as if my water is green... If I remove it from the glass, the water looks more clear so I'm sure it's not algae bloom in the water itself

 

[DoubleDutch]

I doubt there is any algae that will grow that fast Yannick.
is it slimy ?

 

[saltwater60]

Post a picture please. What fert are you using.
I have a 20 gallon tank up and running since September and I’ve cleaned the glass twice maybe three times. I do nothing but water changes and have some nerite snails.
I add a bit of ferts every week or so but nothing consistent. I do have some plants and they have a bit of algae growing on the plants.

I’d do a black out for 2-3 days. Also clean out your filters good. It might be some debris from the plants. I get like a brownish green film on stuff in the heavily planted 75 tank. I added finer mechanical filters but still only clean the glass once every week or two.

 

[Yannick]

I tried to take a picture but it's difficult, especially since I cleaned it a few hours ago
The first is probably easier to see. It's while I remove it...
The second is on the back glass of the tank. You can also see it attached on the filter.

The algae feel slimy. I can rub them of the glass with my finger and it feels slimy.

 

[saltwater60]

Absolutely algae. I’d do a large water change and test your source water. Then I’d do a black out for 2-3 days. Could also get a UV sterilizer.

 

[Yannick]

What parameters to look for?
I use mainly RO water so I assume the water is clean...

What parameters should I look for when understanding if water is more susceptible for algae?
The tests I have are NH4, NO2, NO3, Ph, KH, GH, PO4, Fe (never used that)
My last readings were
NH4: 0, NO2: 0, NO3: 5, Ph: 7.6, KH: 4, GH: 5, PO4: 0

 

[saltwater60]

I too think it might be low nutrient levels. I had some algae issues and started adding ferts and my tank looks better. I keep my nitrates about 10ppm and do t test phosphates.
mid you are using mainly to water keep an eye on you GH and KH. If your KH drops you ph will swing causing you issues.
your water looks good. Could just need to establish an eco system. Add some nerite snails
What fert are you using. I like thrive and have had good success with it.

 

[Yannick]

I'm using what the fishstore recommended: All-in-One: vloeibare aquariumbemesting & plantenvoeding aquarium
I used it for around 2 weeks as written on the bottle but my nitrate and phosphate remained so low... That's why I was thinking I have to add more to balance out the imbalance I have.
It was my initial idea as well that the low nitrates and phosphate might be the reason.

The bottle says 10ml/100l and do it every week. I have a 240l so that's 24ml/week. The guy in the store told me I have to add fert every day so 24/7 is approx 3.5ml/day and that's what I have been doing.

The bottle says that one doze of 30ml/100l gives approx 0.5ppm Fe, 15ppm NO4, 1.5ppm phospate.

The blackout is maybe good to start over but I have to fix the issue or in a week I have the same issue...

I also do water change every week (around 30%). Should I maybe do every 2 weeks instead to give the tank some more time to build up?

 

[StarGirl]

I only run my lights 6-7 hrs a day. 10 hrs may be too much along with the other issues mentioned.

 

[DoubleDutch]

Uhhhhh why is this absolute algae?
To me it looks like Cyano and I don't know any algae that will grow this fast.
My guess still is the lack of phosfates is causing this. Is the RO water remineralised ?

 

[Yannick]

I use a KH+ products that increases the KH but that's it.

How do you know it is Cyano? I thought it had different color than just green? Mine look mostly green, right? Especially on the glass..

 

[DuaneV]

Agree with StarGirl15, 10 hours a day is a LONG light period. Longest any of my tanks are on is 6 hours, some only 4. Id dial back the light to 6 hours and see what happens.

 

[Yannick]

6 hours? Isn't that bad for the fish? Or is that even enough for the plants?

 

[DuaneV]

Each tank is different. How do you know 10 hours is good? Like I said, I only run my lights at 6 hours the longest, some as little as 4. If the tank is in a room with lots of ambient light, I have the lights turn on at 11am and off at 3pm. If youre getting algae like that daily, a big part of it is the 10 hours of light without a doubt.

 

[Yannick]

ok yes, the tank gets a lot of ambient light. It does not get any direct sunlight so that's good.
It's in my office where I usually work from 8.30 to around 20:00 so during the evening I have the lights on in my office so usually it's only 8pm before it really gets dark in the room.
For that reason I have the lights on from 10am to 8pm. So after the blackout, I'll change that to have the lights on from 11am to 6pm...

 

[DuaneV]

I think thats a good start, and something easy you can do and notice an immediate difference. You may end up cutting them back even more depending on the outcome.

 

[Mertgezer]

ok yes, the tank gets a lot of ambient light. It does not get any direct sunlight so that's good.
It's in my office where I usually work from 8.30 to around 20:00 so during the evening I have the lights on in my office so usually it's only 8pm before it really gets dark in the room.
For that reason I have the lights on from 10am to 8pm. So after the blackout, I'll change that to have the lights on from 11am to 6pm...

Hi,
What is your tank size ? How powerful (watt) is your illumination ?

 

[Yannick]

Tank is 240l. I have two lights, one is 9000K and the other is 6500K.
Not sure about the wattage though... It's this tank: JUWEL Aquarium | Rio 240 LED | purchase online

 

[Mertgezer]

Tank is 240l. I have two lights, one is 9000K and the other is 6500K.
Not sure about the wattage though... It's this tank: JUWEL Aquarium | Rio 240 LED | purchase online

Was this an “all in one tank” or you purchased the light from elsewhere ? Also 6500 & 9000 are the kelvin values and it doesn't help. I generally use 1/1 if it is cfl light, when it comes to led 1/3 is “generally” enough meaning 80wat for 240lt or 240watt CFL for 240 lt. Cfl stands for florescent light bulb. Perhaps the wattage should be written somewhere on the light. It is very important.

 

[Yannick]

Yes it's an all in one tank.
One tube is 29 watt so I have a total of just below 60 watt. So that's even less than your recommended 80 watt.

 

[saltwater60]

I’d do a black out for a few days likely 3 and see what happens. After that I’d dose your fertilizer if it’s a well rounded fertilizer until you have measurable N P K. Then start your lights at 6-7 hours. Fish dont need lights.

 

[Mertgezer]

I’d do a black out for a few days likely 3 and see what happens. After that I’d dose your fertilizer if it’s a well rounded fertilizer until you have measurable N P K. Then start your lights at 6-7 hours. Fish dont need lights.

This may also be a solution, clean all the algae, 50% wc, 72 hours black out, at the end another 50% and continue with 1/2 dose of fertilizer, i don't use pressurize co2 and this is how i do it, it may not be right. I had the same issue after a while in some of my tanks, because generally it was about the lights never the ferts , fast growing plants etc.
How dense are your plant population, can u show us pics?

 

[Yannick]

I started the black out so can't take a picture now but here's a picture from when I just setup the tank.
All the plants have grown a lot obviously so you have to imagine the plants with 2 months growth on them
And I did remove the small rocks that make up the path as it wasn't working with the fish

 

[Mertgezer]

I started the black out so can't take a picture now but here's a picture from when I just setup the tank.
All the plants have grown a lot obviously so you have to imagine the plants with 2 months growth on them
And I did remove the small rocks that make up the path as it wasn't working with the fish

View attachment 684013

I cant recognize all the plants but i believe the red plant lud. Palus. is the only fast growing plant, ferns and anubias are slow growing, cant consume the nutrients in the tank which may be the reason of algae, i would add more fast growing stem plants after 3 days of black out and 2x50% water change (before &after) no fert for min 2 weeks (soil has enough nutrients anyway) than i would start 6 to 8 hours of lightning period and increase it 1 hour every 2 weeks till i reach 9hrs, for black out it is important to cover the tank with something like a blanket for total darkness. Do you have a timer on your light? If not i advise you to get one it is very cheap and it really helps to set your lightning period same time everyday.
Good luck

 

[DoubleDutch]

Sorry to say but there is nothing wrong with 10 hrs of lighting. All my tanks are lighted more than that.
As said there is no single algae that grows as fast as this one. It is simply an unbalance (a lack of phosfates and maybe more) The one on the plants is algae though. Why are you changing Kh Yannick?

What light are you using?