If You Can't Beat the Algae, Join the Algae?

[WrenFeenix]

A lot of posts seem to be about getting rid of algae, but has anyone just made it part of their setup? I think the algae in my guppy tank is trying to impress me by growing into an even background and boosting my sponge filter. I've left it alone since it's helpful, and it's surprisingly not at all trying to take over my tank.

 

[bcfishtanks]

Lol I tried that. I don't mind the green algae and just let that hang around. The brown algae annoys me, though... Maybe I'm just more annoyed that my snails aren't doing what I bought them to do. They're cute and all, but just do your job instead of floating around? (in their defense, my tetras do nip at them sometimes)

 

[SM1199]

As long as it doesn't cover the front pane of glass or choke out my plants, I leave it be. One time I had quite a nice blanket of short, thick hair algae on the back pane of glass in a quarantine tank that looked like grass. It would wave in the current beautifully.

That being said, I seem to have found the sweet spot of light/nutrient balance in my low tech tanks and the very little algae that does appear, my nerite snail and/or shrimp munch down on very quickly. My tanks are about as spotless as a low tech tank can get and I don't ever scrub anything down.

 

[Kribensis27]

I have a 20 tall that I let algae grow in. It’s my livebearer fry tank, so a little algae is good. I have this beautiful, slow growing, feather like algae that grows around my filter intake and keeps the fry from being sucked up. I also have some plain old green hair algae (the long kind) that I finally got under control. It grows as a carpet over the sand and actually looks quite nice. They provide food and shelter for the fry as well as keep my nitrate levels low.

 

[aoiumi]

...I think it's possible? But algae is the type of thing that seems just as apt to tur around and try to kill the entire tank as soon as you let your guard down as anything else.

 

[WrenFeenix]

...I think it's possible? But algae is the type of thing that seems just as apt to tur around and try to kill the entire tank as soon as you let your guard down as anything else.

Wait, when does algae kill an entire tank? Like only certain species of algae, or if it just grows rampant?
Just wondering; I know next to nothing about algae. I always thought that if it wasn’t some shade of brownish-green, it wasn’t a good kind of algae to have. (i.e. Cyanobacteria are bad?)

 

[mimo91088]

I let algae take over my goldfish tank. Helps clean the water! They eat the gross stringy stuff. I'm trying to get everything but the front glass covered.

 

[JayAlva]

I don't mind the green algae I leave it on the side wall. The fish seem to graze in it when the lights go into siesta mode.

 

[BettasAreSuperior]

I like to grow algae on my back wall BUT only with planted tanks. I like the green background and the plants and fish really pop.

 

[DuaneV]

LOOOOOVE me some algae. Its a living, breathing plant that filters the water. Why WOULD you want it gone? When I see tanks that are "pristine" looking I always wonder how those fish are doing as Ive never see water at the lake or river look like that, lol. I let the algae grow all over my tanks if it wants to, except the front glass, and I use a razor to scrape it off and leave it in the tank. Im looking at my 30 gallon Amazon biotope right now thats covered in algae on the glass and its pearling like crazy, my Black Neons are nipping at it and my Bristlenose is eating some. No way Im scraping it off.

 

[MacZ]

I use algae as an indicator if something is really wrong. I just let them grow. But In blackwater just few algae bloom anyways. I love biofilm and aufwuchs. No tank without it.

 

[NotSoAggressiveAquatics]

That’s what I say about pest snails. And I usually can’t beat them. So I just let them live

 

[aoiumi]

LOOOOOVE me some algae. Its a living, breathing plant that filters the water. Why WOULD you want it gone? When I see tanks that are "pristine" looking I always wonder how those fish are doing as Ive never see what at the lake or river look like that, lol. I let the algae grow all over my tanks if it wants to, except the front glass, and I use a razor to scrape it off and leave it in the tank. Im looking at my 30 gallon Amazon biotope right now thats covered in algae on the glass and its pearling like crazy, my Black Neons are nipping at it and my Bristlenose is eating some. No way Im scraping it off.

True! There's some gorgeous algae that grows in my brook out back, along with plenty of cool mosses and plants.

 

[mimo91088]

I think in general we as a hobby spend too much time fighting nature and not enough embracing it. Stuff doesn't need to be pretty to have a useful place in the ecosystem!

 

[Kribensis27]

I love both pest snails and algae. If there is an issue with water quality, algae grows and helps combat it. It’s beneficial for fish to graze on, it looks good when grown in the right spots, it provides a hiding place and food source for fry, and it improves water quality. What more could you want?