I’ve used a combination of things and what I find odd, or perhaps ironic, is that I would really like to see certain algae appear because it’s next to impossible to buy them.
Maybe you wonder, why would anyone
want algae?
To feed algae eating wet pets is why and only certain species really suit being grown deliberately as a food resource
I don’t want any spirogyra or cladophora for examples. I would rather have some Oedogonium that would naturally stay short and coat surfaces like carpet, rather an alga that grows like exuberantly crazed 60’s hair!
My combination of controls includes lighting duration, algae eaters such as
nerite snails plus floating plants to provide variable amounts of shade. That’s because most of my lighting at the moment does not allow for dimming.
When hours of light are controllable but intensity is not, floaters can be a big help.
The problem with algae removal is that unless you remove
all of it, or as close to all of it as you possibly can (which is a much bigger cleanup task than just scraping) it will almost certainly come right back even with reduced lighting.
The spores will still be present and it doesn’t necessarily take all that much encouragement to germinate them.
Incidentally, though UV devices will have no effect on any alga that grows on surfaces, it would kill algal spores that are floating around, so a UV device may be something you might care to consider. Go with UVC and it kills free floating or swimming protozoans, bacteria, & fungi too. Best in mind that so far as I know, there’s very little if any regulation for these devices and you tend to get what you pay for. The design of the chamber housing the UV bulb is extremely important. Good design means adequate dwell time for water passing over the bulb among other things.
The following article might be of some help - it includes what I’ve learned so far with respect to eliminating algae.
I have come to believe that compromise serves me better than being determined to eliminate the stuff.
Elimination isn’t easy. I gave up trying to make it disappear altogether, hence my use of algae eaters and with them goes the desire to ensure that they won’t starve if they’re a little too efficient at their task.
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Numerous sites consulted for biological details
, I remove a few handfuls every two or three weeks which also helps with removing excess nutrients.
