Need aquarium advice - Orchid Board

camille1585 · #1 11-09-2009, 07:45 AM

I need some advice from those of you who keep aquariums. We have a really bad problem with algae everywhere in the tank. It’s not the standard algae that’s easy to deal with. This stuff is tufts of blackish-brownish-greenish stuff that grow in clumps on the plants, the decorations and everything else. It’s not a light problem, nor water quality or anything else that we looked into. So we’ve decided to completely restart the tank. The fish are getting moved to a temporary aquarium while that’s being done. But my question is, how do I kill and clean off the algae on the glass? I don’t want it to grow back from leftover pieces when the tank is restarted. I’m hesitant to use any chemicals to clean it out. Any advice?

playtime8978 · #2 11-09-2009, 07:53 AM

We use hydrogen Peroxide to clean out the tank and this deals with algae it is safe for both the plants and the fish, Algae especially the type you have is a pain and difficult to manage but we have found since using the hydrogen peroxide we dont get so much trouble with it.

johnblagg · #3 11-09-2009, 07:59 AM

clean it with strong bleach solution to begin with.Soak all object that were in it except FISH LOL in same for a good while to kill whats on them too I would saok at least 15 mins.

when you start agin use a algaecide from the start to kill any you may have missed as the fish are going to be carriers to a degree also.

I always found a planted tank was the best curs for algae blooms a fast growing plant like watersprite will suk up the nutes and then you toss the extra out.

camille1585 · #4 11-09-2009, 08:19 AM

We used to have a nice planted tank, but a few years ago we pulled up a lot of plants because one (a Cryptocoryne) was spreading everywhere. After that, everything we replanted immediately got pulled up by our clown loach. The only plants that could resist were Anubias, and those are very slow growers. I wish he would die, but he's only 10 years old.

For the rocks and wood, I was thinking of boiling them for a while, but you think bleach would work better?

kavanaru · #5 11-09-2009, 12:06 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

I wish he would die, but he's only 10 years old.

Bad Girl, Bad Girl!

Camille, the sort of algae you have are indeed a problem with light (and probably also too much feeding of your fihs). Light is always an issue: too much, and you get plenty of green algae... not enough light, and you get the brownish algae which I assume you have.

now... cleaning... bleach is excellent, as it will kill everything! even your fish, if you do not wash it thoroughly before reintroducing your fish in the tank!

I would suggest the Peroxide option, as you would have no much troubles with toxicity afterwards.

Ask at your pet shop in order to get advice on how to increase the the light in your aquarium (but not too much). You can also add some water lentils Lemna minor - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia to your tank. They will consume nitrites and nitrates, which are toxic for your fish and plants, and also provide a strong competition to the algae! (Note: water lentils reproduce very VERY fast, and you will have to harvest them on a weekly basis: up to 80% - you can see it as you personal living FarmVille crop LOL)

I would also suggest you buy a cleaning brush (there are some magnetic brush which are very good and you can find them in every pet shop). And you can also use soem anti algae products (e.g. Tetra Algetten or Algumin <-- ask at your pet store for advice! I personally do not use them as my shrimps and southamerican fish are sensitive ot them!)

Anotehr good option (and I use this one) is adding some snails to your tank. Buy those which do not normally eat your plants! ask at the shop

There are many species which are very very attrractive too! and one or two suckermouth armoured catfishes (Loricariidae - ask at the shop, as some can become very large: over 30 cm! but there are many which do not grow more than 10 cm!). Both snails and Loricariidae would eat the algae.

and of course, the rule number one! try to exchange 1/3 - 1/2 of the water of your tank on a weekly basis! This would solve many many many of the problems in teh aquarium (and believe me you get used to it, so it is not much extra work after a while

)

camille1585 · #6 11-09-2009, 12:51 PM

We have an algae eater in the tank, a bristle nosed catfish. But he doesn't like that algae, only the small green stuff that's usually on the glass. He cleans that very well! Anyways the algae isn't so much on the glass, but on everything else! We can't put snails, because the loach eats them like it was candy!

The tank is in France, and before I moved abroad there never were any problems, and I was cleaning the tank regularily. I'd remove 10-20% of the water on a weekly basis, and 1/3 to 1/2 every 3 to 4 weeks. But ever since I left, I don't think it was taken care of very well. My sister says yes, but my mom says she sees her clean it less than once a month. Then when my sister was gone for 4 month leaving my mom all alone, the tank didn't get cleaned for...4 months. I think that tells the story.

As for the light, I suspect we may have the wrong one. Every time we get a new one, the seller tells us we had the wrong thing and sells something else. I think this time we're going to a specialized aquarium store for it.

kavanaru · #7 11-09-2009, 03:43 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by camille1585

We have an algae eater in the tank, a bristle nosed catfish. But he doesn't like that algae, only the small green stuff that's usually on the glass. He cleans that very well! Anyways the algae isn't so much on the glass, but on everything else! We can't put snails, because the loach eats them like it was candy!

The tank is in France, and before I moved abroad there never were any problems, and I was cleaning the tank regularily. I'd remove 10-20% of the water on a weekly basis, and 1/3 to 1/2 every 3 to 4 weeks. But ever since I left, I don't think it was taken care of very well. My sister says yes, but my mom says she sees her clean it less than once a month. Then when my sister was gone for 4 month leaving my mom all alone, the tank didn't get cleaned for...4 months. I think that tells the story.

As for the light, I suspect we may have the wrong one. Every time we get a new one, the seller tells us we had the wrong thing and sells something else. I think this time we're going to a specialized aquarium store for it.

well... I would say you need to change your sister and your pet shop

I would suggest to ask for advice at a specialized store

as for the snails, I have Neritina Snails, and tehy are big enough for not being eaten by your fish

lepanthes89 · #8 11-09-2009, 07:41 PM

Hi;
I had a similar problem with this blackish-green enveloping algae in my 150gal.tank,that is very well planted, and lightly stocked with fish.
I found the ph was close to 5,and realised I had become lax with my water changes.
It took 3-4 months of weekly 30% changes to bring the ph closer to 6.5.That did it also for the algae.It started dying and falling off the rear glass,and eventually the plants.
Its all clean and bright now,and it wont happen again.
Good luck.

johnblagg · #9 11-09-2009, 08:22 PM

Indded bleach will kill everything if you dont rinse very very well and use a clorine remover afterwards.

but it has done the job for me when it was a major clean up that was needed.

camille1585 · #10 11-11-2009, 01:12 PM

Ramon, you were spot on with the light. My sister went to the aquarium shop, and the guy told her that the light we currently have is way too weak, so partially explains the algae problem. We got that 3 years ago and have ben replacing every year with the same one. When we think back, the algae problem started almost 3 years ago. She got something better now, that should be more appropriate.
We won't be cleaning out everything until december once I'm home for the holidays since it's going to be a big job moving everything to the other tank and cleaning/restarting the main tank.