Algae...

[Phreaxer]

I had a Bio-wheel and it just gave up on me and died, so i had a build up of a brownish colored algae over the past few days... i did a 30% water changes yesterday and bought a new filter/heater/all in one unit and started running it yesterday afternoon... the water is still 'brownish' and i dont know how to clear out of the algae. i have some 'algae gone' tank buddies tablets, but they dont seem to help.... any ideas?

 

[Tempestuousfury]

You could always scrub it off.

How old was your tank before the filter gave out? Do you have any plants?

 

[Phreaxer]

my tank is probably... 8-10 months... and i bought the filter when i set it up... so its the same age. after i scrub it off, how can i keep it from regrowing?

i do not have plants, no. should I get some?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

No, algae is not the right reason to plant your tank. Only do that if you want a planted tank in the first place.

Keep up the water changes, cut down on feeding, and reduce lighting by as much as you can (keep them off entirely, use ambient lighting on the tank). Scrape off any algae growing on the walls yourself.

 

[Phreaxer]

will it just die off doing those few things?

 

[thecichlidaddict]

These precautions will help to slow down growth, nothing stops it entirely, and the algae that you already have will stay. You'll need to scrub any current algae off.

 

[Phreaxer]

ok, thanks.

Will a gravel cleaner get it out of the gravel? or is there a special way to do that?