Algea on glass

[SteakNShrimp]

Hello, I've had a my tank since May of 2019 and everything was going great. Recently though (about a weeks ago) I noticed that there was some light green, spots of algea growing on the glass of my tank. It's there anyway to get rid of it? I've tried using an aquarium sponge to remove it but the algae came back after a few days.

Also any good algae eaters that will help with the glass?

 

[Metalhead88]

What size tank do you have? There are indeed species that will eat algea, but you should keep them because you like the fish, and not as a solution to your problem. You must also be sure that the fish is compatible with your other fish, that your water is suitable, and that you have the right sized tank.

Your tank may be subject to excess natural sunlight or too much light from your lamp.

I use an aqueon algea cleaning magnet and it works well for the stuff that comes off easily. It's on sale right now on Amazon for under 5 bucks for the medium sized.

For the deeper clean and the stuff that doesn't come off as easy, I use an algea scrubber with a long handle. That works best, but takes a little more elbow grease.

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[FishGuest5123]

Old gift card or credit card makes a great scraper. I highly recommend Japanese Trapdoor snails to clean glass. They do a much better job than my pleco and don’t reproduce like other snails do. Shorten the time you leave your lights on and this will help with your algae problem. Best wishes in getting this resolved.

 

[Byron]

Algae is natural and will always be present in a healthy aquarium, so it is not "bad" as such. However, there are some stubborn species what I tend to refer to as "problem algae" that can easily take over. Prevention is usually the best method and it is quite simple.

If you have live plants then you need to find the balance of light/nutrients for the plants but no further, and algae will always be disadvantaged. However, algae on the glass is still likely, as every surface under water forms a bio-film and in addition to microscopic critters and bacteria, algae will appear. I always clean the inside of the front glass (side and back glass is up to you) at every water change (once a week) even if I don't see anything (I usually don't, that's the point). I use a sponge-type scraper as this is easiest, and it will deal with the bio-film if used weekly.

Provided your tank is biologically in balance (not over-stocked, or inappropriately stocked, fish not being fed too much, regular weekly substantial partial water change, regular filter cleaning) this should be all you need to do.

 

[Ingrid]

Snails are great for eating algae. I have one tank with snails and we have no algae . We also have another tank without snails and algae is a problem.