Algea Problem

[CANADIAN1]

alright well i got a couple of questions , my tank gravel seems to be completely infested with algea.. every time i clean em and put em back in.. eventually the algea will come back. I scrap the algea of the glass , rocks and general stuff in the aqarium.

but my question is what kinds of snails or fish can i get that will eat the algea more efficiently.. i already have 1 pretty big pleco. Also is there like chemicals that are safe for the fish and kill algea? Does a c02 system give the plants more of a chance to grow and less of a chance to the algea?

here are some pics

thanks for all the help guys

 

[treelo]

is your tank in direct sunlight?

i dont think ive had a problem with algae unless its in sunlight

 

[CANADIAN1]

nop it does not get direct sunlight.. i got shades on the window and it about 2meters from it so it gets light but not direct beams of sun.

because i like turning of the light in the fishtank when the sun is out so that algea doesnt grow

 

[Jonz]

How many hours a day is the light on in your tank. Once I started doing 4 and 5 hours with a timer all my algae problems disappeared.

 

[doresy]

Looks like a sunlight thing to me.

I found that anything white (or light coloured) seem to get covered in green algae, like in your photos. I once had a smallish community tank and thought I would give it a 'marine look' by having white coral-like substrate. It looked fabulous..........for about a week then it got covered in green algae similar to yours.

 

[Sea Turtle]

You can buy a bottle of Algea gone at the store that tend to work well. Also cut down on the amount of light you are giving the tank each day. I had the same problem and used both of these methods together and the tank is algea free now.

 

[CANADIAN1]

i usually turn the light on when the sunsets at like 9-11pm and it stays on till morning at about 9-10am

so its on usually for about 10-12 hours a day

 

[treelo]

i usually turn the light on when the sunsets at like 9-11pm and it stays on till morning at about 9-10am

so its on usually for about 10-12 hours a day

and thats why you have a bad algae problem

cut it down to about 5 hours a day and it will solve the problem, but you will need to get shut of all the current algae in the meantime

 

[CANADIAN1]

so if turn it on at like 7pm and shut it off at about when i go to sleep like 12-1am it should be good?

i alwas though fish needed light when its really dark.

 

[Dave Pauls]

wait.... your room with the tank is light all day from the window, then you turn the lights in the aquarium on when it gets dark, and they stay on all night? so you have light like 24hours a day? that is WAY too much light. you shouldn't have your lights on at night at all. only for like 6 to 8 hours in the middle of the day.

 

[Lynda B]

so if turn it on at like 7pm and shut it off at about when i go to sleep like 12-1am it should be good?

i alwas though fish needed light when its really dark.

In the wild, fish do not have sunlight 24 hours a day. You were merely misinformed. I think you'll find a huge difference if you follow the advice given.