At Wits End With Algae

[Colin_T]

you could try doing a daily water change and gravel clean. Try to syphon out as much of the blue green algae as you can. Sometimes this can help get rid of it.
If the tank has had the problem for a while and you can't get rid of it sometimes it is best to start again. Take everything out and wahs it down with freshwater. Then set it up again using new water.
Having mystery or apple snails in the tank can help by picking up excess food and shrimp also do that.

 

[mrapoc]

you could try doing a daily water change and gravel clean. Try to syphon out as much of the blue green algae as you can. Sometimes this can help get rid of it.
If the tank has had the problem for a while and you can't get rid of it sometimes it is best to start again. Take everything out and wahs it down with freshwater. Then set it up again using new water.
Having mystery or apple snails in the tank can help by picking up excess food and shrimp also do that.

Ive taken out 50% of the water (relaced with RO water) and removed literally all of te BGA, totally cleaned through the gravel (in a bucket of freshwater) so basically my tank now looks how i want it to look after the blackout and from then on. I'm going to be blacking out for 5 days so what i want to know is

I've got a 2nd tank here filled with dechlorinated tap water and want to put my fish in there say the 3rd day so i can feed them

One of the fish has recently got a sore on its face and i can either briefly check on it - breaking the blackout rules for a minute or put it in the 2nd tank

I just want to know will 100% new water be ok, or should i mix a bit of normal tank water to lower the chances of chemical shock

Or i could just say its not worth it and keep the fish in the normal tank for the 5 day period as long as the ulcer does not progress.

I really want some shrimp but have not found many/the right ones. which do u recommend for keeping algae/waste food at bay and where can i get some (online/west mids)

 

[Colin_T]

there is no need to feed the fish for 3 or 4 days during the blackout. They can go for months without food. Unlike mammals that require most of their food to keep warm, fish take their body temp from the surrounding water. this means any food they eat gets used to grow and move around.

the fish with the sore might be better off in another tank where you can monitor it. The other fish will be fine in the dark tank.

you can change 100% of the water as long as the new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature and PH to the old water. if you have the new water made up for a few days before using it then it should be fine to do a complete water change.

I just use common glass or ghost shrimp. You can collect them from any freshwater creek or stream. And most shops sell them as live food.

 

[mrapoc]

there is no need to feed the fish for 3 or 4 days during the blackout. They can go for months without food. Unlike mammals that require most of their food to keep warm, fish take their body temp from the surrounding water. this means any food they eat gets used to grow and move around.

the fish with the sore might be better off in another tank where you can monitor it. The other fish will be fine in the dark tank.

you can change 100% of the water as long as the new water is free of chlorine and has a similar temperature and PH to the old water. if you have the new water made up for a few days before using it then it should be fine to do a complete water change.

I just use common glass or ghost shrimp. You can collect them from any freshwater creek or stream. And most shops sell them as live food.

I've seen some cherry shrimp on ebay which ill get once blackout is complete. How do they perform?

 

[Fatty]

I had the BGA, I did a few things, so unfortunately I can't say which one did the trick..

I put a UV on (cheapy Jebo),

Had lights off for 3 months, but wasn't blackout and near a window.

Put some CO2 denner ferment kit in,

Kept siphoning off the crap, didn't stop feeding my fish, but this has stopped it, all be it probably a very slow way to it, I removed the plants so they wouldn't die off and cause more probs.

Sorry that's prob not very useful as I did too many different things!

 

[Colin_T]

I've seen some cherry shrimp on ebay which ill get once blackout is complete. How do they perform?

they should be fine for the job.

I had the BGA, I did a few things, so unfortunately I can't say which one did the trick..
I put a UV on (cheapy Jebo),
Had lights off for 3 months, but wasn't blackout and near a window.
Put some CO2 denner ferment kit in,
Kept siphoning off the crap, didn't stop feeding my fish, but this has stopped it, all be it probably a very slow way to it, I removed the plants so they wouldn't die off and cause more probs.

it was probably turning the lights off and syphoning the algae out that cleared it up.

Blue Green Algae (Cyanobacter bacteria) is a photosynthetic bacterium. It can grow from light or excess nutrients and rotting material in the water/gravel. If you remove the light it won't starve but it you remove the nutrients and rubbish in the tank as well, then it has no food and usually dies off. It can linger in the tank for a while so you have to be careful and watch it closely when you add light again.
If you have a planted tank and want to see your fish you can try reducing the light and gravel cleaning the tank each day. Also wipe or suck out as much of the stuff as possible. You have to be persistent with it in order to defeat it.

 

[mrapoc]

Ok

So less food (once every 2 days?)
Is frozen food a tad better at keeping water pollution down?

Ill probably need more plants too after this so is there an algae buster pack i can buy off ebay/some other store. Dont need too many.

Just checked the gourami and the sore seems to have gone down (got under the blanket with a torch to have a peek xD)

I kinda get how im supposed to beat this algae now

Would an external be a good investment? I WAS going to get a tetratec one but ran outta money xD

Less light, less food, more carbon for plants, more plants and more waterflow = good

correct?

 

[Colin_T]

So less food (once every 2 days?)
Is frozen food a tad better at keeping water pollution down? -- generally yes because the fish will eat more frozen food and it is easier to control how much actually goes in the tank. Flake food can float around then sink to the bottom where it is often ignored by most fish. This provides the Cyanobacter with a lovely food source.

Ill probably need more plants too after this so is there an algae buster pack i can buy off ebay/some other store. Dont need too many. -- no idea sorry.

Just checked the gourami and the sore seems to have gone down (got under the blanket with a torch to have a peek xD) -- sounds good

I kinda get how im supposed to beat this algae now

Would an external be a good investment? I WAS going to get a tetratec one but ran outta money xD -- external filters can help by increasing water movement and helping clean up the water faster. However, they won't make any difference if the source of the algae remains. Generally too many of the wrong nurtients in the water and not enough plants to utilise them.

Less light, less food, more carbon for plants, more plants and more waterflow = good
correct? -- yep, spot on but leave adding more plants until after the problem is fixed otherwise they will get coated in the stuff.

The other thing that can encourage this is old lighting or lights with the wrong colour spectrum. Lights lose their colour spectrum as they get older and sometimes they drop right down to the red end of the scale. This can encourage the algae to grow. Having lights with a daylight spectrum or slightly higher (6,500Kelvin to 10,000K) can help reduce the problem.

 

[mrapoc]

The light is called "Daylight plus" and most of the spectrum is green and slightly orange so yeh

If i spot it coming back what should my plan of action be? If they hate oxygen i would think to put an oxygen stone in

I also have some oxygenator stuff for organic waste - its quite nasty stuff tho

many thanks

 

[Colin_T]

if you see it coming back just syphon it out straight away, and if it is on ornaments then take them out and rinse them off under tap water. When it grows on the glass wipe it off straight away as well.

You can add an airstone to the tank to increase water movement and oxygen levels in the water.

Some people have used an algicide after the blackout to kill the algae part of the bacteria. The combination of the two usually knocks it about pretty badly. Copper has also been used to some effect.

 

[mrapoc]

Its day 4 of the blackout

AArgh i wanna have a look lol

do i have to wait till the 5th day?? really?

 

[Colin_T]

It's only one more day, just be patient, you can do it. Just one more day

 

[emmsy]

C'mon mate - be strong! Just one more day

Emma

 

[mrapoc]

awwwww okkk



Cant wait to rip the blanket off tomorrow night after college xD

where do you recommend to buy plant "bundles" from?

I deffo need plants and not sure what type at all, just a bundle of say <10 to keep algae at bay (wasnt there two types which let out antibiotics to fight BGA?)

 

[Colin_T]

If you are removing the blanket in the evening do not turn the tank lights on until the following day. The fish will be used to the dark conditions and if you remove the blanket/cover and turn the lights on they will probably freak out. Just remove the cover and leave the tank exposed to normal room light. Then the following morning you can start using the lights like you did before the blackout.