Coldwater fish

[black angel]

just to point out that getting a bigger filter wont stop algae forming, you will need to get a fish for that or still keep cleaning it manually.
the tank you have will only do your fish for another 6 months at most as they will grow fast.
so if you still want to get another bigger filter then you need one that turns over 120 gallons per hour or 540 litres per hour.

 

[smidge]

not sure if it is algae as its not green at all.
its just brown on the windows and a blackish colour on the fake plants.

Could this be fish poo?

I have looked for some liquid to get rid of algae but it all says green algae.

 

[black angel]

how long are the lights on for?
blackish algae, is it trailing off the plants? that could be a sign of high nitrates or phosphates, what is your nitrate reading?

 

[smidge]

Its not trailing. It just sticks to the plants and bottom of the windows/corners.
the lights are on for about 6hours a day. I have tried leaving them on for about 12hours and still no difference.
When I last checked the nitrate/nitrite they were fine.
I will check them again tonight.

I've been doing regular wter changes aswell.

 

[smidge]

Hi-ya,

Just wondering if it might help if I got real plants?

 

[black angel]

not really as goldies have a tendency to eat most of them.
keep your light on for about 10 hours a day for a few weeks and see if this might help.
after 6 months you should have green algae rather than brown, and i dont know why that is. maybe you arent letting it grow before you take it off. i think when keeping fish you have to expect algae of one kind or another and its just part of maintenance in how you deal with it.
get a hillstream loach and hopefully that will help, but i would seriously consider upgrading to a 20 gallon tank.

 

[@ombomb]

If the plants aren't real, you don't need the lights on at all. Why not just have the lights on for a few hours a day to keep the algae down? Fish can survive on natural room light, algae can't.

Water changes SHOULD help control the algae as it will remove the Nitrates from the water.

 

[smidge]

Is it not adviseable or not to get a hillstream loach in my size of tank which is 58litres?

Just don't want to get one and it ends up dying.

 

[black angel]

a little loach really wont hurt your filter and from what ive been reading about them recently they dont really live that long, so you could try one and see how it goes.
what is your nitrate reading?

 

[@ombomb]

Hillstream loaches like fast moving, extremely clean water. Don't think they mix well with your current fish.

 

[smidge]

I have the details:
Nitrate - 25mg
Nitrite - 0
GH - 3
KH - 3
PH - about 7.2-7.6

I don't think I could leave the black stuff on the plants until it gets green coz the plants get really bad and they could get totally black if I leave them.

 

[black angel]

ok from what you have i would think the best thing is to try to upgrade to a 20 gallon in the near future with a really strong filter and get a couple of loaches for the algae when it grows. i had a problem with that algae for a while and it was because i had too much nitrates. you could add a heater and keep it at the bottom end of the scale and get a siamese algae eater as they love the dark algae and i'm pretty sure that they are ok with goldies. apart from that then there isnt really much else i can help you with.

what are you using to test your water with as your gh is really low? my own gh is 14 and i am near elgin. maybe theres something about the chemistry of your water that gives you the algae you have, but it seems really low.

 

[smidge]

Im using the 5 in 1 test strips i think its called Tetra.

No problem though. I have bought new fake plants that are easier for me to clean.

Thanks for all your help though.