dirty tank

[pas]

Hi,

everything has been going really well with my tank. we now have 4 neon tetras and 3 tetras that are white with a black ) one of those on them. my water is testing nice and clean. we are taking out a gallon from the bottom each week and replacing it with clean water. it is a 10 gal. tank.

all is well except that the walls of the tank and all the fake plants and decoratiions are getting coated in a greeny slime. i have just changed my filter. it was charcoal only, so i have added a sponge and a fresh charcoal.

i have 2 snails, onle large, and one small.

why is this happening? is there anything i can do to prevent it? what is the best way to clean it?

i figured we would just take everything out and give it a good wash. maybe a clean rag to wash the sides of the tank with. is this ok?

thanks so much.

 

[crimsontsavo]

Sounds like algae. It's totally common.
If it bugs ya you can scrape it off and wash your plants in warm water.

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Sounds like algae to me. It's natural and most people get it!!

Does your tank get much light? Green algae often happens with too much light where as brown algae happens when there's not enough. You might want to take out a bit more water in your changes. I dio weekly chnages of 30% in my tanks although everyone is different.

You can buy an algae scraper, an algae magnet and even a not recommended by me med type stuff that gets rid of it. For a time.

When I had a bad build up of algae in my 35UK/41US my lfs recommended feeding less. I did and I have never had a problem in that tank since. How much do you feed and how often?

 

[Cheese Specialist]

Oh by the way, how long have you had your snails? They should be munching the algae for you!!

 

[pas]

thanks,

you know that saying, be careful what you wish for...? well, i was worried that there wasnt enough for my snails to eat!

so just take everything out and wash it. i can do bigger changes. i think though, i will have to buy those drops that take the clorine out of tap water.

my 11 year old has the tank in her room and does the feeding. we only feed 1 time a day. i think it is only a little pinch like i showed her. i will double check that she is not feeding too much.

thanks