Help please.

[Tenaj]

Why is there algae after one week of doing a water change??

 

[Colin_T]

If you can post some pictures of the algae we can confirm the type.

Algae grows anywhere there is light and water. If there are live plants in the water, they use the light and nutrients and reduce or stop algae from growing. If there are no live plants, then algae will grow instead.

If you don't have live plants in the aquarium, then only have the light on for a few hours in the afternoon/ evening.

 

[Tenaj]

If you can post some pictures of the algae we can confirm the type.

Algae grows anywhere there is light and water. If there are live plants in the water, they use the light and nutrients and reduce or stop algae from growing. If there are no live plants, then algae will grow instead.

If you don't have live plants in the aquarium, then only have the light on for a few hours in the afternoon/ evening.

I will post pictures tomorrow since they should all be sleeping now. I am about 1.5 month new to all this. Started with 4 glo tetras in a 10 gallon tank. 3 died. No one told me about the cycle of the tank. I upgraded 3 weeks ago to a 36 gallon. I basically bright everything from old tank, to keep the bacteria needed during the bug change. I now have 6 glo tetras. 3 glo danios and 1 glo shark. They have been great together. Last week did my first water change. 30%. Cleaned, with water, all of the decorations and fake plants. Added 1 live plant. One week later, algae and cloudy water. Tested water 3 times in a week. Readings are where they should be.

 

[Tenaj]

If you can post some pictures of the algae we can confirm the type.

Algae grows anywhere there is light and water. If there are live plants in the water, they use the light and nutrients and reduce or stop algae from growing. If there are no live plants, then algae will grow instead.

If you don't have live plants in the aquarium, then only have the light on for a few hours in the afternoon/ evening.

I forgot to mention and admit that I may be over feeding them. I also keep their light on at least 12 hours a day. Here is a photo after just water changing and cleaning, last week. Oh and the filter is so dirty after only one week. Doing another water change tomorrow. Can I take gravel out to clean them?

 

[Brendanpat]

Lovely tank you've got there .yes you'll definitely have a severe algae problem with your light on for 12 hours and not enough live plants . You could only get away with having the light on for 3 or 4 hours with that setup . I would get rid of all fake plants . Keep the nice castles and clean them . Add loads of real plants and floating plants . Then you will be able to keep your light on for about 8 hours maybe. I'm not sure about the gravel .someone else might have advice on whether plants will grow in it . I have sand in mine . I know it's more expense . But either go that way or clean it up and only have your light on for 4 hours or so

 

[Colin_T]

Just reduce the lighting time to 4-6 hours a day and the algae will stop growing.

If you want the light on 12 hours a day, you need to have lots of live plants in there to use the light. If you don't have the live plants, then algae will grow instead.

------------------
To clean the substrate, get a basic model gravel cleaner like the one in the following link. They let you clean the gunk out of the gravel while the gravel remains in the tank.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

If the water is cloudy or smells bad, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

 

[Bruce Leyland-Jones]

Unfortunately, you can't (currently) get fluorescent plants, but I believe that plants are an essential component of any aquarium and make a valuable contribution to the ecosystem you're trying to look after.
As has already been said, reduce your lighting significantly and stop over-feeding. The waste will not only pollute your tank and kill your fish, it'll feed the algae.

 

[Tenaj]

Thank you. Going to do a water change today. Will reduce the lighting as everyone is suggesting I should do. Will also stop over feeding them.

 

[Tenaj]

Just reduce the lighting time to 4-6 hours a day and the algae will stop growing.

If you want the light on 12 hours a day, you need to have lots of live plants in there to use the light. If you don't have the live plants, then algae will grow instead.

------------------
To clean the substrate, get a basic model gravel cleaner like the one in the following link. They let you clean the gunk out of the gravel while the gravel remains in the tank.

Aquarium Cleaning Made Easy

Aquarium cleaning should take 30 minutes every two weeks. Learn how the professionals do it in 18 easy steps.

www.about-goldfish.com

If the water is cloudy or smells bad, do a 75% water change and gravel clean the substrate every day for a week.
Make sure any new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine before it's added to the tank.

Thank you. 75%?? This soon? I’ve only had the new tank for about 3 weeks. Don’t want to hurt my fish . Will that be a good amount to change out? Again, I am new to this and want to make sure I am doing it correctly.

 

[Colin_T]

As long as the new water is free of chlorine/ chloramine and has a similar temperature and water chemistry (pH, GH & KH) to the tank, you can do a 75% water change every day.

If you are really concerned, then do a 50% water change every day, but big water changes dilute things more effectively than small water changes.

 

[Tenaj]

Thank you. You say to do one everyday. Is that how often I need to clean my tank? I’ll never be able to do that. I was thinking once a week would be good but what do I know.

 

[Essjay]

The reason for daily water changes is to get all the uneaten food and fish poop out of the gravel. If you have been overfeeding the fish it will take more than one gravel clean to get it all out. The more algae 'food' you can get out the better
Once everything is sorted, then you can do weekly water changes.

 

[Tenaj]

The reason for daily water changes is to get all the uneaten food and fish poop out of the gravel. If you have been overfeeding the fish it will take more than one gravel clean to get it all out. The more algae 'food' you can get out the better
Once everything is sorted, then you can do weekly water changes.

Thank you. That makes perfect sense. I also have one of those cleaners attached to a hose looking thing. Which will help get in the gravel.

 

[Slaphppy7]

Welcome to the forum.

What kind of test kit are you using? What brand of water conditioner?

 

[Tenaj]

Here are some pics. Also showing cloudy water and algae. Thank you!!

Welcome to the forum.

What kind of test kit are you using? What brand of water conditioner?