it worked!!

[pas]

i had asked about a dirty skummy tank earlier this week. you all said it was algea and to just wash it up. so i did...

it was horrible, the whole tank was cloudy and murky and terrible. so i took out 50% of the water, cleaned the filter and sponge in the tank water i removed. it was still terrible. i was so worried for the fish.

well, this morning everything is clear and clean and bright! i suppose after a few of these incidents i will know better. but i didnt realize it would clean up so nicely.

how can i keep the algea down to a minimun? wekeep the light on for about 12-14 hours and turn it off at night. do the fish like the light? the room where their tank is isnt the brightest, i thought they wouldnt want to be in the gloom.

also, would more snails help? or a sucker fish? i have one large snail, and one small snail. (apparently it was a teeny baby that was floating in the water when i purchased some fish. it has really grown alot since christmas!)

 

[thecichlidaddict]

Hey pas,

Reducing the time of lighting by a few hours can be a huge help if you don't keep live plants . As long as there is some ambient light in the room you don't have to worry - call it a dim and cloudy day for the fish Even when I had aquariums in a pitch black basement I would leave the aquarium lights off when I wasn't home to view the fish and kept the room lights on for light - they don't use much more wattage then aquarium lights, often quite a bit less in fact.

Plecos can go either way. On one hand some can do a good job on the algae, but many don't do much. On the other hand, they tend to be quite messy in other regards, further degrading the water quality. I personally prefer to control it through other means rather then adding to the bio-load, but many people have had good success with certain algae eaters (bristlenose come to mind).

Regular water changes will, of course, help keep nitrates and phosphates down, and will in turn also help with the algae. Regular vacuuming and filter maintenance to reduce the amount of physical waste in the tank helps too. Undergravel filters can often be a contributer because of all the waste that gets trapped under the plates that can't be reached with the vacuum.

 

[Moe]

You might want to consider 3 otto. They are tiny fish about on inch in length and do a great job keeping the tank clean.