keeping my tank clean

[curlyred]

What is the best filter to be using in my 40 gallon tank? despite weekly cleaning the tank seems to have an awful lot of algae.i have a fluval 3+ filter. is there a better one i could be using? the tank holds : 6 male guppies
2 dwarf gouramis
1 honey gourami
1 golden gourami
2 kribensis
4 cory catfish

 

[nc_nutcase]

weekly water changes and gravel vacuuming.... makes a world of difference...

 

[curlyred]

I already do weekly water changes and vacuum the gravel! but still the algae continues to grow on the tank.i really dont know what to do.any more suggestions?

 

[The-Wolf]

IMHO the best filtration is an external cannister and the best make of those are Eheim, however I realise this could be out or your budget.
algea problems are often caused by high nitrates and or high phosphates, you could add hagen green-x to your existing filter
look for this box at the lfs

 

[Jen]

I could be wrong here, but I dont know that a different filter will make a difference on the amount of algae you have. Algae is caused by the amount of light (too much or too little) and by the amount of fertalizer (stuff you add, or excess from fish poo and left over food)

You may have your lights on for too long every day, or maybe you have live plants and fertalize too often.

 

[curlyred]

the lights in my tank are on for about 8 hours a day, and yes i do have live plants,but not many and i do not fertilise them. could anyone tell me more about external filters?budget is not a problem, i can spend whatever i need to.thanks.

 

[Tolak]

Bristlenose plecs do a good job of algae control for me. Every tank has at least 1, no algae problem at all.

Tolak

 

[nc_nutcase]

I agree with canoechiq, additional or improved filtration will have no effect on algae growth. 8 hours of light isn't very much (12 is usually recommended for live plants), does the tank get any direct sunlight (direct sunlight is like vitamins for algae)? One possible solution may be to add more live plants. This will give the algae competition for food and hopefully the plants will win (this idea is speculative, I've never tried it).

It sounds to me like you've done your part on keeping a clean healthy tank. It's not your fault if some ultra thriving breed of algae formed in your tank. They make chemicals at LFSs that you can add that claim to remove algae. Personally I wouldn't do the chemicals, but it's an option.

 

[curlyred]

ok,thanks everyone for the suggestions iv actually been trying to get hold of a bristlenose plec fow a while, but my lfs doesnt sell them (only sell common plecos-way too big for me!) and wont order one for me. im not keen on ordering one off the internet,as i dont know how they are shipped and wouldnt want it to be suffering while it was travelling.however,il keep checking ,my lfs,keep scrubbing and get some more plants!thanks again

 

[sammydee]

Fluval 3+ does sound a little on the small side for a 40 gallon... You might want to look into getting another filter. It won't help your algae problem but it might help the fish.

 

[Paul_MTS]

i was thinking that too sammydee, i think 3+ are rated up to around 25-30 gallons??

another thing to consider is, is your tank in direct sunlight at anytime during the day, if so this won't be helping either.

about external filtration....

these are containers that sit out side the tank which have a pump built into them and filled with filter media like sponges and biological media. You have 2 hoses on them, 1 sucks water from the tank into the cannister via a syphon and then after filtering through the media it's pumped back up in through another hose which can be attached to a spray bar for best surface disruption.

the cheapest and best going would the Ehiem Classic 2213 (or the smallest of the classics) this will filter your tank perfectly and they tend to only need to be cleaned every month depending on canister size and stocking levels. You haven't said where you are but in the UK this model usually sells for around £65.