White Algae?

[Futralistic]

Ive had my tank up and running for about a month and a half, and just a few days ago when I came home from work the water was a cloudy white. There was also what looks to be "white alage" on the glass (it kind of looks like fur). I thought I would give it a few days to see if it would go away, its been almost a week. Also I have doing 20% water changes about every other day.

Should I keep waiting this out or would it be ok to use a product to clear the water? If so what brand would you suggest?

Thank you!!!

 

[roseK]

i just discovered a white splotch on my tank too, and i believe its because my sucker isnt doing his job right. sometimes if its algae people just clean the sides of the tank by hand with a little sponge thing?

 

[Futralistic]

Yeah Ive been cleaning the glass with my mag-float, thats not so much a problem, its the cloudy water thats bothering me.
Thanks though!!

 

[Puffdaddy]

White hazy water is typically a bacterial bloom and not algae. How big is your tank and what fish do you have in it? The most important question I could ask is how much and how often do you feed your fish? You may be over feeding. You could add chemicals to clear the water but that would only be a temporary solution. You need to address the the cause. To do this you need to feed appropriately, have good water maintenance and proper lighting. These practices will also help prevent future out breaks of algae. Just to be sure, is your tank fully cycled, if so how long? Here is what you should do to solve the problem. Do a large water change 60% or so with a gravel vac. Add fresh carbon to the filter and stop all feeding for about 4 days. After 4 days do another large water change, replace the carbon again and resume proper feeding. By proper feeding I mean, feed only enough the fish can consume in a few minutes and remove any that is left over. After completing these steps you then can revert to weekly water changes of 25%. This should solve your problem. Just a tip, bacterial blooms are caused by too many nutrients in the water.

 

[Futralistic]

My tank is a 55g, I feed my fish twice a day, and it is fully cycled for a little over a month. You said it is caused by too much nutrients in the water. Well My tank is planted, could I be adding too much fert? I could very well just be overfeeding I will do what you said and try to be a little more conservative with the food.

Thanks!!

 

[fishlette]

My tank is a 55g, I feed my fish twice a day, and it is fully cycled for a little over a month. You said it is caused by too much nutrients in the water. Well My tank is planted, could I be adding too much fert? I could very well just be overfeeding I will do what you said and try to be a little more conservative with the food.

Thanks!!

ive had plant food/fert cause a bacterial bloom before. it was never ascertained though as to what caused it.

also, feeding twice a day is a bit excessive. once a day is plenty.

what fish do you have in the tank?

 

[Futralistic]

2-silver dollars, 4-bosemani rainbow fish, 2-corys, 1-leopard fish, and 4-zebra danios. The tank is moderately planted, with co2 injection. Oh yeah I have 2 apple sails also.

Thanks so much for the help. Ill start feeding once a day. BTW do you feed in the morning or evening or does it matter?

 

[Ilya]

I'd feed my fish every other day. They can survive up to 3 weeks without food.

 

[fishlette]

I'd feed my fish every other day. They can survive up to 3 weeks without food.

they key word there is 'survive'. our fish shouldnt be surviving, they should be thriving.

we eat every day for optimum health, as should a fish


morning or evening, it doesnt matter whichever is the most convenient for you

 

[-germ-]

they key word there is 'survive'. our fish shouldnt be surviving, they should be thriving.
we eat every day for optimum health, as should a fish

Perhaps poor terminology on Ilyas part, but you do have to be extremely careful how much you feed, if you are a good judge of how much to feed daily then fine, but realistically if you do overfeed a world of problems awaits, as you have already experienced, the same applies to underfeeding....

Not all fish feed daily in the wild, to use humans, or anything but the particular species of fish involved as a comparison, could possibly give out the wrong message and result in serious ill health.

The OP needs to research the fish concerned and find out what dietary requirements are suitable for those particular fish, IMO.