Algae. I am defeated.

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
B

Brooklynella

Candiru
MFK Member
Dec 13, 2006
587
0
46
LI, NY
I'm a broken man.:cry:
My 72 bowfront started going green months ago, and I cannot get it to stay algae free. I tried everything. The fairly dark room it's in has had the blinds closed for months, I leave the tank dark, I have a UV, diatom, emptied the entire tank, phosphate control, algicides-everything I can think of-yet the tank goes green within 2-4 days.
I ran the diatom last night for 8 hours and it's crystal clear, yet by Saturday the tank will be a mess.
I'm running an undergravel with 2 power heads, Fillstar canister filter and Aqua Clear HOB filter.
What's really odd is partial water changes make it worse! The tank clouds up within hours (No Ammonia or nitrite, even when cloudy) and turns pea green. I get fields of stringy green algae growing on everything.
It gets stronger as I take steps to remove it!:D
This stuff is from outer space.
I have not introduced any other pet shop water, fish, etc in 2 years.
I even stopped feeding Hikari veggie food thinking this was causing it.
I'm reaching the end.
 
empty it and spray some weed killer then clean it out =D Im jk of course but try scrubbing everything down and seriously clean your filters then siphen everything out and leave it without water for 3 days with the blinds up to make sure the sun gets in and then fill it back up
 
is this a planted tank?

what is your lighting? bulb type, watts, how many hours on?
 
buckeyenut222;4323899;4323899 said:
Get rid of the undergravel filter first off.
Click to expand...
dont do that. a UGF will not cause algae or green water. many fish stores run these types of filters with no problems.
 
Is it a blue - green looking algae? If it is, look up pictures of cyanobactria and see if that is what you have. This stuff looks like algae, smells a little bad, but isn't really algae. The only way to get rid of this stuff is extra lighting and extra cleaning.
 
Certainly sounds like you have plenty of filtration.My usual advice is to increase water movement,its what always worked for me.

Have you tested the nitrate and phosphate levels of your tap water?
 
Cliff519;4323938;4323938 said:
Is it a blue - green looking algae? If it is, look up pictures of cyanobactria and see if that is what you have. This stuff looks like algae, smells a little bad, but isn't really algae. The only way to get rid of this stuff is extra lighting and extra cleaning.
Click to expand...
extra lighting to get rid of algae? no way! excess lighting causes most types of algae. in the case of BGA/cyanobacteria, it's common in new setups, and is typically caused by low levels of nitrates in planted tanks
 
jcardona1;4323943; said:
extra lighting to get rid of algae? no way! excess lighting causes most types of algae. in the case of BGA/cyanobacteria, it's common in new setups, and is typically caused by low levels of nitrates in planted tanks
Click to expand...

Extra lighting AND cleaning works because its not really algae, hense the name cyanobacteria. It's a form of bactria (not algae) that is often mistaken for algae. There a lot of chemicals you can also try to get rid of cyanobacteria, but I've read a lot of mixed reviews on how successful that is.

I've successfully gotten rid of Cyanobactria this way. It took a little time and effort but it worked. You just have to be sure it Cyanobactria and not algae or your right, it will get worse,
 
I know this all to well but with brown algae. I tried everything and nothing. Nasty brown algae all over my tank for a few months can drive you nuts! Then I added a pleco and bam, no more algae. Now thats there no more algae in the tank he will swim up to the top of the tank and eat pellets with my oscar and parrots
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
MonsterFishKeepers.com
Top Bottom