Alright, so I have this 75 gallon tank. I had African Cichlid's in there first, and now I have Oscars and a Pleco. When my Africans were in it, I noticed this thick green algae that developed on the side. The pleco I had was small and I just figured he couldn't handle it. However, when I switched my tanks around, I put my 12 inch Pleco in there, and the algae was still there, in fact, it was getting worse! I borrowed a buddy's scraper made for tanks so it wouldn't scratch the glass, and with force, it came off. It is coming back though. Also, I have my tank set up in an ancient ruin theme, and my white relics are develping a brown algae on them. It won't come off when I scratch at it, and its also on my fake plants. The plants I can move around and squeeze and what not and it will come off of them, but not the relics. I do water changes very often, sometimes twice a week, and all my filters are working perfectly. Not sure what is going on, anyone experience this before or know what is happening?
Hard Algae, annoying brown algae... HELP!
- Thread starter CalebsCichlids89
- Start date
we need water parameters...(specific)
is the tank set up somewhere that direct sunlight is hitting it? if so how many hours per day?
what type of lighting are you using? (be specific)
how many hours per day are lights on?
how aften do you do water changes?
how often to you service your filter/s?
is the tank set up somewhere that direct sunlight is hitting it? if so how many hours per day?
what type of lighting are you using? (be specific)
how many hours per day are lights on?
how aften do you do water changes?
how often to you service your filter/s?
Lessen your lighting and/or lessen your feeding. Algae need two things to grow, light and nutrients.
I'm not too sure of the specific water conditions, but they are good for oscars I know. I have the tank on the oposite side of the room where no sunlight hits it, I have flourescent lighting, two of them, and I think possibly 100 watts... theyre on from maybe 8 am to 10 pm. I do water changes every monday, I service my filter pads when I do water changes, and I feed them 3 times a day. I'm sure I'm doing something wrong...
Knock the lighting down to 4 hours a day and lessen the feedings to 1-2 times daily and you'll see a drastic decrease in algal growth.
i say that you just do what modest man suggested then. i doubt your lights wattage is that large??!! it should say somewhere on the bulb. basic wattage is around 15 watts.
either way, shorten the period of time that the lights are on. cut down feeding.
to kill the algae, you could always use the blackout method.
either way, shorten the period of time that the lights are on. cut down feeding.
to kill the algae, you could always use the blackout method.
also, you should really invest in a decent test kit. it tells you everything you need to know about whats goin on in your tank. great tool for good fish health
Haha, I thought they were 10 watts, but I stopped and thought and was like noooo they cant be that, I dont want to seem like an idiot. Turns out I looked like one anyway. I thought about cutting the time the lights were on, and I heard that Oscars were supposed to be fed three times a day... I have tested my water and all the conditions were suitable for oscars, but like i said im not sure off the top of my head what they are
Sometimes you cant do much about brown algae. Sometimes its just alot of phosphates and silicates in the water. You can try some media that removes phosphates and silicates. I been battling brown algae for a few weeks. I clean almost all of it and it comes back. I read about it and they say less light, but other sources say not enugh light is the reason.
I dont overfeeed either. I jsut think with the silicates and phosphates in my tap water the algae is growing. So I am attacking it with chemical media to starve it. Been running 2 days and I see a reduction.
I dont overfeeed either. I jsut think with the silicates and phosphates in my tap water the algae is growing. So I am attacking it with chemical media to starve it. Been running 2 days and I see a reduction.