I have a 55 gallon with some medium large fish. Jacks, Euro, Texas, Convict. ect.... Probably a little over crowded. Ive had this current tank up and running for a couple months now, and ive started to get the redish/brownish slime on the walls. I have a few good sized pieces of red lava rock in the tank aswell. What im wondering, Is this caused from the rocks, or is this a common thing? I dont have any algae eaters in the tank at the moment. I have more than enough fistration. Also, will this stuff affect my nitrates and nitrites? Any advice would be great.
Redish algae problem
- Thread starter Tyminator
- Start date
i believe it affects new tank. i never had it untill i set up my 125g for my gars. i have no clue how to help with it
Hi. This is a high nutrient level problem. Your tank will probably have a high nitrate and phosphate level. Do plenty of water changes. Say a third a week. You could increase this to a third every three days if you wanted even. The trick is to do the water change gradually. Lighting should not be a problem, and you do not have to have algae eating fish to stop these types of slime algae growing. How often are you preforming water changes. Have you thought about getting test kits. What is the tap water like. Is it high in nutrients like nitrate and phosphates. Your tank nitrate should not be much higher than that of the water you put into the tank. Same for phosphate. Do not be fooled into buying a de-nitrator by an aquatic store. This is not necessary for a simple tropical tank like yours, and the are risk with the start up of such a devise. What size are the fish, and what is the capacity of the tank. What is your filtration like. This is probably not the problem.
AquariumNerd;3095678; said:
Don't forget that some brown algae is acceptable but you should not get much on the gravel or sand bed. However the red algae is not normal, and as I have said is an indicator of high organic molecule levels.
i do test the water reg. It seems to be high in nitrates(prob too many fish). When i clean my gravel, not alot of gunk in it, but the nitrates still read high. I do have alot of filtration. I have a 70g canister, and a 50g hang on. MY 30 gallon tank has the same water, and less filtration, but less fish also. Water in it stays perfect. It is an aged tank though, Plenty of healthy looking algae(green). Super clear water. Ill probably just stick to the frequent water changes and see how it goes.
ps. i had a 3 inch black shark in there and it has disapeared. Not in the filter, and i thought to fast for the cichlids to catch. Maybe it bailed and my dogs ate it?
ps. i had a 3 inch black shark in there and it has disapeared. Not in the filter, and i thought to fast for the cichlids to catch. Maybe it bailed and my dogs ate it?