This darn green algae

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cichlidman1888

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 16, 2006
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Mansfield , Ohio
Ok guys I'm no amature on sw really but I can't seem to get rid of the green algae on the glass of my tank .i literally have to scrape it off with a putty knife .i do water changes like I should my lights are on a timer and are on less than 8 hrs I test my water and things are usually where they should be or just slightly high ,I'll do a water change and it brings it down but still the green algae , I'm running compacts above my tank with no lid I don't know if the lights to strong or what...help me out guys it's a constant battle
 
green algae needs light, water, food, so 1 of these must be ur prob,,it might be ur feedin too much do u have plants if not do u clean the gravel

when i say food it could be fish food witch in trun could be phosphates ect
 
here i found this dont know if its any good

[h=3]Green algae in the aquarium[/h] You might find green algae unsightly, but it is actually part of the natural ecosystem in [COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]the [/FONT][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]aquarium[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] and your fish won’t mind sharing their home with some green algae. On the contrary, many [COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]fish [/FONT][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]species[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] and other aquatic creatures enjoy grazing green algae and having natural algae growth in your aquarium makes it possible for them to carry out their natural behaviour in captivity.
Many other types of algae, e.g. hair algae, is a signal to the aquarist that something has gone wrong with the [COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]water [/FONT][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]quality[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR], but green algae is known to occur even in aquariums with perfect water quality. If the green algae start growing much faster than before, there is however a few things you can do to keep the algae growth in check.

  1. Light
The green alga gets its energy from photosynthesis and will therefore depend on light for its survival. Reducing the amount of light that reaches the aquarium can hamper the growth of green algae.

  1. Nutrients
Green algae use the same type of nutrient as higher plants and including a lot of live plants in the set up will therefore force the algae to compete for food. In addition to this, it is important to carry out regular [COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]water [/FONT][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]changes[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR] and avoid over-feeding. Do not let the levels of organic waste rise, because this can easily lead to excessive algae growth in the aquarium.

  1. Manual cleaning
You can manually clean away the green algae, but you have to be persistent because it will soon be back again. Manual cleaning should therefore ideally be combined with other types of algae prevention, e.g. keeping the levels of organic waste down.


  1. Algae eaters
There are many creatures that love to feast on green algae. Before you get algae eaters for your aquarium, make sure that they will appreciate the tank mates, [COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]water [/FONT][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important] [/FONT][/COLOR][COLOR=black ! important][FONT=inherit ! important]chemistry[/FONT][/COLOR][/FONT][/COLOR][/COLOR], temperature, and so on, of your particular aquarium. Different algae eaters are ideal for different aquariums. Don’t limit yourself to fish only; sometimes snails or other invertebrates are a much better choice.
 
I know it's about to seem otherwise but I swear I'm not a sales person for Santa Monica, but I've been reading up on this for a while and am itching to try it out. Especially in SW tanks, it is supposed to help quite a bit.

http://algaescrubber.net

http://www.monsterfishkeepers.com/f...Nitrate-and-Phosphate-Remover-DIY!&highlight=

or just search "Algae Scrubber" here on MFK or you can search for Use Name "Santa Monica" here on MFK..... he's basically the resident expert on ATS (Algae Turf Scrubbers).

Bit pricey to buy one, but he'll show you his designs and if you are at all DIY, you can make your own. Basically, you give the algae an even better place to grow. Like stated earlier, algae needs a few things to grow, if those things are present it IS going to grow. So with the scrubber, you create a place for it to grow and then weekly or bi-weekly you scrape it off of the collection screen and poof it's gone. This prevents the algae from growing elsewhere (such as on your glass), because the light/oxygen/ food won't be as optimum in the tank as it is on the collection screens....and since you scrape off the largest part of the algae every week, it never "overflows" and starts looking for other places to grow.

That's the idea at least, I haven't built mine yet, but I've been lurking the forum enough to know the basics. If you can wait he's about to come out with his new updated design.... AND there have been many people experimenting with LED's. IF they can get the LED's to be in the correct wavelength of light, that is gonna smash the daily operating costs to nothing. Still initially it's rather pricey. Might be worth it if you really hate algae though. :)

good luck
 
The algal growth is going to be related to the wavelength and intensity of light produced by your light source. The light produced by the LED is going to be (generally) of a lesser intensity than what you'll get from PC or T5 and from my research, there aren't any aquarium hood lights (with LED's) that are optimized for plant growth. This is a bad thing when you want a planted tank, but if you want to stop algal growth it should be fine...good even.
 
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