My question is about algae in aquariums…?
I just asked this question in the fish forum but think I will get better answers here:
I have learned in order for algae to grow in a tank it needs light, oxygen, carbon dioxide and nutrients. I understand that, but what I don’t understand is how is it introduced into a controlled environment such as your home aquarium? Is there already something in our water that give the base for it to grow, or in the air, or what? I just don’t understand how it can just “appear”. If I have a garden indoors, weeds wouldn’t start shooting up everywhere unless the spores or seeds were introduced from somewhere. Do these simple organisms work the same way? I would only assume that somehow something there already exist for it to grow and given the right conditions, then thrive… anyone know this?
Thanks for your answers… I am very curious! 
Other articles you might like;
- Is These Pellets Healthy + More Qs-?
- Would This Hurt The Guppy Fry?
- 90g Reef Aquarium Setup Day 5
- Ideas On Fish For Freshwater Community Aquarium?
- Work Experience Melbourne 2011?
Algae can be introduced through airborne spores, or it can come in as single cells with a new fish, snail, or live plant. It feeds itself off of the nitrates produces as fish waste breaks down. It looks nasty, but in the wild, it’s doing the fish a favor, keeping the nitrates from reaching levels that would be toxic to higher life forms. There are several ways to keep things under control in an aquarium environment.
1 – Don’t try to keep your aquarium clean to the point of sterility. Something needs to be in there breaking down the nitrates. Constant water changes and bleaching out of filters and gravel kills the friendly bacteria that would otherwise eat the nitrates for you. Keep the front glass clean for you viewing pleasure, keep your power filter and undergravel filter running freely, and suck out the obvious muck. Do partial water changes only when a test indicates nitrate levels are too high. The natural ecosystem of the tank should be able to handle the rest. In salt water aquariums, it is advised that you allow algae to grow on the back and side glass. Many of the fish need the fresh green in their diet. There are quite a few fresh water fish that enjoy this as well.
2 – Use live plants whenever possible. They feed off of the nitrates, and release oxygen into the water. Likewise, use creatures like algae eaters, small snails, and bottom feeders to keep things cleaned up. Large snails are fun to watch, but they’re hard to keep confined, put out a lot of waste, and can take out every plant in the tank overnight. Ghost shrimp are efficient cleaners, but they will attack smaller fish.
3 – It is possible to tuck stems of a vining plant, such as a philodendrun, into the back of the tank. Give them something to climb, and they’ll go nuts over the nutrient level. I kept a large tank in front of a south facing picture window for years using this method. In spite of the high light level, I never had a problem with algae, the roots kept the water so clean there was nothing left for it to eat.
I concur. Most algae in an aquarium will be introduced with plant life from the aquatic centre you bought them from or on snails or fish. In my tank we use snails (we have an enormous apple snail which is really fun to watch!) which we feed plants about once a month. The rest of the time, we use plastic plants to decorate the tank, which can be washed off with water changes. I also use algae eating fish species such as the otocynclus – a small dog fish like species that sucks the algae off the glass and rocks. They do not grow more than a few centimetres though so are ideal for smaller tanks only. An excellent cleaning tool is the magnet cleaner but we think snails are more fun! Oh, by the way, they too are introduced, like the algae with the plants. An excellent tip for cheaper plants is to go out into the garden and dig up any weed that your rabbit could eat. (We use dandelion). Wash off the dirt and wrap the root in lead strip easily purchased at any aquatics centre. You can then place the dandelion in the tank, it will oxygenate the water, the snails will munch happily on it and it won’t cost you a penny! Nessie x
yes
the spores are just able to get everywhere – in the air, on your hands if you have handled dirt or houseplants. when the water tank gets some light, this will start them up. also the waterplants if you have any in your tank were sure “contaminated” with algae for sure
you can just get a clean glass, fill it with clean tap water place it on a windowsill and wait til it turns green. i had a flow-through water filter for filtering-dechlorinating chlorinated water. i cleaned this regularly with soap and water and filled with tap water only – guess what started to grow on the inside! green scum! yes, things get scummy just by themselves and we must clean it over and over!
that is what spores are for, to be everywhere, to spread everywhere and just wait for favourable conditions.