Problem with Algae Bloom?
For the past year, I have been battling algae bloom in my 55 gallon aquarium…severe to the point that I cannot even see my fish. I have Parrotfish & African Cichlids. I do not overfeed & my light is off more than on. No direct sunlight & I do frequent water changes once-twice per month. I am not a novice, I have been a freshwater fish hobbyist for the past 15 years, however I am stumped as how to go about getting rid of this problem.
I have never had this problem before & this particular tank was established 5 years ago & was great up until the past year.
Someone please let me know if there is a fast & sure way of getting rid of algae bloom. I have asked around & have gotten different answers?
Thanks
I have VERY aggressive Ciclids that will kill the snails. I have had snails in there before & they didn’t last long, but that isn’t going to take care of the suspended algae in the water anyways, I have Plecos for surface algae which I do not have a problem with.
Have you tried snails? There are chemical additives you can add, but I dislike those, myself.
I would start by totally emptying the tank and recycling (I know you’re not supposed to, but something in the water must be causing this). Secondly, I would invest in some snails, and then thirdly I would get some catfish and some plecos or some corys.
i have a 55 that used to get algae a lot. i would wipe it off and it came back in 4 weeks or less, then i started to get live plants, live plants use up the nutrients that algae needs to grow, depending on the type of algae, but if they die they pollute the filter, i bought a marymo moss ball from an LFS, then 10 more from e-bay, , there is a seller who sells them really cheap in packs of 5. moss balls require no care whatsoever, practicly never die, and most fish dont eat em. now i have 30 in my tank and no algae, even though my tank gets a lot of sun.
FYI, i have a plecoe, 9 loaches, and 8 snails, they dont really help agae that much
Increase the frequency of vacuuming the substrate. Most people know about the nitrogen cycle but few are aware of the other cycles at work: sulphur, phosphorus, carbon (and others we still haven’t discovered).
When waste falls to the bottom, protein is broken into amino acids and amino acids into their component parts: mostly hydrogen, acids, carbon dioxide, phosphates, ammonia, sulphur gas and others. Your problem may be a boom in the phosphorus cycle giving algae a banquet. The primary way to help decrease growth is to cut off the nutrients at this level – in the substrate. Do what you normally do to control algae. Scrubbing, snails, limited lighting, frequent water changes….and increase your vacuum schedule. If your temps are in the 80s, dial down to mid 70s (if satisfactory to your fish). When the amino acid supply dries up with it’s resultant phosphorous by-products, your algae should stop dividing long enough for you to catch up to it. Good luck.
PS. A day after I wrote the answer above , I found a tiny blurb in Wikipedia while researching activated carbon. Apparently if the soluble ash content in activated carbons is too high, there’s a chance ferrous oxide is leached which tends to feed algae growth. In short, upgrading to a higher quality of activated carbon in your filter may also help.