Algae blooms

[Randy]

Hey, I was wondering does anyone know how to get rid of algae blooms demon from an aquarium? I have an undergravel filter and I've just reciently cleaned the tank and the water is getting cloudy. Also the tank is a 20 gallon tank. Any advise would be greatly appreciated.

 

Thank you,

 

Randy

[chesters1]

you can buy chemicals to do it ,it maybe caused by overfeeding ,cleaning an undergravel filter too well allows the finest particles to go straight through and around and around ,maybe besides the ug filter another type using a carbon and fine straining medium should be considered

[Randy]

I was going to go that route. I figured when I cleaned the UGF I wiped out all of the bacterial buildup. I thought if I buy some goldfish the feces from the fish will help promote bacterial growth and this should help with the problem w/o using chemicals. any thoughts?

 

Randy

[chesters1]

just get the filter if you dont want chemicals those powerhead versions are ideal (canister type) it'l hide behind plants or bog wood no problem but remember to clean it out ,just vacuuming the gravel wont get rid of all the bacteria but it will loosen the gravel and allow more water circulation and your problem .

goldfish are ok but they do like rooting about ,is it a cold water tank as central heating causes havoc with those and sunshine even more

 

[ 19. March 2005, 10:21 PM: Message edited by: chesters1 ]

[Randy]

All I have in the tank are two catfish and a mosquito fish. The tank doesn't have any temperature regulation and also the tank isn't near any direct exposure to sunlight. I had this problem a couple of years ago and added a chemical to the water and didn't change the water and I had no more blooms in it until a month ago after I cleaned the tank and then got the algae bloom and I recleaned the tank and it looks like it's happening again. Since i don't have the coin for another filter, I guess I'm going to go with the chemicals. Thanks Chesters for you insightful comments.

 

Randy

[Moody]

How often do you change the water?

 

20% every fortnight with a gravel cleaner should prevent it ever happening again + squeezing the rubbish out of your sponge from your cannister filter in a bucket of tank water will help too

Good hygene gives good water quality.

 

I find a heavely planted tank and regular water changes doesnt give me algae problems, plant lots of vallisneria or Ludwigia palustris ( Broad-leaf ludwigia) will eat up alot of nutriants that the algae is feeding off (they grow in low temp enviroments).

 

Go natural, dont use chemicals, use plants and a good hygene routein and your fish and tank will be alot more healthy and interesting.

 

I hope im not patrenising.