help!!! my aquarium always gets a green residue on the walls....?

Question

i always end up taking apart the whole tanking and cleaning it. I am guessing its algae but im not sure i have a 10 gallon coldwater aquarium with goldfish inside and i would like to know how to prevent this green gunk from forming, as i know im not supposed to have to take apart the whole aquarium to clean it, but with this green algae it seems like there is no other way

Answer 1

Yep, it's algae, and it's a common problem that is easy to fix.
Algae needs 3 things to thrive: water, light, and nutrients. The water one is easy.

Is your tank getting too much light? Direct sunlight can cause huge amounts of algae. Move your tank away from a window (if it is by a window) or cover the side of the tank that faces the window. Is your photoperiod too long? Your tank light does not need to be on more than 10 hours per day. More than 12, and it's just pie for algae.

I expect, though, that the culprit is excess nutrients. How many goldies do you have? As others mentioned, goldfish are high waste producers, and need a minimum of 15 gallons of water PER FISH. You can get away with 10 gallons per goldfish, but it's a tight squeeze. 20 gallons per fish is ideal. Cut back on your bioload, and only have ONE fish. DON'T get a pleco. Plecos will not eat green algae on the side of the tank, and they will just exacerbate the problem because plecos are also poop machines.
Also, is it possible that you over feed? It's easy to do. Fish have very small stomachs but very BIG appetites. Only feed what your fish can eat in 30-40 seconds, and feed once or twice a day. That is more than enough food for them.
You may also look into more powerful filtration. I don't know what you have now, but look into getting a Hang off the Back (waterfall) filter rated for a least 20 gallons. An aqua clear 30 is great, so are bio-wheels. You cannot overfilter. And with goldfish, excessive filtration is a necessity.

Avoid taking your tank apart completely. When you do this, you kill all the benificial bacteria which help reduce the amount of ammonia and nitrites (algae food!) in the water, and you will just cause yourself a new algae bloom. Get an algae sponge or a scraper to remove algae while you look into maybe cutting back on fish, light, food, etc. You can also get Malaysian Trumpet Snails. They won't eat the algae that much, but they'll help. They breed easily so many petstores give them away.

Answer 2

Turn off the lights, add 10% fresh water, and take it away from direct sunlight.

Add: plecostomus' don't eat green algae, they eat the extra fish food at the bottom and some of the other algae. Green algae grows in sunlight. So by doing the above, the algae will just die off. Or you can get one (only one) snail to eat it, but that will take a long time. And, when the algae dies, so will your snail if you don't feed it veggies which looks gross in the tank.

Answer 3

the pleco is a great idea, but if you have more than one goldfish in that ten gallon tank, it might overcroud the pleco (experience....) goldfish when young can live in schools, but once they get older, they need at least 10 gallons PER fish. i'ts like keeping a house cat in a hamster cage... it'll survive, but just barely.

Tetra makes a product called aquasafe, you add a little each week, and then you only have to change 50% of your water once ever 6 months. it keeps the ph and mineral levels steady, and i've found it's GREAT for gold fish. it'll help keep the green stuff down, too.

also, they make algea scrapers and cleaners that all you have to do is rub it on the inside of the glass (you have to have a filter running, not just the under gravel ones, but one with cartridges) and it removes the algea. whatever's left, the gold fish will eat, it won't hurt em.

good luck, hope this helps!!

Answer 4

If you don't already have a filter for the tank i would suggest getting one. Also one other thing that might be helpful would be to get an algae eater(pleco) and some snails neither is expensive and the will work quite well! Hope this helps.

Oh one other thing if you have a light on the tank try not keeping it on all day!

Answer 5

Green is good stuff. You have a balanced system, you are doing a great job. Just scrape it off of the front of the aquarium and let it grow on everything else. Fish love to eat it and it helps their colors pop. No you cannot get rid of it and really why would you? It benefits the tank in so many ways. Oxygen levels are higher, its good nutrition for fish, and it absorbs nitrates keeping the system clean! My opinion leave it alone! I do, my tank looks like its carpeted in green stuff. I have even heard of people buying "green rocks " from fish keepers. Its not ugly its natural.

Answer 6

The algae is growing from the lights. Leave them off at night when you go to bed. Goldy's can live with a heater so I would get one and then I would add an algae eater to your tank. Or apple snails!

Answer 7

You have to either clean your water more often or get an algae eater. If you tank is near a window, move it away from a a window. Sunlight promotes algea growth. Also, you use a ph 7.0 buffer that uses a lot of phosphates, stop using it, phosphates promote algae growth.

Answer 8

Pleco's!! I never have to touch my tank! They are the workers of the Aquarium!!
There are also alot of good algae treatments in the shop, if you don't want to purchase another fish.

Answer 9

first:

Each goldfish in a tank needs at -least- 10 gallons of water by themselves,if not more (depending on the variety). I know it sounds nuts,but they produce a lot of ammonia. =)

The best thing you can do is just scrape it off the walls and get five or six ghost shrimp to play cleanup crew.

Answer 10

Yes, its is algae. One or two plecos or algae eaters will clear that up. Or you can get chemical algae killer, but if you do one thing wrong, all your fish could die.