I have a green algae that comes in my fish tank. How do I get rid of it?

Answer 1

Algae needs two things to grow, light and nutrients. Reducing either or both of these will help the algae problem.

Keep your lights off as much as possible and on no more than 10 hours a day. Do 25% or greater water changes once a week and be sure to use a gravel siphon to clean the gravel as you go. Between these two things the algae will be starved out and won't be a problem any more. If you already to this, do slightly larger water changes and reduce the lighting even further.

MM

Answer 2

Green Algae In Fish Tank

Answer 3

I had to post after seeing this "have a few suggestions. First of all, to clean algae, use either bleach or vinegar."

Do NOT do this in the tank itself as you will end up with dead fish. You really shouldn't have to do this at all. The main problem is fixing it so the algae doesn't take over again. You are either putting too much food in the tank or there's too much light. There are also many types of algae and some require different methods to get rid of them. In fact, there's an 'algae' that's a problem that's not really algae. It's called slime algae and it's really cyanobacteria. A good place to look for help with algae is www.thekrib.com.

Answer 4

I've been lucky. I only ever had one really bad bout with green algae. I did 25% water changes every 2 - 3 days for about 10 days. Every time I did the change, I made sure that I got the vacuum WAY down into the gravel for any pieces of uneaten food, waste, gunk, etc to get sucked up. I also wiped down the inside of the tank and under the lid. I did not put the lights on in the tank for more than a couple of hours. I fed the fish sparingly once a day (instead of my normal twice a day). For a couple of days I actually covered the tank. The tank is in my basement so it doesn't have a lot of sunlight but there is a small window where it gets a bit of indirect sunlight. I blocked that out. Haven't had a problem since.

Answer 5

I have a few suggestions. First of all, to clean algae, use either bleach or vinegar. If you have plenty of time to clean the tank, soak your rocks/plants in a very dilute bleach water for half an hour and then wipe off the algae. That will keep it from growing back so quickly. Some people prefer to use vinegar to clean with since it is much less likely to harm your fish than bleach. Also, watch how often the light in your tank is on. Since I don't know what type of fish you have, I don't know if you need full time light but I am guessing you probably don't. I suggest a light timer for your tank, they range anywhere from five bucks to fifteen or twenty. That way, you can have the light on an hour, off an hour, on another hour and you don't have to worry about monitoring how long the light is on.
One more suggestion would be to get an algae eater fish or a crab to keep down on the green stuff. Just be careful - they are bad about carrying diseases.

Good luck!

Answer 6

Nerite snails are excellent algae eaters and won't harm plants. Also if your tank is large 50g+ you can use a Pleco, if its smaller try Ottos.

If your tank isn't full of large fish Cherry shrimp, amano shrimp and dwarf crayfish can be interesting algae eaters.

Do not get a chinese algae eater. They only eat algae when young. They get big and very vicious to other fish.

Answer 7

Algae is in most aquariums. The best way to get rid of it is to starve it of its nutrients. It needs nitrates, phosphates, and light to live. Reducing those 3 things are the best way to stop or slow it's growth. You can reduce nitrates by doing water changes. There are products out there that will absorb phosphates from the water as well. You can reduce how long your lights are on as well. A large water change of 50% can make a quick reduction of the algae but you need to keep doing regular weekly water changes to keep your water quality under control.

Answer 8

keep a check on your water temp. sometimes when the water is just a little to warm it will grow algae. get some algae eating fish, lots of them and lots of different kinds and keep the tank out of direct sunlight. also, they make light filters that go over the bulbs in your tank to hinder algae growth. i used to have the same problems. sometimes i thought i was in the algae business my tank grew it so badly. i tried these things and its much much better now. the bulb covers are great. to scrub off the algae that is on the glass get a geniric plasitc scrubby pad and wash it out with water before you put it in the tank. please dont use a soapy kind of scrubby pad. just a plastic one, it comes right off with those. i had an algea brush with the long handle but it will work you to death. save yourself the effort and just get the plastic scrubby for a dollar tree and it cleans it right off.......dont forget to make sure your water ph is ok afterwards. i use proper ph, its really good, but you use what you need to for the water in your area. keep your filters clean and you should be good to go.

Answer 9

Use algae killer or get a Plecostoumous. It eats algae. It's really cool.

Answer 10

besides the answers already given a large reason that algea grows is to neutralize the water. get some testing strips and see where you stand. palnts grow to balance out the ph and chemicals caused by fish and reptiles. since you have fish they produce lots of amonia and nitrates. the algea grows to balance the water. put one or two water plants and it should help. if not them reduce food and or light.

as for what stephie said, if using bleach or vingar dilute it alot and rince alot more at least 3 times. only use this if any other means fail or if it is a very serious problem.