my fishes tank is dirty help?

Question

I have switched food because of mirky water now the water isnt the problem its the tank and rocks, the water is crystal clear but my rocks and tank wont stay clean. I have a 55g tank with two air blowers and a double filter and a single filter, the fish is an oscar. Please help me keep the rocks and tank clean Its turning redish brown. The food is Cichlid Gold, made by Hikari.

Answer 1

The reddish brown color is from red algae which is fairly rare in freshwater aquariums. There are a few ways to control it including managing the nutrients in the water (bigger water changes) and reduced lighting. The Siamese algae Eater (Crossocheilus siamensis) is reported to be the only fish that will eat the stuff and he wouldn't last in a tank with an Oscar. It won;t respond to regular algae control chemicals but can be treated with copper. Here's a page that tanks about it in great detail. Hope this helps

http://www.thekrib.com/Plants/Algae/red-algae.html

MM

Answer 2

How often do you keep the tank light on? You are having a problem with red algae. Don't use any chemicals, just keep the light off for a while and while you're not home, keep a dark colored sheet over the tank. How often do you clean your gravel or do a water change? You're problem also might be that you are feeding more than you're oscar can eat. The excess uneaten food may be decomposing on the bottom of the tank. Take a water sample down to a local fish store and have them check for nitrate, nitrite and ammonia (it's generally free most places...). If you're numbers are high, do a 1/3 water change and continue to keep the light off. Look into purchasing a Pleco. They are community tank algae eaters that will make a big difference if the problem is in fact red algae. Make sure you get one that is bigger than your fishes mouth though. The oscar won't think twice about swallowing him for breakfast! Best of luck!

Answer 3

It can either be red algae OR brown algae. I am having a case of Brown algae in my 55 gallon right now, in my case it is because the lights are on too long and they are a low wattage. To get a nice green algae you will need more that two 15 W lights on the tank like mine. Brown algae isn't bad, it is caused by excess nutrients in the water. Brown algae is also called 'Diatoms' which feed off of the nutrients and grow.

The only way to keep this stuff out of your tank is to either get an algae eating fish, or to keep scrubing it, there is also the option of keeping the lights on for a while, and keep doing everything normally until the algae eventually 'dies out' although I have no idea if this works or not, since they are diatoms. You can also 'black out' your tank. This is when you put a blanket or something over your tank so it is pitch black, or don't let any lights get in it. This will kill the algae since they need even a small amount of light to thrive in an aquarium. Good luck.

Answer 4

hi, i'm no longer an aquarium professional or something, yet I had a mission resembling yours when I first began w/my tank. that is a 10 gallon, and has 4 neon tetras, a million platy, a million higher tetra (do not recognize what it really is reported as), 2 cory cats, and a plecostimus it really is about 3 inches lengthy. I actually have plastic plant life, and a powerhead clear out it really is rated for a higher tank than 10 gallons. I used to hoover out the water, cleansing the gravel, etc. If I let too a lot time bypass with the help of, then when I vacuumed the gravel it made the water very dirty. I also discovered that I had to do this a minimum of a week, and adjust the clear out weekly to boot. i have discovered with the help of going to assorted aquarium web pages on-line (a large number of excellent ones), that you mustn't have extra finished inches of fish on your tank than your finished gallons of water (5 inches of fish to 5 gallons of water). might want to you've algae on your tank? Algae overgrowth will be brought about with the help of having your tank sitting the position the photo voltaic can attain it. I also discovered that once you've your water temperature too extreme, algae will flourish. to keep the fee of adjusting filters down, i found a carbon clear out textile that you decrease products out of and placed into your ability clear out fairly than finding out to purchase carbon cartidges each and each and every week. There also are clear out cloths that are designed to eliminate nitrates from the water, that can collect in case you launch too a lot junk from the gravel, or if the tank is really dirty from having too many fish in it. in case you call round, you could likely detect a puppy keep which will attempt your water for free. some do not, some do, so it really is nicely worth calling earlier using in each and every single position. in case you're taking a pattern of your aquarium water in, there are basic checks which will be performed to make sure if there are too a lot of one or yet another chemical in it, and the persons should be able to allow you to recognize recommendations to stunning this mission. in case your tank is new, getting it right into a balanced mission will likely stunning the dirty water mission. good luck!

Answer 5

Im sure the best adbice that you will get is if you go to www.oscarfish.com . Register and post in Oscar Help and advice forum..... that will probably get you with a combined of 100 years of combined experience of answers

Answer 6

the reason the water may have changed in the first place was that you were adding too much food, did u ever try reducing the amount?

Answer 7

oxygen water