prob in my tank please help algae have no clue why it just started?

Question

my tank has all of a sunden come up with an algae prom i have cleaned it new filters everything i could think of it not near any window nothing but i can not seem to stop it any ideas how to stop it thanks

well all the answers are really good and i will try it but just to add my light not on long at all maybe 4 to 5 hrs a day and i let my water sit for at least a week befor i add it to my tanks i 2 other tanks as well it just seems this one has the prob none of my other ones do but i will for sure try do water change and see if that helps thanks for your help

Answer 1

Algae can pop up very quickly in a tank for no apparent reason, but you can be sure there is a reason out there.

Going to the basics, algae needs 2 things to grow. Light and nutrients. Since this tank gets no direct sunlight, try cutting back on the lighting time. If you have no live plants, only have the tank on when you are home and enjoying your tank, but even then, no more than 8-10 hours a day and shorter is better.

As far as nutrients, those come from the water. Be sure to clean the gravel well when you do a water change and try increasing the amount of water you change each week. If you are changing 25% now, try increasing that to 35-40% to remove additional nutrients.

Between these two things, you can eliminate the majority of the algae in the tank.

MM

Answer 2

Algae is the combination of too much lighting and too many nutrients in the tank. If you're using just the standard fluorescent tubes that come with most hoods, you may be leaving the lights on for too long during the day. Try either turning them off completely (if you don't have live plants and there's enough other light in the room) or cutting back on the amount of thime they're on - 10 hrs a day or less.

If you have a test kit, check the level of nitrite in both your tank and tapwater if this is what you use in the tank. Some tap water contains nitrate, and some water companies add phosphate to prevent pipe corrosion, and both of these act as plant (and algae) fertilizers. As part of the cycling process, the bacteria in the tank convert ammonia from fish wastes and excess food to nitrite, then nitrate. The nitrate can only be removed by plants (including algae) or water changes. Also, if you have live plants, only use about 1/3 of the amount recommended - fertilizer feeds the algae as well. If you don't have a test kit, take samples of the tank and tap water in clean containers to your pet store - they should be able to test the water for you. You want the levels of nitrate in the tank to be less than 40ppm. If the amount of nitrate in the tank is high, you'll need to partial water changes to bring it down. You should be changing 25% of the water weekly and using a gravel vacuum to clean down into the gravel so wastes don't build up.

If your tap water also contains nitrates, you may need to consider using reverse osmosis water for the tank, or at least mixing it with tap water to reduce the amount of nitrate you're adding to the tank. You can get units to use at home, or buy RO water at Target or Super WalMart stores (Culligan water). This sells for about $0.33 per gallon. You can also get phosphate-removing pads from pet stores that you cut to fit your filter.

Answer 3

Are you leaving your light on too long? If you leave your light on for more than 8-10 hours a day algae will grow like crazy. It's good to have some algae, but it sounds like what you have and could be getting is out of hand. If it is your light, I bought a timer so the light comes on in the morning for a few hours then back on again later in the evening when I'm home so I can watch my fish.