algae growth?

Question

Is their anything I can do about algae growth in my tank.I have tried live plants and plecos.There is 3 goldfish 3blue , cory cats and 4 white clouds.The tank is only 14 gallons and I know goldfish are dirty so don't tell me multiple times that they are messy and my tank is overcrowded.

O.K. my tank has been cycled and has no direct light except during the night when I have to turn on the lights in my room(it's in the basement with no windows and I hardly ever leave)and I do not have a lid for the top

Answer 1

When i have algae, i just clean it off manually with a soft new toothbrush, or a tank sponge. Nitrates are food for algae. Nitrates are the end product of the breakdown of the ammonia ( fish waste) and the only way to reduce them is partial water changes,and it will only dilute the nitrate concentration, That will reduce the ammount of food for the algae. However going by how you have stocked this tank, it would probably take daily 50-70% water changes for a week then daily water changes 30-50% after that.

Answer 2

About all you can do to control algae is to limit it's source of nutrition. Since it uses photosynthesis, turn off the lights over the tank for a few days (provided you don't care about any plants you have left). You also need to control nutrients it gets from the water (and yes, goldfish produce a lot of wastes, and the nitrate that comes from them is a plant [and algae] fertilizer!). This may just mean more frequent water changes for you - I'd do at least 25% every week using a gravel vacuum to siphon out any debris from the gravel so it doesn't contribute to the nutrients in the tank. You may also want to test (or have a local pet store do this for you) your tap water - in many areas, nitrate and phosphate are permitted in low concentrations, so even your water changes can be feeding your algae. You might need to use filter media made to absorb these, or switch to reverse osmosis water which has these removed (look for Culligan self-serve dispensers in Super WalMarts - it's about $0.33 per gallon, which is the cheapest I've found it).

Also, be sure you're dealing with algae, not cyanobacteria, which looks like an algae, but as the name implies, is actually a bacterium. Here's a photo of what this looks like: http://www.aquamax.de/Shop/Artikelbilder/Zusatzbilder/Algen%20im%20Aquarium_Blaualgen%20-%20Cyanobacteria_STUG_cyano1.jpg Some info on its control: http://www.skepticalaquarist.com/docs/algae/cyano.shtml

Answer 3

it is ordinary for a tank to circulate algae. next time you're out or interior of sight a puppy keep purchase you a algae magnet for a fifty 5 gallon tank, which will assist you freshen up the algae slightly. you'll be leaving your your gentle on too lots attempt to no longer depart it on as lots while you evaluate that makes algae advance slightly faster. Your gentle ought to be on 8 - 10 hrs. an afternoon and not something extra. As for nitrate subjects that comes for over feeding or too lots waste in excursion tank. you need to objective to feed your fish merely what the can eat in 2 min. two times an afternoon and not while they appear like they're hungry. much less nutrients, finally leads to much less waste and much less waste finally leads to much less nitrate issues.

Answer 4

is your tank light on to long? or does your tank sit where the sun shines on it? this is causing the algae to build up clean your tank and change your filter bags
hope this helped you.

Answer 5

Is your tank by any chance facing the sun light? that will cause algae.

Answer 6

is your tank cycled? if not (or you don't know what that is) you can kill off all the algae in your tank with maracyn -- a fish antibiotic -- one treatment will do it. it will also kill any beneficial bacteria though. your best bet is to shut off the lights for a week -- your fish will be fine.