PlanetCatfish.com

I am REALLY starting to get frustrated right about now. My 10 gallon tank had an algae bloom, so I did a forum search for algae bloom and found that by cutting off the light supply, it would kill it. I was also told that by doing excess water changes that I was just giving more minerals for the algae to grow on, so I have refrained from doing frantic water changes (10% every 3 days) and kept the lights off for about 4 days, except for 5-10 minutes when I feed the fish. The algae bloom appeared after my last Otocinclus had died. The fish seem fine, they are eating etc. etc. but the water has a greenish tinge to it. These is no rottting material in my water. But I have not cleaned the gravel in about a month. My water paramaters are as follows: 0 ammonia 0 nitrites 10 nitrates (ppm) The Ph is 6.9 and the water temp. is 75 degrees F. I have seven small balloon mollies (less than 1.5 inches) 3 jumbo neon tetras, and 3 Emerald green catfish, or Brochis Splendens. I replaced the filter cartridge a few days ago, hoping that would help. But nothing happened. It is coming to the point where I can't read the thermometer in the back of the aquarium from the front.

I may be wrong, but...I think you have it wrong about the water changes. I would do MORE water changes to reduce the amount of algae in the water.

I had an algae bloom a while back and here's what worked for me.

1. stopped turing on the light completely. also shaded the tank from any sunlight.
2. Installed micron pads in all filters.
3. Daily 30-50% water change (shouldn't be tough in a 10g tank.)
4. Throughoughly vaccuumed the gravel every other water change.

The idea was to reduce the nutrients that the algae was living off of (ie. light, nitrate, debris in the gravel.)

I also used a water clarifier once and it helped, but the algae came back. Didn' seem to hurt anything, though.

I also used a HOT magnum with the micron cartridge and it didn't do much good. Doing that with diatomatious (sp.) earth is said to be a cure-all for algae blooms. I couldn't get DE, so don't know first-hand.

I had mine under control in a week of this. Previously I had just stopped the light and everything stayed normal for a month. Aggressive water changes and mechanical filtration where what worked for me.

Thanks, Drgold, I read your post about yur algae bloom. But my bloom is greenish yellow, not white. I use a Top-Fin 10 filter, I got the special type of filter cartridge with 2x the filter floss, which should help. I'll try doing the water changes. But I don't have a gravel vacuum, I could look for something I could use to "siphon" the gravel clean. BTW, I covered the tank with a towel during the "lights-out" period.

my bloom actually was green, but it was harder to tell because my tank was bigger (50g). the micron cartridges came out greenish, so I'm convinced that it was an algae bloom and not a bacterial bloom.

you can get a gravel vaccuum from any pet supply store that has fish stuff. small ones are cheap (5-10$). I wouldn't go long without cleaning the gravel; it's just inviting bacteria and nitrates to build up.

good luck!

had a exactly the same problem and was solved by adding an extra air stone and pumping lots of extra air into the tank and it cleared up in a couple of days. i had tried several different things before(lots of water changes ,cutting down on feeding and turning the lights off for a couple of days )and none of them worked for more than a couple of days,but this has done the trick.might be worth a try

stuart

I once read that changing too much water during an algae bloom might give the algae more nutrients. Also keeping the lights off will kill any live plants. I gave Silent Doh a lot of ancharis yesterday. It's susposed to be a good nitrate and nutrient sponge so maybe it will help keep the algae from growing. It seems nothing normal happens in my tank. I have been waiting ever since I set up my tank 2 years ago for some algae to grow in my aquarium. Once when I added some plants from my grandma's aquarium, I started to see some type of brush algae starting to grow on the sides, but sadly it seemed to disapear about a month later. Now I see a few spots of it every now and then on my aquarium glass. I think it is because I have a pretty low light level and lots of plants. It seems people with mostly plastic plants in their tanks get the most algae problems. I guess it is because there are no other plants to take the extra nutrients. Too bad algae is the only plant that appears in an aquarium without you having to do anything. A java fern or sword plant bloom would be nice.

I once read that changing too much water during an algae bloom might give the algae more nutrients.

That would only be possible if there were more nutrients in your tap water than in a dirty fish tank. Dr. Gold's information is spot on.

Also keeping the lights off will kill any live plants.

There are two properties of light in the aquarium: intensity (total watts) and photoperiod (hours of light per 24). Many algae problems can be resolved by cutting the photoperiod from say 12 hours a day to three or four. The higher plants will be fine with this much light for a few days while the algae die off.
-Shane

Along the lines of what Shane was saying...

In one of Peter Hiscock's books, he proposes that you have your tank lights (for example) on from 0800 to 1400, then off in the middle of the day, then on again from 1600 to 2200.

The argument being that the higher order plants can get up and running in a short space of time, and so the broken period of light has little effect.

The Algae however, takes longer to stoke up, and just when it's about ready, the lights go off. It then has a similiar attempt in the afternoon.

I had a go at this about 18 months ago, and I did have the impression I was achieving something. But seasons change, the angle of the sunlight as well, and my wife opening the curtains the wrong way - put me back where I started.

I be interested to hear other's thought's on this concept, particularly if anyone else has given it a shot.

I read Peter Hiscock's Encyclopedia of Aquarium Plants and have been running (5) tanks on "siesta" or "naptime" now for about 8 months. It's made a difference. It shouldn't be a long period of time, just a few hours. There are timers out there (analog and digital) that allow for multiple on/off settings. The siesta only works if there's total darkness. It won't eliminate algae. It slowed certain algal growth down enough so that the plants could catch up and do their thing, in my experience. The fish seem to appreciate the siesta. In fact, I think they'd much prefer the lights off altogether. I've found many breeding sessions occuring when the lights come on after the siesta.
Amanda

Thanks, everyone, for your posts. I will hopefully get a gravel vacuum for Christmas. The gravel that seems the dirtiest is at the front of the tank, where the plants are. Also, after a 40% water change and lights-off for another day. I think I might be seeing improvement. I can read the thermometer again from the front, and I can resume counting my fish. Sould I try the siesta idea after the algae dissapears? It could keep my algae under control as the early afternoon is when the most sunlight comes into my room.

I already tried the siesta method and I can say that it had little effect at all if any. For those of you who had algae and tried the siesta and it seems to work, it's probably another factor affecting the algae. Or simply the algae have run it's course and burn up. I was in to the siesta 2 months before it goes away, and I keep it up for several more months. Then I meet some one who challenge me in an experiment by stop doing the siesta to see if the algae would come back and the algae never came back.

This is by no way a guarentee, but I find the most effective method is to do a %30-%50 water change every 3-4 days. This along with gravel vac will slowing turn your tank around and get rid of your algae problem. You'll have to be patient though, you won't see immediate results. It's a gradule change and before you know it, they'll be gone. However, the key thing to remember is not to over feed your fish. If you continue to overfeed, it'll be very difficult to stamp out algae.

That sounds a bit like poking a hole in the bucket to let the water out. And when the water eventually stops coming thorugh, you complain that the hole is faulty.

(Devil's advocate here...) I'd guess that the 'Siesta' run managed over time to 1) kill back existing growth, and 2) prevent new growth from establishing.

These both in turn, cut back on the quantity of available Algae spores. The availability being further reduced by filter action.

I would propose, Zebra, that you'd reached this point, where it is very difficult (but not impossible) for the Algae to re-establish. And of course, as you've said, carefull consideration of other tank environmental factors will maintain the tank the way you like it to be.

The siesta only works if there's total darkness. It won't eliminate algae. It slowed certain algal growth down enough so that the plants could catch up and do their thing, in my experience. The fish seem to appreciate the siesta. In fact, I think they'd much prefer the lights off altogether. I've found many breeding sessions occuring when the lights come on after the siesta.

I like the siesta now because the fish like it. The lights are for our viewing pleasure(and plant growth). So I keep the siesta to give the fish a break. Ranking the causes of algae growth, I'd say overfeeding, the wrong kinds of lighting and poor water quality out of the tap were the big factors for me personally. The siesta was good in helping to calm things down. It's another tool, not a panacea. Doesn't seem to harm the plants any, either. This has been taking shape for about a week in the 75 gallon tank:

Amanda

That looks like the nose end of an Amazon Sword runner... Have you ever had a Sword flower? (I've had two do so).

I might go back onto siesta time, but it'd be unlikely I'd ever achieve total darkness during the middle of the day. I've also had a bad run with timers - had four mechanical, and one digital fail over the past six months. The latter shortly going back for warrantee replacement - it lasted a month.

Siesta time also encourages my Angels to swim on thier side, as they turn thier dorsal toward the window light - that looks wierd.

Yes, it's a Sword plant of some kind. It started out small enough. Now, it's taking over the 75 gallon tank. It sounds as if the Angels quite enjoy the light. I've never had experience with them, so I wouldn't know. I'm a bit of novice to intermediate hobbyist. I'm definitely not an expert! Just trying to speak to my brief experiences of a handful of years.
Amanda

I think I finally killed it. I began daily 50% water changes 3 days ago and my tank is perfectly clean. I think I may have accidentally killed a few fish . When I reduced feeding to cut off the algae bloom, the fish must have starved, as I only have 4 of my 7 Balloon mollies. I found one on the filter intake, it was my smallest fish that I named Alphonse after the Fullmetal Alchemist series. Well, the important thing is the algae bloom is gone.

I severly doubt that your mollies died from starvation in only a few days. It's very difficult to starve fish to death - they will look poorly after a while, but it takes more than a few days.

Obviously, low food combined with other stress-factors (such as an oxygen sapping algae bloom) may work together to cause death.

--
Mats

Ok, I guess it wasn't entirely my fault they died. Well, I was the one who accidentally left the lights on for 18 hours. I guess in order to keep it away I need to just keep up with water changes

Mats is right, it'd take a good couple of weeks to begin starving a fish (you have a clean tank tho'!).

As Mats has pointed out recently, we all have different water. But that's where my money would lie. Perhaps too many additives to ensure it's fit for human consumption? Mollies can sometimes be a tad fussy about thier water.

If oxygen is a problem, perhaps if you have to go through it again, drop in a spare air-stone to get extra gas exchange at the surface. Or better yet, point your pump outlet toward the surface for greater agitation.