I have a tropical fish tank that had lots of algae growing on the sides of the tank....?

Question

I thought if I removed the real plants and thoroughly cleaned the tank (& a 20% water change) that my tank would look cleaner. Instead although the glass is clear the water is turning a very cloudy green colour.

What do I do? Put real plants back into the tank? Please help!

Answer 1

It sounds like you have your tank set up in front of a window that gets a lot of sun or else you leave the light on waaay to long.  You probably are also feeding your fish too much.  Light and food are the keys to algae growth.  

Removing the live plants actually helped the algae grow.  Live plants compete with algae for the available nutrients in the water.  Uneaten food will decay into ammonia, then into nitrites and finally into nitrates (this is the food source for plants and algae is a plant).

Feed your fish only once a day and only as much as they will eat in 2-3 minutes, anything more is too much.  Move the tank if it is in front of a window and cut down the artificial light to no more than 8-9 hours a day.

Another solution is to leave the light off and  completely cover the tank so no light gets in for 8-10 days.  Only take the cover off to feed the fish.  In the dark, the algae will die.  If you still have the live plants, do not put them back in the tank until you have killed off the algae.

There are chemicals you can buy at the fish store that will kill algae too, but I am not a big fan of putting any kind of chemicals in my tanks.

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Answer 2

I don't know if this will work, but sometimes if your tank is in direct sunlight for the majority of the day or if you leave the lights on in the tank 24/7, it can cause the algae to grow quicker.  I spoke with my local pet store and they said to limit the amount of time it is left in direct light.  Believe it or not, it worked.

Answer 3

fan shrimps do a good job at cleaning algae from teh water - however, if you have adequate filtration, it shouldn't be a problem to begin with.

Are you sure it's not a bacterial bloom?

Answer 4

Too much nitrate in the water can cause algae to grow.  I would do a 50% water change and do it again next week.  You can get test kits for nitrate.

Nitrate is a chemical that results after the waste and amonia have been broken down into nitrites the converted to nitrates.  Not very scientific description but it goes something like that.  the nitrates are not very harmfull but can encourage algae, and any new fish may find it hard to adjust to high levels in your tank.  

The best way to get algae of the glass is a manual scraper the magnetic ones can be good but i prefer the one that is i stick with a razor blade holder on the end.  It is the most effective I have ever used.  Be very carfull not to hurt your fish with it as they are curious of it and are attracted by the loose algae.

Keep the plants, they are very beneficial, just remove any decaying leaves.

If the water is smelly or slimy get water treatment for slime algae(you would know if you got this as it would become stinky and slimy again a day after a 70% water change), but for now just do 50% water changes once or twice a week untill the problem improves.

Amonia, Nitrite and Nitrate test kits help you to know whats happening in your tank without guessing.

Answer 5

Real plants are actually good for the tank.  Get an algae eater or two. Also, there's a product that you can get that cleans the tank. It's actually like live cultures that help clean it up..Unfortunately I don't know what it's called. Call your local pet store!

Answer 6

The plants aren't causing the problem.  Algae is natural in water.  I'd suggest you get an algae eater such as a pluckostomas (sp)  They do a good job of keeping the tank glass clean.  Also maybe a catfish for the bottom

Answer 7

The algae is caused more by light in the tank - water+light=algae.

Cut down the amount of light in the tank. For example if you leave your light on for 10 hours cut it down to 6-8 hours. Any type of algae eating fish will not help if you have your light on too long.

Answer 8

buy a fish that eats the algae and clean it iut thourogh

Answer 9

Sounds like you need a filter upgrade. What kind of filtration system do you have?  Don't forget you have stirred up all the muck in the tank by doing a water change. It will take a while to settle.  Also if you have the tank near a window, the sunlight will turn the water green very quickly. By all mearns put the plants back in the tank. They won't affect the algae. It may also pay to buy a  plecostamous or sucking loach. Ask your aquariast centre for info on these.  

Answer 10

Algae eaters are good!