 |
 | Home | Contact Us | FAQ | Search & Site Map | Link to Us |
 | Sign In | Join | Other 45 Sites in Network |
Pet Forum / Aquaria / Cichlids / May 2005How do I have a brightly-lit tank without algae?
Hello, I have a 220 litre (24" cube) Malawi cichlid tank (see http://fish.alansilver.co.uk/Mark3/Gallery/0402FirstFish/Default.asp?img= tank_040217_01.jpg for an out-of-date picture) that is suffering from a green algae problem. I'm fairly certain that the problem is caused by the amount and/or type of lights. The tank has two 24" fluorescent lights, one white and one blue, plus three 40 watt halogen spotlights. This is all because the tank is in a corner away from any natural light and we want to be able to see the fish!! Anyway, the tank is fairly covered in very short hairy green algae. I have to clean the glass at least once a week, or it gets too mucky to see inside. The background is quite covered in algae as well. This isn't too terrible as it looks more natural, but it does make the tank dark. So, any suggestions? I know I could cut down on the amount of light, but I want to keep it bright. Would different types of lights help? If so, what? I have an Ancistrus bristlenose catfish in there and it is pretty busy, but it doesn't seem to be able to keep up with the algae growth. I wondered about adding another, or even a Plec, but I don't know if that would be the answer. Any suggestions greatly welcome. TIA.  SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) <snip> that is suffering from a > green algae problem. <snip> > Any suggestions greatly welcome. TIA. First thing to do is cut down on the amount of time the light is on. Have the lights turn on later in the day, and off earlier. More frequent water changes will reduce the amount of nitrates in the tank which will help with algae growth. Being that's it's a Mbuna tank, (which is too small IMO, but I covered that a few months ago) adding fish or shrimp that eat hair algae probably isn't an option. Plus, adding more to the tank can add to the problem with a higher bio-load. Test the phosphate levels in the tank. You can buy filter material that removes phosphates if you have phosphates in the tank. Phosphates are a big contributor to hair algae. Hair algae is difficult to get rid of and off requires removing it by hand. Don't wipe it down and let it float off into the tank, else it will eventuall reattach or send off pieces to grow elsewhere. It needs to be removed. ;-) Not real enlightening, but it's all I've got. Tim www.fishaholics.org Tim, Thanks for the reply. I have already cut down the lighting hours, so that's not really an option. I do pretty regular water changes too and the water quality is good. I haven't tested for phosphates though, so that could be an option. I don't know if this is hair algae as it's very short. I thought hair algae tended to be longer, like hair (!!). Would the type of lighting be a factor? I am thinking of changing the halogen lights for fluorescents anyway as the halogens produce too much heat. Would this help the algae problem? Thanks again. alan >First thing to do is cut down on the amount of time the light is on. Have >the lights turn on later in the day, and off earlier. More frequent water [quoted text clipped - 12 lines] >Tim >www.fishaholics.org SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) >Would the type of lighting be a factor? I am thinking of changing the >halogen lights for fluorescents anyway as the halogens produce too much >heat. Would this help the algae problem? My halogen spots don't cause a problem. They are on for about 16 hours a day. I don't use fluorescent lights. Maybe they are your problem. Steve >>Would the type of lighting be a factor? I am thinking of changing the >>halogen lights for fluorescents anyway as the halogens produce too much >>heat. Would this help the algae problem? > >My halogen spots don't cause a problem. They are on for about 16 hours >a day. I don't use fluorescent lights. Maybe they are your problem. Dunno, fluorescents are the standard for fish tanks, they aren't generally known for causing algae problems. Maybe I'll have to add a Plec and see if that helps. They are supposed to be good algae eaters. SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) >>>Would the type of lighting be a factor? I am thinking of changing the >>>halogen lights for fluorescents anyway as the halogens produce too much [quoted text clipped - 5 lines] >Dunno, fluorescents are the standard for fish tanks, they aren't >generally known for causing algae problems. "Standard" or not, try using just the halogens for a while. If the algae starts to fade away don't forget that dead algae can also be a problem so keep it cleared out. >Maybe I'll have to add a Plec and see if that helps. They are supposed >to be good algae eaters. Plecs are not as good at algae clearing as bristlenose and you already have one of them. Get another one. If you get a pair they will breed. OTOH Plecs will never breed in a tank. BTW what sort of Malawi cichlids are they? Most of the common Mbuna eat algae, especially if no easier food is supplied. If they have other food they won't eat the algae - why scrape rocks when flakes are around. Mbuna fed on algae turn on their best colours. SignatureSteve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks. http://www.easynn.com >>>>Would the type of lighting be a factor? I am thinking of changing the >>>>halogen lights for fluorescents anyway as the halogens produce too much [quoted text clipped - 9 lines] >algae starts to fade away don't forget that dead algae can also be a >problem so keep it cleared out. Can't harm to try I suppose. I don't know how long it would take before I would expect to see a difference though. I know algae grows pretty quickly, how quickly is it likely to fade away if the fluoros are the problem? >>Maybe I'll have to add a Plec and see if that helps. They are supposed >>to be good algae eaters. > >Plecs are not as good at algae clearing as bristlenose and you already >have one of them. Get another one. If you get a pair they will breed. >OTOH Plecs will never breed in a tank. Baby bristlenoses? That sounds like fun!! Trouble is, I have no idea whether mine is a boy or girl, and catching him wouldn't be easy. Still, I might do some research and see if I can find out how to tell the difference. >BTW what sort of Malawi cichlids are they? Most of the common Mbuna >eat algae, especially if no easier food is supplied. If they have >other food they won't eat the algae - why scrape rocks when flakes are >around. Mbuna fed on algae turn on their best colours. Mine do scrape at the algae a bit, but not a huge amount. Maybe if it were longer they might, but as I said, it's very short. Thanks for the reply. SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) >Baby bristlenoses? That sounds like fun!! Trouble is, I have no idea >whether mine is a boy or girl, and catching him wouldn't be easy. Still, >I might do some research and see if I can find out how to tell the >difference. Mature males (4" +) have long bristles. Females just stubs. >>BTW what sort of Malawi cichlids are they? Most of the common Mbuna >>eat algae, especially if no easier food is supplied. If they have [quoted text clipped - 3 lines] >Mine do scrape at the algae a bit, but not a huge amount. Maybe if it >were longer they might, but as I said, it's very short. It's the short algae they like. Leave them without food for a few days and see what happens. 90% of Mbuna are algae eaters. SignatureSteve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks. http://www.easynn.com > 90% of Mbuna are algae eaters. Actually the Mbunas are after the crustaceans in the algae, like shrimp salad. So their diet consists of mainly algae. (so I've read) I have a treo of Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus) in my 38 usg tank that love the bush algae and chase away the Florida flag fish I bought to take care of it. SignatureJim Anderson ( 8(|) To email me just pull my_finger >> 90% of Mbuna are algae eaters. > >Actually the Mbunas are after the crustaceans in the algae, like shrimp >salad. So their diet consists of mainly algae. (so I've read) They vary from those that just eat the algae to those that eat the creatures in the algae and the algae itself. Then just a few Mbuna don't eat algae at all. >I have a treo of Electric Yellow (Labidochromis caeruleus) in my 38 usg >tank that love the bush algae and chase away the Florida flag fish I >bought to take care of it. That particular Labidochromis is a micropredator. They are searching the algae for tasties! SignatureSteve Wolstenholme Neural Planner Software EasyNN-plus. The easy way to build neural networks. http://www.easynn.com >>Baby bristlenoses? That sounds like fun!! Trouble is, I have no idea >>whether mine is a boy or girl, and catching him wouldn't be easy. Still, >>I might do some research and see if I can find out how to tell the >>difference. > >Mature males (4" +) have long bristles. Females just stubs. Thanks, I found this on a web page shortly after posting. Mine is a boy, so I guess if I can buy a girl, I could have wedding bells!! I'm not sure if mine is fully mature yet though as he's only about 3" long. Still, a friend won't do any harm, even if they are too young to get married yet ;-) >>>BTW what sort of Malawi cichlids are they? Most of the common Mbuna >>>eat algae, especially if no easier food is supplied. If they have [quoted text clipped - 6 lines] >It's the short algae they like. Leave them without food for a few days >and see what happens. 90% of Mbuna are algae eaters. Well, my local cichlid expert reckons that I wasn't feeding them enough, so I just increased the amount of food!! I do see them having a go at the algae, but I don't know how much difference they make to it. Having said that, when we had our tropical tank, I once had a problem where the filter on the cichlid tank failed. I dropped a Fluval 2 from the tropical tank into the cichlid tank to keep it going until the following day when I went out and bought a new filter. The tropical tank had a real algae problem at that time (caused by a lack of attention from me) and the Fluval had long (about 2"-3") hair algae on it. Within an hour in the cichlid tank it looked like new!! So they do eat algae!! Anyway, I took out the halogen lights yesterday and replaced them with some energy saving bulbs (which are effectively small fluorescent tubes curled up), so I will see how that affects matters. I intend on leaving it a week and seeing what the glass looks like. Thanks for the reply. SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) > >>Would the type of lighting be a factor? I am thinking of changing the > >>halogen lights for fluorescents anyway as the halogens produce too much [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > Maybe I'll have to add a Plec and see if that helps. They are supposed > to be good algae eaters. I've got the same problem as you in my Malawi tank...it's a bit like a green carpet on the rocks and substrate. It's not slimy or anything so does seem a little bit like hair algae - it's a very bright green. The front of the tank needs doing a couple of times a week. Ammonia is 0, nitrite 0 and nitrate around 10. Of course there are only a couple of plants. Do a 10-20% water change each week. I've got a Pl*co but although he is working on the back of the tank the job seems to be beyond him..... I'm wondering if it is Phosphate level after reading Tim's posting (thanks Tim) I'll continue following this thread. Please let me know how you get on Gill >I've got the same problem as you in my Malawi tank...it's a bit like a green >carpet on the rocks and substrate. It's not slimy or anything so does seem a >little bit like hair algae - it's a very bright green. Mine's quite a dark green, but like your's it's furry, not slimy. Mine's more in patches than a carpet. I actually don't mind it too much, it's just that it makes the tank look too dark. >I've got a Pl*co but although he is working on the back of the tank the job >seems to be beyond him..... Sounds like my bristlenose!! >I'm wondering if it is Phosphate level after reading Tim's posting (thanks >Tim) Me too, I might see how much the filters are. >I'll continue following this thread. Please let me know how you get on You too ;-) SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) > >I've got the same problem as you in my Malawi tank...it's a bit like a green > >carpet on the rocks and substrate. It's not slimy or anything so does seem a [quoted text clipped - 19 lines] > > You too ;-) I actually left the tank alone this weekend (apart from the usual water change and scrape) as there are a couple of fry in there and I didn't want to upset them. However, I have made another observation since then, which as you are in England as well, depending on the area might be relevant. I have set up two tanks in the last few months - one is the Malawi tank and the other is a small 7.5gall species tank. Both I filled with tap water - the Malawi tank is not planted but the 7.5gall is heavily planted. Both tanks have this bright green algae stuff....the 7.5gall doesn't have the carpet yet. I'm wondering if there has been something added to the water recently....where are you based? I'm in Reading.... Gill <snip> >I'm wondering if there has been something added to the water >recently....where are you based? I'm in Reading.... I'm in Manchester, so we're on different water supplies. I don't think our water has changed, I've had problems with this sort of algae ever since I started keeping fish. I think my problem is a lot of light and nothing to use it up. I don't have any plants in there as the Malawis would probably look on them as salad, so the algae has free run on any nutrients. Thanks for the reply SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) > <snip> > >I'm wondering if there has been something added to the water [quoted text clipped - 8 lines] > > Thanks for the reply Hi Alan, How's the algae fight going? I checked for phosphates today which came out at 0.25 so not much to go on there. I noticed if I loosen the algae myself the fish will then eat it....obviously too lazy to scrape at it themselves but appreciative if I do all the hard work. Gill >Hi Alan, >How's the algae fight going? I checked for phosphates today which came out >at 0.25 so not much to go on there. I guess I should point out that I'm not really fighting algae, I just had a greenish tinge to my tank. I've fought algae before and it's awful. This is nothing like that. Anyway, I tried swapping the halogen lights for energy saving bulbs, which are basically little fluorescent tubes, but it didn't make any difference. The slight green fur on the glass came back just as fast as with the halogens. SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) The planted tank is using some the nitrates/phosphates present in your tank-water. I wouldn't read too much into that. Try testing your tap-water for nitrates and phosphates, if it is clear, the problem is possibly due to over feeding and possibly over-lighting. If either are present, you may have to consider using RO/DI water and 'artificially' rebuilding it like some of us need to. It's a pain. I apologize if I've missed some of the early posts but how old are your tanks? Mark > The planted tank is using some the nitrates/phosphates present in your > tank-water. I wouldn't read too much into that. Try testing your tap-water [quoted text clipped - 10 lines] > ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** > ---------------------------------------------------------- Mine is 3-4 months...haven't tested for phosphates yet but nitrates are 10. Had no problem with this until the last 2-3 weeks but have noticed the same problem in a tank I set up 3 weeks ago that is heavily planted.....looking for test kits for phosphate over the weekend.... Gill Gill It doesn't sound like Nitrates are the problem. At 3 to 4 months old (which is still relatively young) I wouldn't worry TOO much, it may be a passing fad. But do check the phosphates and also keep the feeding to a minimum. In a crisis period like this, I reduce the feeding to every other day, or twice a week (I know the fish are begging for the food but you have to remember that relative starvation is normal in the wild!) - keep the feeding small and only use quality feeds that are nitrate and phosphate free.. Again, I'm sorry if I missed the earlier posts, but with a heavily planted tank, you can probably get away with 9 or 10 hours of lighting but in theory, the higher plants should out compete the algae if they are able to. If you have CO2 and feed with a nitrate/phosphate free feed, this shouldn't be a problem. I hope it helps Mark > Gill > [quoted text clipped - 20 lines] > ** SPEED ** RETENTION ** COMPLETION ** ANONYMITY ** > ---------------------------------------------------------- Hi Mark, Thanks for your post....nitrites and ammonia are 0, I'm not too much worried about the nitrates as this is not a planted tank....and they are still relatively low. No CO2 unit. The food that I use as their staple does contain Phosphates so I think trying to find a phosphate test or remover is a good idea. One thing I did see today when I did my bi-weekly algae fight is that if I loosen the algae enough the Mbunas will eat it. So I'm thinking doing this and then skipping a feed and letting nature take it's course. Gill Sounds like a good plan! Mark > Sounds like a good plan! > > Mark Phosphates are 0.1 so nothing to write home about. So I think it's manual clean up time and let the Mbunas do the rest Gill > > Sounds like a good plan! > > [quoted text clipped - 4 lines] > > Gill Woops - meant 0.25 > Hello, Hi Allan First off, I think that is ALOT of light for that tank. If you must keep all that light then shorten the photo period (only put the lights on at night while you are home, no need for them to be on all day long. Try to angle the lights so they are shining toward the back of the tank and not onto the front glass. Really no need for all that light on a Malawi setup, unless you're growing marijuana at the base of the tank :) HTH -- Kind Regards Cameron >First off, I think that is ALOT of light for that tank. I know, but the whole point of the tank is for it to be seen, and with less light, it just doesn't show up. With the higher light, it looks stunning. Anyway, I would have thought this was fairly low compared with the African sunshine, no? I don't know how that rates in wattage, but I can look directly at the lights above my tank, I can't do that to the sun here in England, so the African sun would be way brighter. > If you must keep all >that light then shorten the photo period (only put the lights on at night >while you are home, no need for them to be on all day long. Problem there is that the tank is in a room that is occupied most of the day. Ideally we would like the lights on all day long as the room is used from about 7:30am pretty much non-stop until about 11pm. We have compromised and cut the photo period back to about 2pm to 10pm. > Try to angle the >lights so they are shining toward the back of the tank and not onto the >front glass. Already done that. The halogens were pointed more at the middle and back of the tank. I just changes them for some less directional lights, but they are still over the middle of the tank. > Really no need for all that light on a Malawi setup, unless >you're growing marijuana at the base of the tank :) HTH I didn't know it grew under water!! Not that I want doped fish... unless it might calm them down a bit!! I could do with getting Biffer to mellow out a bit, he's always chasing the other fish around. Beautiful fish, but a bully. Thanks for the reply. SignatureAlan Silver (anything added below this line is nothing to do with me) |
Reply to this Message |
 Sign In
 Join
 My Latest Posts My Monitored Threads My Blog My Photo Gallery My Profile My Homepage Start New Thread Enable EMail Alerts Rate this Thread
|
©2009 Advenet LLC Privacy Policy - Terms of Use
This website includes both content owned or controlled by Advenet as well as content owned or controlled by third parties.