How do I avoid algae in a tank ?

[Alan Silver]

Hello,

I am in the process of researching for a new tank (Malawi cichlids) and
want to get it right from the start. One thing that bothers me is algae.
I have a well-planted tropical tank which does not have too much
trouble, but that's mainly 'cos I fertilise it and inject CO2. This new
tank won't have any of that, but I still want to make sure I don't get
the old green plague.

Tank parameters :-

*) 220 litre, 24" cube tank

*) water will probably be around pH8 and hard (basically I have soft
neutral water out of the tap, but am going to use a crushed coral
substrate)

*) Lighting unknown as yet, but will not be huge. Most cichlid tanks
seem to have a blue light and a white light. I assume the white is a
normal tube, but no idea yet what the blue one is, nor if it contributes
to the light for plants/algae. Due to the shape of the tank, lighting
will probably be two 18" or 24" tubes.

*) A few tough plants, such as Java Fern, Anubias, etc. Basically
limited to the ones that Tropica's site said are safe for veggie fish.

*) Water changes will be 10% twice per week.

Any tips for how to keep such a tank algae free ? I'm particularly
bothered about the plants as Tropica's site mentioned that Anubias (in
particular) are slow growing and so more likely to get algae as the
leaves hang around for longer. I know the last time I kept one I had
very great difficulty keeping the leaves clean.

Thanx for any help

--
Alan Silver

[mark]

Alan Silver wrote:
> Hello,
>
> I am in the process of researching for a new tank (Malawi cichlids) and
> want to get it right from the start. One thing that bothers me is algae.
> I have a well-planted tropical tank which does not have too much
> trouble, but that's mainly 'cos I fertilise it and inject CO2. This new
> tank won't have any of that, but I still want to make sure I don't get
> the old green plague.
>
> Tank parameters :-
>
> *) 220 litre, 24" cube tank
>
> *) water will probably be around pH8 and hard (basically I have soft
> neutral water out of the tap, but am going to use a crushed coral
> substrate)
>
> *) Lighting unknown as yet, but will not be huge. Most cichlid tanks
> seem to have a blue light and a white light. I assume the white is a
> normal tube, but no idea yet what the blue one is, nor if it contributes
> to the light for plants/algae. Due to the shape of the tank, lighting
> will probably be two 18" or 24" tubes.
>
> *) A few tough plants, such as Java Fern, Anubias, etc. Basically
> limited to the ones that Tropica's site said are safe for veggie fish.
>
> *) Water changes will be 10% twice per week.
>
> Any tips for how to keep such a tank algae free ? I'm particularly
> bothered about the plants as Tropica's site mentioned that Anubias (in
> particular) are slow growing and so more likely to get algae as the
> leaves hang around for longer. I know the last time I kept one I had
> very great difficulty keeping the leaves clean.
>
> Thanx for any help
>

I've kept algae pretty well in check by keeping the lights off most of
the time and minimizing the sunlight that hits the tank. Don't overfeed,
and a couple of good cleaner fish will help. I get a little algae on the
rocks, but hardly any on the glass.

HTH,
Mark

[Chuck Gadd]

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 16:08:51 -0500, mark > wrote:

>I've kept algae pretty well in check by keeping the lights off most of
>the time and minimizing the sunlight that hits the tank. Don't overfeed,
>and a couple of good cleaner fish will help. I get a little algae on the
>rocks, but hardly any on the glass.

But if the tank contains live plants, then that will not work.



Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua

[mark]

Chuck Gadd wrote:
> On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 16:08:51 -0500, mark > wrote:
>
>
>>I've kept algae pretty well in check by keeping the lights off most of
>>the time and minimizing the sunlight that hits the tank. Don't overfeed,
>>and a couple of good cleaner fish will help. I get a little algae on the
>>rocks, but hardly any on the glass.
>
>
> But if the tank contains live plants, then that will not work.
>
>
>
> Chuck Gadd
> http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua

I haven't had a lot of live plants in my tanks, esp. with Malawi
cichlids, but when I have had live plants, I had very few problems with
algae. I assumed this was because the plants were using up the nutrients
and leaving nothing for the algae.
Am I mistaken on that point?


Mark

[Chuck Gadd]

On Tue, 15 Jul 2003 22:07:04 -0500, mark > wrote:

>I haven't had a lot of live plants in my tanks, esp. with Malawi
>cichlids, but when I have had live plants, I had very few problems with
>algae. I assumed this was because the plants were using up the nutrients
>and leaving nothing for the algae.
>Am I mistaken on that point?

Well, I would guess that malawi cichlids eat lots of food, and
therefore produce lots of waste. And I'd bet that the tank didn't
have really high lighting. So I'd doubt the plants really did consume
all the nutrients.

I would probably bet that the tank just had low enough lighting to
avoid algae, and still keep lower-light plants alive.


Chuck Gadd
http://www.csd.net/~cgadd/aqua

[Alan Silver]

In article >, Chuck Gadd
> writes
>I would probably bet that the tank just had low enough lighting to
>avoid algae, and still keep lower-light plants alive.

Any idea what that level would be ? It sounds like what I want !!

--
Alan Silver

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

Use floating plants.
They need no CO2 and require less light since they are ight next to
the light. This also blocks the light for the algae.
I used Water sprite for my cichlids for many years.
If you have light, water and nutrients, something will grow.
You have a choice of what.

Regards,
Tom Barr


Alan Silver > wrote in message >...
> Hello,
>
> I am in the process of researching for a new tank (Malawi cichlids) and
> want to get it right from the start. One thing that bothers me is algae.
> I have a well-planted tropical tank which does not have too much
> trouble, but that's mainly 'cos I fertilise it and inject CO2. This new
> tank won't have any of that, but I still want to make sure I don't get
> the old green plague.
>
> Tank parameters :-
>
> *) 220 litre, 24" cube tank
>
> *) water will probably be around pH8 and hard (basically I have soft
> neutral water out of the tap, but am going to use a crushed coral
> substrate)
>
> *) Lighting unknown as yet, but will not be huge. Most cichlid tanks
> seem to have a blue light and a white light. I assume the white is a
> normal tube, but no idea yet what the blue one is, nor if it contributes
> to the light for plants/algae. Due to the shape of the tank, lighting
> will probably be two 18" or 24" tubes.
>
> *) A few tough plants, such as Java Fern, Anubias, etc. Basically
> limited to the ones that Tropica's site said are safe for veggie fish.
>
> *) Water changes will be 10% twice per week.
>
> Any tips for how to keep such a tank algae free ? I'm particularly
> bothered about the plants as Tropica's site mentioned that Anubias (in
> particular) are slow growing and so more likely to get algae as the
> leaves hang around for longer. I know the last time I kept one I had
> very great difficulty keeping the leaves clean.
>
> Thanx for any help

[tcbiii@NOSPAMearthlink.net]

Use floating plants.
They need no CO2 and require less light since they are ight next to
the light. This also blocks the light for the algae.
I used Water sprite for my cichlids for many years.
If you have light, water and nutrients, something will grow.
You have a choice of what.

Regards,
Tom Barr


Alan Silver > wrote in message >...
> Hello,
>
> I am in the process of researching for a new tank (Malawi cichlids) and
> want to get it right from the start. One thing that bothers me is algae.
> I have a well-planted tropical tank which does not have too much
> trouble, but that's mainly 'cos I fertilise it and inject CO2. This new
> tank won't have any of that, but I still want to make sure I don't get
> the old green plague.
>
> Tank parameters :-
>
> *) 220 litre, 24" cube tank
>
> *) water will probably be around pH8 and hard (basically I have soft
> neutral water out of the tap, but am going to use a crushed coral
> substrate)
>
> *) Lighting unknown as yet, but will not be huge. Most cichlid tanks
> seem to have a blue light and a white light. I assume the white is a
> normal tube, but no idea yet what the blue one is, nor if it contributes
> to the light for plants/algae. Due to the shape of the tank, lighting
> will probably be two 18" or 24" tubes.
>
> *) A few tough plants, such as Java Fern, Anubias, etc. Basically
> limited to the ones that Tropica's site said are safe for veggie fish.
>
> *) Water changes will be 10% twice per week.
>
> Any tips for how to keep such a tank algae free ? I'm particularly
> bothered about the plants as Tropica's site mentioned that Anubias (in
> particular) are slow growing and so more likely to get algae as the
> leaves hang around for longer. I know the last time I kept one I had
> very great difficulty keeping the leaves clean.
>
> Thanx for any help

[Alan Silver]

In article >,
" > writes
>Use floating plants.
>They need no CO2 and require less light since they are ight next to the
>light. This also blocks the light for the algae. I used Water sprite
>for my cichlids for many years. If you have light, water and nutrients,
>something will grow. You have a choice of what.

That's an interesting idea ;-)

Only trouble with floating plants is that you can't see them ;-)

I was intending having some plants anyway, I just want to try and work
out what level of lighting is going to be enough to get them growing,
without having the algae grow as well.

Thanx for the reply

--
Alan Silver

[Alan Silver]

In article >, John
Sherwood > writes
<snip>
>I do not want to add too many chemicals to tanks.

Agreed. I don't want to add *any* chemicals. I want to avoid algae as
naturally as possible.

> I added various plants to tank usually the plants will root and the
>algae has disappeared.

That's what I'm hoping. I'm just trying to find the right levels to
ensure the plants grow and the algae doesn't.

Thanx for the reply

--
Alan Silver