Algae (evil stuff)

[Luca]

Hey, i've got a new 4-foot tank with two 4-foot bulbs lighting, problem is i get brown algae growing on teh sides of the tank regularly and green algae growing on the stones daily! the gravel cleaner doesn't suck it up very well either and i'm worried i'll get all this algae living in/under my substrate.

I'm reducing my hours of light from 12 to 10, what else can i do?

Advice appreciated

[Carol_Roberts]

Take a white paper towel or a sponge and wipe the brown diatoms and green algae off the glass and rocks. These accumulate in all tanks, but are easiest to control in bare tanks

[95jeepxj]

Check your phosphate and nitrate levels in the tank and your tap water. Is this a planted tank?

jake

[angel12]

As above it sounds like you have Phosphate and Nitrate in your tap water if this is not a planted tank you need to action more water changes another alternative its to get some phosphate removing resin like Rowaphos wich will help or get some Alage Eating fish such as Octacinclus or Bristlenose Plec they will eat this in a matter of days ..... but my guess is that you have Phosphate/Nitrate in Your source water which could be the underlying Problem

HTH

[DRF.in.IGH-MN]

Algae, like plants, need light to grow and thrive. Therefore it won't grow under your substrate. It will grow on top and near the surface. If you don't have plants in your tank, turn your lights off. Ten hours of light will encourage algae growth in any tank. Turn your lights on when you want to see your fish or for 4-6 hours per day only.

[Luca]

mmm...thanks for replies guys,
-the tank is a planted by the way, at least the plants are doing well along with the algae

I sponged clean the brown algae on the walls of the tank but it always seemed to reappear, however after reducing the hours (by automatic timer) to 10 hours it seems to have dramatically reduced. The green algae on the stones is appearing at a much slower rate.

-good to hear it won't grow "under" the stones, was worried about that.

cheers for replies,
Luca.

[DRF.in.IGH-MN]

Here's link to a short but concise article on algae control.
http://honors.montana.edu/~weif/firsttank/algae.phtml

The article is geared toward a planted community tank and not a planted discus tank but the general principals are the same.

IMO 12-14 hours is more light than is required. I had a planted discus tank for a year and it thrived on only 10 hours of light per day (120 watts of flourescent plant lights on a 75 gallon tank). Unfortunately the algae also thrived. I was never able to control it so I gave up after a year and switched to driftwood and rocks instead of plants.