algae frustration

[willo]

Hi there, just read all the advice given to Juls and will certainly implement it in trying to sort my algae issue out. I do have snails and plecos to help out. After cleaning the algae is back within the week. I'm very new at this, only had my set up for a month now so will be using this site to get lots of advice.
Thanks

Willo

[snyper564]

plecos will destroy plants wen they get bigger, u ideally want to go the otocinclus route for little tanks mates that will help out or go for the TRUE siamese algae eater theu are some of the best algae eaters around make sure its the TRUE SAE and not the chinese algae eater or flying fox as these tend to get slightly agressive and very large wen they get older. But its always good to rem that the fish will help but not solve whatever the prob maybe not sure wat advice u have been given or ur setup maybe ur overdosing with ferts or there is a nitrate spike pushing the growth Zoom suggested in the past covering ur tank totally and have a blackout for i think 2-3 day this should stunt the growth and rem wen doing this NO lights. Hope this helps oh yes and physically removing the algae also helps

[Zoom]

What size tank?
What type of lighting? (T5 or T8? Kelvin rating? Watts?)
How long is the light on for?

[willo]

Hi there,

The tank is 1.2 x 450 x 450. I currently have a blue tube in which I want to change, I'll find out the details once I'm home tonight. At the moment I've had the light on for about 14 hours but since your reply I've had it off. I'm going to keep it off for a couple of days and am physically removing the algae. Will contact you later re the lighting. Thanks. William

[dangerousd]

Is it in any direct sunlight? - I found this is the major casue of algae

[willo]

the tank is near a window but doesn't receive direct sunlight. I will just have to get more algae eaters and keep on cleaning. I don't reall have anywhere else to put the tank so I guess I'll have to live with it.

[mydummyname]

TRUE SAE and not the chinese algae eater or flying fox as these tend to get slightly agressive and very large wen they get older.

slightly OT here: the flying fox is actually very closely related to the rainbow shark and red-tail shark (ignore the colour differences and you will see they look almost identical) and will get very aggresive and territorial. it grows to a size of 12cm-15cm, with a beautiful personality but please take care when adding this fish (one only per tank) to your tank as even tho they are referred to as semi aggresive, they are actually very aggressive and may wreak havoc with your fish. tank mates should be carefully studied and considered.

[dangerousd]

Can you keep more than 1 Chinese algae eater? do they also become very agressive?

[mydummyname]

i would strongly suggest only one chinese algae eater. and do not keep with other fish that are shaped like sharks for example dont keep them with bala sharks.

[Zoom]

CAE like to be kept together. If they are kept on their own, they can start pestering other tank mates. They also are not great algae eaters by the way. The SAE is a far better algae eater, but extremely difficult to source. 99.9% of the time a LPS sells a SAE, but it's actually a CAE.

Your lighting is on FAR too long! You can actually HALVE that period down to 7 hours. I'm assuming you put the lights on in the morning, go to work, come home, and only turn off when you go to bed. Get youself a plug in timer, and only have the lights turn on at about 13h00... and turn off at 20h00 or 21h00.

Your lights also sounds incorrect.

[willo]

Hi the light I have in is a 30w, not sure what the Kelvin rating is, as I mention the light was on for about 14 hours but it has been off since yesterday. Willo

[Laure]

http://www.tropicalaquarium.co.za/showthread.php?1326-Fighting-algae

[willo]

CAE like to be kept together. If they are kept on their own, they can start pestering other tank mates. They also are not great algae eaters by the way. The SAE is a far better algae eater, but extremely difficult to source. 99.9% of the time a LPS sells a SAE, but it's actually a CAE.

Your lighting is on FAR too long! You can actually HALVE that period down to 7 hours. I'm assuming you put the lights on in the morning, go to work, come home, and only turn off when you go to bed. Get youself a plug in timer, and only have the lights turn on at about 13h00... and turn off at 20h00 or 21h00.

Your lights also sounds incorrect.

I do exactly that,turn the light on when I get up at 5 and off at bedtime so will look at a timer. What light do you recommend?