Tropical Fish Forums

[yosef]

Hi,
I'm having a terrible time with green spot algae,and I'm thinking of using some type of chemical for example algazit tabs by Tetra or the likes.
Does anyone know if it really works and is it totally safe for planted aquariums.
Thanks.
P.S I've made sure its not the lighting and I do regular water changes
plus I fish out extra food.
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yosef.c.

[KhiaraFish]

I've heard that algae tabs are really just a Band-aid cure, and that you really need to look into the possible causes of the problem. What are the tank parameters, what size is the tank, what sorts of fish and plants do you have?
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Please, oh Please can someone help me!?

My fish mugged me and stole my wallet!

[yosef]

I already checked that there is not too many phosphates ext. as I said before.
P.S. Band-aids are also good sometimes.
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yosef.c.

[Freebird11]

Keep the organic load down by keeping runoff out of the pond and the sludge to a minimum. vacuum sludge that has already accumulated. Less than 1/4 of an inch of sludge on the bottom should not be a problem.
1. Don't over feed or keep more fish than your pond will support.
2. Install a large biological filter and give it time to work, this could take several months.
3. Use enough, and the right type of, aquatic plants. This means surface plants for shade and floaters and underwater plants to remove excess nutrients.
4. Use biological treatments and give them time to work. Microbe-Lift will help but this is an ongoing process and takes time along with the methods outlined above for balancing your pond.
5. Use AlgaeFix to eliminate existing problems more quickly. Barley Straw Extract can be used in ponds less than 3000 gallons.
6. Install an ultraviolet sterilizer for the most effective control of singe-cell (green water) algae.

[DaleJr]

Agreed with above: don't over feed.
I don't believe a UV Sterilizer is the answer (it is a bandaid as well)

Check your light duration (photo period) What type of lighting do you have and how is it mounted (on the glass or raised)

It appears you have excess organic that the plants can't consume. So get more plants. One recommendation would be a Water-Sprite, they are great.

Bandaids are a quick fix, but you will CONSTANTLY fixing. So fix it now and FORGET it.

Again what is your photo period and lighting setup. Also Excel helps some as well. Another thing a lot of the algae fix meds out there are NOT safe for aquarium plants, so look into that IF you go that route. And also the algae fixes are safe for inverts or snails.

[Rucker]

I haven't posted here in quite awhile, but I always want to jump into these algae discussions.

My tried and true method of dealing with algae: Plants and Patience.

I've been keeping fish about 5 years now, and every one of my tanks has gone through stages of different kinds of algae until the plants get established. The various kinds of algae that appear in each stage disappear as the nutrients available change because of the plant growth (that is my assumption about what is happening). Once the plants are well established, algae disappears altogether, never to return. Once I accepted that, I started enjoying watching the algaes come and go. The only thing I have ever added is Excel to improve plant growth (not to kill algae, though it does), and I have added that to only one tank.

By the way, Excel worked wonders in that tank in terms of plant growth. Highly recommend it for that.
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Rucker