How to Prevent and Remove 5 Most Common Types of Aquarium Algae?
Have you ever dreamt of having a
fancy fish tank but end up battling constantly against algae? This is a common
phenomenon & many hobbyists are fighting to secure their tank from
overgrowth of algae. Hence in this article we will tell you how to control overgrowth of algae which
could be troublesome because it not only affects the look of your aquarium but can
cause imbalance too.
Red Cherry Shrimps can help you get rid of algae
5 Most Common Aquarium Algae Types & How to Treat them:
If your aquarium water produce
too much algae, then follow our tips & tricks to control its growth. But if
you know about types of algae then it can help you in accomplishing the required
steps for limiting the specific type of algae. Find the type of algae growing
in your fish tank & complete the required measures if you want to reduce it
quickly. Below you can find 5 different types of problematic algae, its
precautions & cure:
Brown Algae:
Brown Algae is also called gravel
or silica algae. It develops in fresh tanks, & will cover the fish tank in
coats, which is not difficult to remove. It is not that harmful & as your
fish tank gets older, then Brown Algae won’t grow in it.
The reason behind the overgrowth
of brown algae is using 100 percent tap water in fish tank. Also high quantity
of phosphate, nitrates & too much light exposure can help grow brown algae.
Use algae scrapper to wipe out
brown algae & after algae is scrapped off, use soft cloth to wipe off the
region. If you find that brown algae has not been removed then do a 50 percent
water change to take out the nutrients that brown algae needs for growth.
Blue Green Algae:
Other names of Blue Green Algae
are slime or smear algae, & the main causes for its overgrowth include
excess of nitrate & phosphate in fish tank. It is difficult to control
growth of this type of algae due to its easy spread. If you maintain clean
water then it will help control its growth but if there is high phosphate level
in aquarium water then for reducing the growth of blue green algae, it will
require special treatments to wipe out the extra nutrients. Erythromycin can be
used to remove this type of algae, but it is recommended to use it carefully,
because it can destabilize the good bacteria colonies growing inside your
biological filter.
If you want to get rid of Blue
Green algae, then turn off your aquarium lights as it is the main reason behind
its overgrowth.
Change 50 percent tank water to
remove as much blue green algae as you can. Then check your aquarium to monitor
levels of toxic components & if it is lower than 20 ppm, then try adding
adequate potassium nitrate to your aquarium.
Add an airstone & turn off
light completely & cover up your aquarium for 3 to 4 days. Then make
another 50 percent water change & remove the airstone.
Also fast growing plants can help
lower the nutrients that blue green algae use for growth. Try adding few of
them to your aquarium for limiting blue green algae growth.
Red or Beard Algae:
It is difficult to remove red or
beard algae from tank water & it commonly produces on plants. Your plants
need a dip in a weak (5 to 10 percent) bleach solutions for a few minutes to
remove this type of algae from them.
Red or beard type of algae that
generates a red light protein also called phycoerythrin. Such protein provides
this type of algae the purplish black look.
Beard algae is very slippery
& can infest driftwood, bogwood, plants that grows slowly, along with hard
surfaces of aquarium.
Reasons behind overgrowth of black
beard algae includes:
- Imbalance of carbon dioxide in water.
- High nutrients in water
- Too much exposure to light
Black Beard Algae can be wiped
out manually using an algae scrapper. It would be tough so using Seachem
Flourish Excel can assist you in this procedure.
It is also suggested to dip the
plants & objects infected by red or beard algae in a 1:20 ratio of bleach
& water solution for two to three minutes.
Green Algae:
Green Algae is also called hair,
thread or spot algae. This type of algae is healthy & every fish tank will
most likely experience it based on conditions of water. If you can maintain
clean water, then its growth will be limited. Algae eating fish eat this type
of algae, so it is advisable to have a few of them in your fish tank.
The reasons behind the overgrowth
of green algae includes using high light bulbs for long periods of time. Place
your aquarium in direct sunlight & limited quantity of macronutrients.
In order to wipe out green algae
then simple method is to use a timer to control the duration of aquarium
exposure to light. Make sure your aquarium lights are turned off for at least
12 hours every day to control the overgrowth of green algae.
Green Water:
Other names of green water are
algae bloom, & the most common reason behind its overgrowth is the growth
of microscopic algae suspended in tank water. It is a tough process to remove
green algae from aquarium water because it cannot be removed or scrapped off
similar to other types of algae. If you change aquarium water, then the
leftover algae will grow back rapidly. The perfect method for removing this type
of algae is using diatomic filter or block lights fully for more than a few
days. Also make sure your aquarium does not have high levels of ammonia,
nitrite, nitrate or phosphate because it can be the reason for its fast
overgrowth. In case of high toxic components that we have mentioned above, do a
quick water change for lowering its amount in water.
Due to following reasons you can
observe green water in aquarium:
- Spike in aquarium lights
- Too much nutrients in aquarium water
- Not changing water regularly
If you make a partial or full
water change for removing this algae, then it will not work here because green
water will appear after 2 to 3 days.
We recommend using a UV
sterilizer or use a blackout method that we have already defined in blue green
algae. You can have a look at all steps below:
Add an airstone & turn off
light completely & cover up your aquarium for 3 to 4 days. Then make
another 50 percent water change & remove the airstone.
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