Hey guys,
Just though i'd share some info with you about algae.
Algae tends to grow in lighting that has high peaks of blue in its colour spectrum, so if you have a S/w tank, I understand your problem completely. Plants are not able to use this lighting spectrum as algae are. Plants stop using provided lighting after it goes past 10,000K, where algae will start to dominate the tank. I do not reccomend anyone even getting 10,000K bulbs as they are on the brim of good algal growth.
Algae also tends to do well, when there are excess nutrients, especially Iron(in its soluble form). Iron isn't readily available in planted aquariums, although when soils are added to a tank, sunlight penetrating through the soil, releases the Iron from the Substrate, converting it into its water soluble form, which is extremely beneficial to algal growth. To prevent Iron from converting to its soluble form, simply use duct-tape/masking tape to cover the soil layers on the outside of the aquarium(on the bottom of the tank, around the areas of soil that are receiving sunlight).
Can I just add, although this isn't about algae. That most diseases and water quality conditions can be fixed in a natural way, so medications are generally not the way to go. They are not beneficial to the long term quality of your aquariums water.
I haven't gone far in depth about algae and its growth, but if the Moderatos/admins would like me to create a post, I could write something up, and run it by you...
Kind Regards,
Nicholas.
Similar Threads 
