I went on vacation for 14 days and put my dad in charge of all the critters running about my apartment. He did a great job (nothing died), but when I came back my 10 gallon was green. And I don't mean just a little algae here and there, this was a greenish of epic proportions. Algae covered every inch of every thing in the tank. I dunno how the fish didn't die because it had grown all over the uptake tube of my filter and it had stopped working.
I took everything out of the tank and scrubbed and cleaned all the plants and the gravel/sand as best I could. It was beyond gross.
What my question is though is what caused this and how to I keep it from happening again? I know that they didn't get a water change for the 14 days, but I did do a water change and put a new filter cartage in before I left. And there was no hint of greenage. The tanks i away from windows so it doesnt get any sunlight and the light gets turned off every night and on every morning.
I took everything out of the tank and scrubbed and cleaned all the plants and the gravel/sand as best I could. It was beyond gross.
What my question is though is what caused this and how to I keep it from happening again? I know that they didn't get a water change for the 14 days, but I did do a water change and put a new filter cartage in before I left. And there was no hint of greenage. The tanks i away from windows so it doesnt get any sunlight and the light gets turned off every night and on every morning.