Hello everybody.
The algae in my 50 gallon fish tank is starting to grow a little more rapidly than normal. I suspect it's from poor water conditions. I'm awful, I know, but I have to be at school 9 hours per day and then I have dogs to walk when I come home, food to make, and homework to do. The fish have been all but completely neglected.
Anyway, my tank is already completely unsightly. Instead of falling into a peaceful bliss when I see it, I cringe and wonder why I bothered. I don't have anything in the background and all my plants died (it was a very weak attempt to raise them, I must admit) and I really don't have much of anything for decor. It's depressing
But at least it used to have crystal clear water which could be viewed through crystal clear glass. Now I don't even have that.
Now, I'm not that great with my algae types, but I've mostly just had that totally not annoying brownish stuff that the MTSs love. I don't mind it either (besides at the very bottom near the sand) because it scrapes right off.
however, now I'm getting little splotches of what I'll admit is a gorgeous bright green, but it's incredibly difficult to remove. In fact, I might go so far as to say that I can't remove it.
My question is this:
What do I do to remove algae? I really, really, really, really, really don't want to scratch my tank - it's brand new. Let me stress that again - I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to scratch it.
At the same time, it would be nice to get rid of the algae. Until now, I've just used one of those awkward rubber scrapper things.
I also considered shielding my tank from any and all light for a while. Logically, it seems like it would kill off the algae, but I suppose it may take a long while and have adverse effects on my fish. I also thought the dead algae 'bodies' might stick even after they're... dead.
I know, this is a total beginner ish question. But I really haven't had a problem with it until now, so I just don't know.
The algae in my 50 gallon fish tank is starting to grow a little more rapidly than normal. I suspect it's from poor water conditions. I'm awful, I know, but I have to be at school 9 hours per day and then I have dogs to walk when I come home, food to make, and homework to do. The fish have been all but completely neglected.
Anyway, my tank is already completely unsightly. Instead of falling into a peaceful bliss when I see it, I cringe and wonder why I bothered. I don't have anything in the background and all my plants died (it was a very weak attempt to raise them, I must admit) and I really don't have much of anything for decor. It's depressing
But at least it used to have crystal clear water which could be viewed through crystal clear glass. Now I don't even have that.
Now, I'm not that great with my algae types, but I've mostly just had that totally not annoying brownish stuff that the MTSs love. I don't mind it either (besides at the very bottom near the sand) because it scrapes right off.
however, now I'm getting little splotches of what I'll admit is a gorgeous bright green, but it's incredibly difficult to remove. In fact, I might go so far as to say that I can't remove it.
My question is this:
What do I do to remove algae? I really, really, really, really, really don't want to scratch my tank - it's brand new. Let me stress that again - I REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY REALLY don't want to scratch it.
At the same time, it would be nice to get rid of the algae. Until now, I've just used one of those awkward rubber scrapper things.
I also considered shielding my tank from any and all light for a while. Logically, it seems like it would kill off the algae, but I suppose it may take a long while and have adverse effects on my fish. I also thought the dead algae 'bodies' might stick even after they're... dead.
I know, this is a total beginner ish question. But I really haven't had a problem with it until now, so I just don't know.