So I got home today and was like, "Gee I can't wait to see my fish," when it was fully of Algae and my sword tail was lying on the ground DEAD. I couldn't understand what went wrong. I took out the filter and it was all gunked out up Algae.
It was not a peasant moment.
Ok, so my question is aside from scrubbing of the Algae are there tablets I can drop in that would do the trick of getting rid of this green hell and restoring my water and glass to a pleasant crystal clear shine?
Also the fish that suck the glass are those good for getting rid of Algae?
What are your water parameters, Binary? From the sound of your post, you were gone for a few days? What type of algae do you have? Pictures will help. Algae will not kill your fish in a moment. It could be your water parameters that went off. Don't use chemicals. I don't think they are worth using at all. The only best way to prevent overproduction of algae is correct your water parameters. Clean your filter as well but not thoroughly.
One of the first questions I always ask my customers is their lighting situations. I know there are other factors with algea but the 2 most common things I see is too much light or extremely high nitrates. The first one is the most common problem and the easiest to fix. Many people feel the light should be on almost 24 hours a day, even at night. The truth is, fish need to have night and day cycles just like people do. Since there is ambient light already during the day, the light should definitely be off at night. How long do you leave your light on during the day? Here are solutions to both possible problems.
Too much light: scrub the algea and keep the light on for only a few hours a day (more if you have live plants). Once the algea is under control, gradually increase the light during the day until algea starts forming again. Also, if the tank is near direct sunlight, try to block it or move the tank. Direct sunlight will grow algea quickly.
Too much Nitrate: Simply do a water change and gravel vac. Do small changes at a time until the nitrates are at a healthy level.
I agree that using chemicals and tabs is a bad idea. Algea is something that can be controlled very easily if you know what you're doing. Algea eating fish work very well too. Plecos are the most common but most will grow very large (19"+) and will suck up smaller fish. Siamese or Chinese algea eaters do a good job and get aboyt 6" but get failry aggressive when full size. My personal favorite is a school of Oto cats. They only grow to about 2" and remain docile. They also do a good job on plants and ornaments.
The fish dying was most likely not a result of algea. Get the water tested and see exactly what is going on in your tank.
Are you keeping your tank in a shaded area or in full sun light?
A friend of mine kept his tank in his conservatory and wondered why it was constantly covered in algae and the water was green.
Less sun, and a max of 10 hours light a day - should sort out the problem.
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