Subj : How To Get Rid Of Algae
To   : All
From : Jeff Snyder
Date : Tue Jul 06 2010 03:40 pm

How To Get Rid Of Algae

Another "How-To" By Jeff Snyder...and he ought to know!  :)


Sooner or later, we all have this problem: Unsightly brown or green algae
begins to wildly grow all over our aquarium glass and decor. The natural
reaction is to start scrubbing away, hoping that we can eliminate this
unwelcome intruder from our tanks. However, quite often, to our chagrin, the
"evil stuff" is back again after only a few weeks.

So what happened? What went wrong?

The truth is that you may be attacking your algae problem from the wrong
direction. Rather than concentrating on eliminating the symptoms -- the
unsightly algae -- you need to get to the source of the problem; which, for
starters, is probably a high concentration of nitrate in your aquarium.

As you may already know, nitrate is a by-product of the nitrification cycle,
i.e., ammonia, nitrite, nitrate, free nitrogen.

The way it works is like this. Ammonia normally results from fish breathing,
as well as from fish feces, uneaten food, undiscovered dead tank mates, etc.
Unknown to you, and unseen by you, there are certain types of bacteria which
live within an aquarium environment -- on glass surfaces, on the surfaces of
your decor, within the substrate, (gravel, sand), inside your filter tubes
and filter media, etc. These bacteria -- which are called nitrosomonas and
nitrobacters -- break down, or oxidize, the ammonia into nitrite, and then
the nitrite into nitrate. However, unless one uses special techniques, the
nitrate remains in your aquarium, and slowly builds up over time. It is a
ticking time bomb.

Like phosphates, nitrate is the perfect food source for algae. So the root
of your algae problem is more than likely excessive organic waste somewhere
in your system, which over time is being broken down into nitrate.

So how do you eliminate your algae problem? My suggestions to you are the
following:

1. Use a turkey baster or gravel vacuum to clean out your substrate. In the
case of a turkey baster, "dusting" your substrate and decor on a regular
daily basis will allow detritus to be suspended in the water column, where
it will eventually be sucked out of the aquarium by your external filters.
If you use a gravel vacuum, the detritus will immediately be syphoned out of
the aquarium along with the water.

2. Check and replace or clean all filter pads, cartridges and other media on
a regular basis. Don't wait until your filters are totally clogged before
taking action.

3. Check and clean out all filter tubing on a regular basis.

4. Manually remove excess algae from glass and tank decor as much as
possible.

5. Verify that your bio-load -- number of fish -- is not too heavy for the
size of your tank. You don't want your fish swimming in their own invisible
sewage. Such conditions will stunt their growth, and will result in other
health problems, such as an assortment of diseases, or even eventual death.

6. Do not overfeed your fish. Uneaten food is a primary source of nitrate
build-up.

7. Conduct 25% -- or more -- water changes on a regular basis, meaning at
least once a week. If you already have an algae problem, I would suggest a
water change of 50%, and I would consider doing it twice a week until your
nitrate level drops to an acceptable level. Of course, you will need to
purchase a nitrate test kit in order to properly monitor the nitrate level
in your tank.

8. Unless you have a heavily-planted aquarium which requires an extended
photo period, try reducing the number of hours that you keep on the aquarium
lights each day.

I hope that the above helps.

Please let us know how it goes.

Thanks!


Jeff Snyder, SysOp - Armageddon BBS  Visit us at endtimeprophecy.org port 23
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