Algae Destroyer!!!!!!

[KyleBradley]

Well, sorry for the long-winded post, but I have some questions that require stories..

I had asked a question about my 20-gallon hex being cloudy perpetually, and another member said they had the same issue with their hex and eventually sold it as a result..

Well, after trying something that wasn't very highly recommended-Crystal Clear, which looked like iodine, and having no success, I gave up.. I bought another clear water product and tried that one, too.. That one turned my water brown for several days, and when it cleared it was still cloudy.. I was at my wits end.. I had been doing regular gravel vacuuming and water changes, and I made sure my filter media wasn't excessively coated with waste and food, but nothing worked.. So I sold it soon after setting up my new 35-gallon high-top tank..

Well, wouldn't you know it, my 35-gallon became cloudy, too, even after being thoroughly cycled.. It was not at all overstocked, and all my levels were good-Ph, Ammonia, Nitrites and Nitrates.. Everything checked out perfectly, and I'm using the Emperor Bio-Wheel, so I know there is plenty of filtration and oxygenation..

I began to suspect that it was just a symptom of my tap water and just accepted it. It wasn't getting worse, and it wasn't getting better..

Well, I got the idea to try Algae Destroyer. I put in the recommended amount, and the tank looked better overnight.. But it didn't look perfect.. I tried a half-does the next day, and now my water is the most crystal clear that I've ever seen it, and it's been over a week! It's the way I always wanted my hex, but never tried it.. I would have never sold it if I knew what I know now..

I think that I overfeed my fish.. I don't mean to, but I feel kind of sorry for them if there isn't food floating all over the tank for them to eat.. It settles to the bottom in a matter of minutes, and the corydoras are busy for a while eating it, as well as the gouramis..

Now my questions-I have two live plants in the tank now-one large broad-leaf plant, and one smaller plant that goes more out than up..

1. Will the algae destroyer affect my plants, or is it engineered enough to only affect algae somehow?

2. I have the urge to put Floral Pride drops in my take for my plants, but will this plant food feed the algae?

It seems like a very delicate balance game..

 

[stoddern]

my first question is did you properly was all your decorastion like rocks caves and fake plants before putting in the new tank? if not you simply brought the algae from the old tank to the new one I have an old toothbrush and a special bucket that are used only for algae and disease battles where I mix a 10:1 bleach mix being 10 parts water 1 bleach and I let them soak for awhile then scrub and rinse very well do not do this to plants, you might get away with driftwood but I don't because I worry about it soaking up bleach, if you did this or a simular cleaning then you might want to look at the suroundings not the water either your on city or well water either way there shouldn't be an algae issue with it you'd taste it in the water and you would probly have digestive issues like the runs, i would be more concerned with the house being very damp if theres a pipe leaking in a wall or water seaping in through the foundation or something like that would cause mold, mildew and algae spores to be in the air, granted it can be very expensive to get this tested it is really easy to do a visual inspection of base boards, lower wall sections in the bathroom and in the basement areas, you should also be able to feel that kind of moisture in the air in the area that is damp, even if the tank isn't near an area like that the air flows around and brings spores

 

[misterking]

Unfortunately, algae gets into tank one way or another, not neccessarily on other decorations but in water from the fish store, on plants etc etc.

What does the Algae Destroyer say on the bottle? Does it have any guidelines when using with plants? I would be a bit hesitant when using it with live plants myself, unless it says on the bottle or box that it doesn't affect it.

Using fertilisers for your live plants is unfortunately likely to feed algae. Are you sure the cloudiness wasn't just bacteria bloom? It seems bizarre that it was so persistent, and personally I'd point to a combination of overfeeding and local water.

I used to feed my tank fish once a day and they thrived, unfortunately many fish will eat for the sake of it and practically beg. My goldfish and koi in the pond are terrible for this, swimming right up as soon as you're near the pond like they've been starved for weeks, rather than being fed half an hour before!



stoddern, although some of what you said is quite true, I don't think damp in the house would affect the fish tank honestly, and you know if you've got damp, you can smell the wet plaster. Also, don't want to sound rude in any way, sorry if it comes across as that, but i found your post quite hard to read and ended up skimming it. Please in the future try to break up your text with appropriate punctuation and paragraphing because for other forum members, particularly ones as tired as me right now (lol), it can get quite hard to read and end up confusing when written as one long sentence. Again, sorry stoddern if this comes across as rude, I don't mean to!

 

[KyleBradley]

Unfortunately, algae gets into tank one way or another, not neccessarily on other decorations but in water from the fish store, on plants etc etc.

What does the Algae Destroyer say on the bottle? Does it have any guidelines when using with plants? I would be a bit hesitant when using it with live plants myself, unless it says on the bottle or box that it doesn't affect it.

Using fertilisers for your live plants is unfortunately likely to feed algae. Are you sure the cloudiness wasn't just bacteria bloom? It seems bizarre that it was so persistent, and personally I'd point to a combination of overfeeding and local water.

I used to feed my tank fish once a day and they thrived, unfortunately many fish will eat for the sake of it and practically beg. My goldfish and koi in the pond are terrible for this, swimming right up as soon as you're near the pond like they've been starved for weeks, rather than being fed half an hour before!



stoddern, although some of what you said is quite true, I don't think damp in the house would affect the fish tank honestly, and you know if you've got damp, you can smell the wet plaster. Also, don't want to sound rude in any way, sorry if it comes across as that, but i found your post quite hard to read and ended up skimming it. Please in the future try to break up your text with appropriate punctuation and paragraphing because for other forum members, particularly ones as tired as me right now (lol), it can get quite hard to read and end up confusing when written as one long sentence. Again, sorry stoddern if this comes across as rude, I don't mean to!

I'm pretty sure it was algae, because the water is crystal clear now, and the bubbles made by the filter are very crisp and not sudsy as they were before.. It's the clearest I've ever seen any tank... I'm glad that my algae problem is under control, but I really want my plants to thrive, as well.. I was told by a PetCo employee that the plants eat the fish waste in the rocks and that vacuuming the gravel will inhibit plant healthiness.. Any truth to this?

Regarding what stoddern said, you said what I was thinking... That advice was a little too far out there.. I don't live in a dungeon... Thank, though..

 

[misterking]

There is SOME truth in it, but it's more a case of the plants absorb nitrate and other parts that make up fish waste. Some absorb nitrate more efficiently than others, but hoovering the gravel once in a while is more vital to prevent bacteria building up and fouling the water, and makes it look generally neater. It shouldn't affect the plants too much, as the substances they absorb are mainly mixed with the water.