Bad Algae Problems...

[Fantail_Lover]

Recently I've seen small deposits of green (string) algae forming on the bowfront of my tank. A tooth brush takes it right off, no problem. But then after a week or so it got worse and on one of my rocks the algaes growing thick, then I realized that it was everywhere.

So whats the deal? Will this hurt my fish or should I only remove it if I don't like the way it looks?

Should I use an Algae remover sold at the LFS??

-Xan

 

[Lotus]

No, it won't hurt your fish at all.

Some algae products will kill fish occasionall. In general, they don't solve the problem, and will do long-term harm to your plants.

If your tank is less than a year old, algae is common, and it will go away eventually. There are all kinds of ways to reduce algae with balancing lighting, ferts and CO2. Have you tested your phosphate and nitrate levels?

 

[broll]

Your nitrates are way too high. The should be in the 5 to no more than 10 range. Stop by you LFS and pick up a bunch of hornwort or water sprite. They are both cheap and consume a lot of nitrates.