UV Filters and Green Spot Algae

[kiwiplymouth 0]

My favourite display tank gets a little too much indirect light and consequently is the the only tank I have with green spot algae problems. As I'm sure you are all aware its a pain in the bum to clean especially as this tank is 700mm deep and an acrylic tube design. I'm thinking of getting a UV filter to help kill the spores. Can anyone tell me if a UV filter will help and if so what is a good brand or design. Cheers

[Ira 59]

It will have no significant effect on surface algae. Only on freefloating algae which causes green water.

[mitzy 0]

I dont know much about uv filters but did pick up some fish from a guys house and he was using one of them and his tank was green as. Wouldn't a catfish or algae eater be just as good

[kiwiplymouth 0]

Thanks Ira. Any other ideas on how to reduce green spot algae that don't involve moving my tank?

Mitzy, cheers but i already have plenty of plecs and algae eaters and they dont really touch green spot algae

[ryanjury 0]

I get it too but just scrape it off the front of the tank with a spare eftpos card, I think you may have to eliminate the light that is shining onto your tank as that is what is causing it, my bristlenoses don't seem to eat it maybe oto's or some other type would?

[kiwiplymouth 0]

Thanks Ryan, I will try the credit card approach. I'm hoping that the winter months will help relieve the problem.

[HaNs 1]

Go buy some flourish excel and add some plants that the pelcs wont touch

[kiwiplymouth 0]

This tank is already quite heavily planted with Amazon sword, Ludwigia, pennywort and windelov fern

[dcase 0]

Hi ... I have my tank in a situation where it gets some direct sunlight at certain times of day (can't place it anywhere else) ... got lots of green algae and solved it with the addition of 2 items:

1) a UV steriliser

2) a car window shade (the side window fold out mesh suction cup variety) stuck on to the sunnier side of the tank

Now water is pretty much clear although at end of every 2 weeks just before my 40% water change I get some green spotting (I really have to look for it to find it) which I use a scrubber to remove.

Good luck

[Robert Smith 0]

I get green spot algae in the winter when the sun is low and reflects off the windows of the building next door and onto one corner of my tank.

Ira, doesn't green spot spread through spores? So a UV filter should also reduce the amount of spores in the tank.

[tHEcONCH 0]

The simplist solution is to increase circulation across the face of the tank (perhaps with a little submerible pump). Once you clean it off, it won't be able to re-colonise if the water is moving too fast.

[tHEcONCH 0]

Ira, doesn't green spot spread through spores? So a UV filter should also reduce the amount of spores in the tank.

It spreads, but once attached to the glass it just grows there - it never gets near the UV filter.

[Ira 59]

And the volume of flow(And power) of the UV filter needed to make more than a tiny dent in the spread of the algae by killing the spores would be massive.

[Robert Smith 0]

So what's the point of UV filters?

[Ira 59]

Like I said, free floating algae, green water. Otherwise as far as algae goes it does nothing.

Diseases like ich it can help a bit, but you're better off not getting it in the first place.

[David R 63]

but you're better off not getting it in the first place.

Which a UV filter will help with by killing the ich when its in the free-swimming stage before it attaches to the fish.

With a UV you need to get the right balance between fast enough flow to turn over enough water to make it worth while and slow enough flor (and strong enough light) to maximise the waters exposure to the UV light to kill the spores.

I added one when I had a bad lingering whitespot problem and I think it helped. The guy at HFF suggested that I go for a pond one for a pond 10 times bigger than my tank (ie 3000L pond UV steriliser for my 300L tank).