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Algae & Cleanliness Problems


RunningWithScissors

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Hey guys! Before I get started, thank you for any advice or help in advance! 

Ok, so I have a single 70l  tropical aquarium, which contains a single molly (who is going back to the store), six zebra danios and three albino cory catfish (which I have been lead to believe is relatively understocked). I have fine black sand as substrate, a couple of rocks, a sword plant of unknown type and some hygrophila as decorations.  

I change the water and clean the tank once a week, but it is still constantly dirty! The outlet and intake of the filter quickly become blocked with a strange dark brown alage to the point where the water stops flowing within a few days, that refuses to come off unless taken off and scrubbed vigorously. The plants quickly become coated and tangled in messes of a fine green hair algae, that once again is hard to remove. As well as all of this, the sand quickly becomes coated in strange white and brown dirt and various debri which I can only assume are feces and plant matter. No matter how hard I try, the tank always smells foul, and my test kits have run out, and my new ones will not be here till the 14th, but last time I tested the water, they where fine, with no ammonia or nitrites in sight. Still, surely there must be a reason for my tank running amok like this and some way I can fix these problems!

If you have any advice for me that would be amazing!

 

Edited by RunningWithScissors
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Try  pumping some fresh air into it if you don't already. 

I have a tank with a close fitting hood, that does not allow for the proper circulation of fresh air into it. 

An airstone on a little pump improves the fish , and the filter almost immediately. 

Vacuum the substrate again.

It will be some simple thing you've overlooked.

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Your stocking level does seem on the low side, which is good.

Could you tell us what type / brand / rated capacity / flow rate your filter is? How long has the tank been set up?

Sounds like the most likely cause of your problem would be either overfeeding, or excessive light levels, or both together.

You could try cutting down feeding to once a day (ie half as much as you feed now) and/or reducing light levels in the tank (especially if you are getting any direct sunlight on the tank - sometimes the lower angle of the sun in winter can let direct sunlight onto your tank where there is none during summer). Give it a week and then see if anything has changed.

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  • 2 weeks later...

I had a similar problem when one of my first tanks got a horrific brown algae bloom, and no matter what I did, I couldn't seem to get rid of it. At one point I could barely see the ornaments at the front of the tank (160 ltr tank).

I finally forked out for a Blue Planet UV purifier, 24watt, and within 24 hrs the water was crystal clear. I was told it could take up to a week with the purifier, but it was literally within 24 hrs.

I had been a bit iffy about getting one, as so many people say they are a waste of time/money.

After that I  put one in every new tank setup, and I  have never had an algae problem of any kind in any tank since.

Be prepared for some major filter maintenance after, though. All that dead algae going through the filter system is murder on it. I had to take apart the filter system and strip the powerhead, to get everything running properly after that. Fun times!

Edited by zombieworm
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UV works brilliantly if the algae is free floating in the water column as it is zapped passing through the uv sleeve, and if the flow rate through the uv is slow enough to give it enough exposure. Your problem could be stem plants rotting.  These are generally the cheaper plants sold in shops ie 5 for $... And without much of a root structure. Most of these are grown emersed and either take a long time to convert to submersed, if at all. 

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