kiwis Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 I have a cichlid tank with coral rock. My rock keeps getting a mustard colour algae on it. I can brush it off with a toothbrush but how can I prevent or reduce it? What will be causing it? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 1, 2017 Report Share Posted March 1, 2017 I assume the rock is white coral rock - if so it is a common happening. High nitrates, too much feeding, too much light can be the causes. Reduce these and perhaps add an algae eater or two depending on what sort of cichlids you keep. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis Posted March 4, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Yes white coral rock okay, last week Thursday I did a water change and cleaned my filter. I did a nitrate and nitrite test after which showed almost 0 of both. I've done a test now (Sunday) and the result is basically the same. The algae has grown worse however. so I reduced the light yesterday to 4 hours I think and will leave it like this for a week and see if it improves. What are some good Cichlid algae eaters out there? I'm reasonably new to cichlids. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shilo Posted March 4, 2017 Report Share Posted March 4, 2017 Check your phosphate levels, this is another algae cause in addition to light and nitrates. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis Posted March 6, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 6, 2017 I'll need to get a test kit for phosphate. Is this likely to be a problem? I'm doing 30% water changes twice a week at the moment. Does the type of light make a difference? i'm using lights from a planet aquarium so am blasting a lot of kelvins into the tank but for 4 hours. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Shilo Posted March 7, 2017 Report Share Posted March 7, 2017 Balance, balance, balance..... Complex plants are more efficient then algae but algae is more "adaptable". Thus if there is any left over nutrients that the plants don't use the algae will take advantage of it and grow. But if the plants are using all available nutrients (ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, phosphates, micro-nutrients like iron & other minerals etc) then the algae will starve. So the secret is to put into the tank only enough for good plant growth but not enough to encourage the algae. Unless you are using ferts "putting into" means fish food. Also part of balance is controlling light & CO2. Forget about Carbon Dioxide unless you are turbo charging the plant growth by pumping in CO2, ultra bright lights and fertilisers. Too much light will encourage algae & too little will effect plant growth. Cutting lights back to 4hrs / day will slow down the algae but will also slow plant growth & once you up the time period again (because of plant die off) the algae will just return unless the other parts of the equation (nutrients etc) are balanced out. You don't introduce algae to a tank, it will always find its way there and even if it disappears it will come back once things get out of wack again. Complex plants make use of the blue and red spectrum of light but don't worry about this as its more important to have the above in balance. If the lights are too bright then you could always try covering it with shade cloth or something similar or lift it to dull it. Keep up the water changes and up the light period to 8 hours- dull it if its too strong. Experiment. Cut down on the fish food (they are cold blooded so don't need to eat as much as we do). Through trial and error you will eventually get to a level where the plants and fish are happy but the algae's not. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 I have no plants. cichild eat them. Should I have a couple anyway? what else could I use Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 It is common to have 0 nitrate when you have algae. This is because the algae is feeding off the nitrate you do have. What type of cichlids do you keep - african or american? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
kiwis Posted March 10, 2017 Author Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 2 hours ago, Adrienne said: It is common to have 0 nitrate when you have algae. This is because the algae is feeding off the nitrate you do have. What type of cichlids do you keep - african or american? That makes sense i have African. Why do you ask? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Adrienne Posted March 10, 2017 Report Share Posted March 10, 2017 You were asking about plants and also about algae eating fish - African cichlids need a tank with higher pH to thrive so that cuts down on what you can keep with them. American cichlids prefer a lower pH than Africans. Java fern can handle the higher pH but you will need to anchor it well to the rocks. Cichlids tend to not nibble on it much as apparently the leaves don't taste that pleasant, but it is a slow grower and will likely develop BBA which will need keeping under check with dosing of Excel. People do keep bristlenose ancistrus in cichlid tanks or even Common Plecostomus. Featherfin synodontis are another option. What pH is your tank? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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