Green Algae

[Johnnyfishtanks]

so i have a 180G i have 2 48inch T5 HO 10000k lights i have them on for 8 hrs .
i have white pool filter sand in my tank its getting quite a bit of green algae. what can i do. is there fish that eat this stuff. i was thinking maybe geo fish because they sift threw the sand lots . i just don't know what to do

[charles]

get oto, plecos, amano shrimp, etc. Or just cut down the time of light.

[Johnnyfishtanks]

get oto, plecos, amano shrimp, etc. Or just cut down the time of light.

i was thinking the with time of light

[stonedaquarium]

you might be using the wrong light for your tank? if you are doing a planted tank its more ideal to use 6700K anything above tends to grow more algae than plants... i used to use a 10K T5 as well and i got major algae... changed the light and adjusted photo period now the green algae is under control... with the help of some amanos and excel dosing.. hope that helps.

[Johnnyfishtanks]

you might be using the wrong light for your tank? if you are doing a planted tank its more ideal to use 6700K anything above tends to grow more algae than plants... i used to use a 10K T5 as well and i got major algae... changed the light and adjusted photo period now the green algae is under control... with the help of some amanos and excel dosing.. hope that helps.

i have 6700k too maybe i will try is there any fish that eats this stuff. ??
i brought down to 6 hr for a day did a big sand vac and there is still green algae. time will tell . i was thinking geos would like to eat this stuff to maybe i don't know

[BelieveInBlue]

Green algae like cyanobacteria? or like actual green algae? If its regular green algae, BN plecos or oto cats will rip through that stuff in a matter of days. If it's cyano, nothing will eat it. Do a big gravel vac, increase currents, making sure there are no dead spots, and dose nitrates until its at about 25ppm. There are also meds that will get rid of cyano.

[Johnnyfishtanks]

i have 3 little BN and they dont eat it . so i guess its cyanobacteria. i dose with metrecide every 2 days 40ml for a 180g

[stonedaquarium]

do you have a pic of what kind of green algae it is? does it look like slime covering the plants? or green filamentous algae... if its the former it might be Cyanobacteria... if its indeed cyanobacteria... then you would have to do a good gravel vac, manually remove as much as you can and then dose erythromycin... that worked for me and never came back... if its green algae (e.g. green dust, grean hair, clado, green spot or spirogyra) you can control it by monitoring your phosphates, photo period, algae eaters (BNP, otos, SAEs, or amanos) and excel...

[spit.fire]

imo switch to the 6700k bulbs it should cut down algae growth quite a bit, you can also run phosphate removers to help cut down on it (as far as i know, but i could be wrong)



if you want to get rid of all the algae, what has worked for me in the past is a complete blackout of the tank for a few days with a sheet covering it