A Whole New World

[Edarion]

During the holidays, I took the time to make some interesting changes to my tank. Did some research and came to the conclusion....Why fight all the algae? it doesn't bother the fish. Why should it bother me so much? As long as WC are being done and the lighting controlled properly. The algae that is in there now won't expand anymore in any case. After all, it is a naturally occuring phenomenon.

But what I really needed to fix right away was the two largest inhabitants in the tank. The pleco and the crayfish.
Luckily, the fates smiled upon me. An individual responded to my craigslist ad and was willing to pay $35 for the pleco ,small container of gravel, and duckweed. What's more is that this individual had just purchased a 50 gallon tank.

I had really liked the pleco. So in the process of fishing....

We took some good-bye pics Here we go!!!!!

Definitely more to come so stay tuned

[Morainy]

Hi Edarion. That is a very handsome and personable pleco! I bet you're going to miss him. But it sounds like he's going to a good home.

I agree about algae being natural. I don't mind it at all. In fact, I like to have a little bit to keep the critters happy.

[neven]

algae is the devil! Well i know its natural, the goal is to balance your aquarium so the plants out compete the light needed for the algae to process the nutrients that will always be present in the aquarium. When you see no algae, its still there, but its at the levels it should be, unnoticeable.

Some algaes can be devastating to a tank. GDA will block out all your viewing and could choke nutrients from the plants. Cyanobacterias can choke out oxygen. Various hair algaes just outright ruin the display because they overrun the whole tank. That is why we fight the algae.

There will always be a spec of BBA here or there, as there will always be green spot algae. Once a tank has clado, it likely will have it permanently, but an algae eating crew plus a balanced system will cripple its growth so bad that you very rarely need to remove it manually.

Now if you say screw it and dont fight the algae that pops up early, you can have a see of black brush, ruined slow growing plants like anubias because they are so full of BBA and GSA. Its kind of like having a lovely flower garden, but dandelions peak up everywhere through it, ruining your vision on what you wanted the garden to look like.

Another thing to mention, think of plant trading, many here dont like to get algae infested plants, so all your clippings end up being compost.

if you never can seem to start winning the battle against algae, there is always the same reason, you have a light fixture directly on the tank. I hung my fixture because i got sick of dealing with algae, and it fixed all my issues (unless i get lazy with EI). for those who dont want to hang their fixtures, you need to make a diffuser for your light, a piece of glass could help, as the condensate will block some light, or even a window screen made to fit into the rim of your tank (or custom cut mesh). Dont use acrylic, it bows from the heat.

Key:
GDA= Green dust algae - covers all surfaces and makes your tank unviewable
BBA= black brush/black beard/red brush/red beard algae - furry little patches, or large areas depending on outbreak
GSA= Green Spot algae - Green spots on glass/leaves. Glass = excess light not being absorbed by plants in the area; plants = too much light and/or phosphorous deficiency
clado= Cladophoria, ruins your mosses, green fine hairs that clump into a mass, the moss balls are a non invasive form of it