cleanning dutie's

pepp76 · Post by **pepp76** » 01 Dec 2006, 22:26

hello,i have a 260l,4ft tank and have a problem with algae growth all over it.i have only one algae eater in it at the moment,a peppermint bristlenose.i suppliment her diet with bloodworm and courgette's.i was wondering if i added a male bristlenose would the pair manage to keep on top of the developing problem?or if there was room for another female as well as the male?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 04 Dec 2006, 11:49

How many fish you can add to the tank depends very much on what else is in the tank at the moment.

If you have plenty of algae in the tank and a bristlenose, I'd say that either the bristlenose isn't quite "up to the job" when it comes to the tank-size and algae growth, or (more likely), the algae is of such a type that it's not suitable for the bristlenose as food. They don't eat hair-algae (long fibrous stuff), nor do they eat hard spot algae (small round "spots" on the glass or plants). They do eat green soft algae and brown algae very well.

Also, adding more fish usually doesn't solve algae PROBLEMS, because it's usually caused by excess of all of the ingredients that make algae grow:
1. Nutrients - nitrate and phosphate - but also "imbalanced nutrients", where there is plenty of plants but not enough trace substances to keep the plants "happy", and thus the algae that is less particular about what they need will grow better than the plants and use up the nutrients.
2. Light - or the WRONG kind of light which will cause the plants to not grow quite as well. You may want to try having fewer hours of light on the tank and see if that helps.

--
Mats

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 04 Dec 2006, 12:10

Hi Pepp76.

As Mats describes, algae is caused by usually a combination of excess light and nutrients.

Here are a few a few tips that may help you:

I imagine that your water up there in Glenlivet is very low in nitrates and phosphates, so just doing larger and more regular water changes will solve that part of the problem.

Try staining the water with some new bogwood. This cuts out lots of light and really works well in reducing algae.

This combined with a new bristlenose should sort the problem out, but do be patient, it may take a while.

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 04 Dec 2006, 16:15

I have used peat or Ketapeat in a filter(bagged) to quickly get the tannin stain effect racoll sited from bog wood and I do it for the same reason, to cause algae to take a good hit. Combined with a reduction in the timing of the light period it has been a useful way to bring algae growth to a stop.
I like this method because no chemicals need to be used that can damage my plants. The algae eaters like bushy nose seem to eat the dying algae that they would or could not touch before treatment. I continue this for a couple of weeks before removing the peat. Then after making my usual water changes the tank will go back to the clearwater condition no longer looking like a tank of tea.

Crazie.Eddie · Post by **Crazie.Eddie** » 05 Dec 2006, 14:53

Do you know what type of algae? There are different types, with each usually being caused by a certain type of excess nutrient and/or lighting.

I like to use these 2 links for references on algae...

http://www.aquaticscape.com/articles/algae.htm

http://www.aquariumalgae.blogspot.com/

pepp76 · Post by **pepp76** » 07 Dec 2006, 00:01

hello and thankyou for your replie's MatsP,Rascoll, Apistomaster and Crazie Eddie.they were all very helpful to me and contained lots of useful info. Sorry i haven't been in touch earlier due to a new arrival in the household,my second daughter. My other inhabitants in the peppermint bn tank are 4 german blue rams and 9 harlequins.since my last post i have cut the hours of light back to 9 and reduced feeding slightly.i have also added another female peppermint (i couldn't locate a male).i do 10% water change's once a week but still there is a build up of algae. i would add new bogwood but have been told that my rams need clear water to be happy.i am not sure of my prosphate and nutrient levels of my water but this strike's me as being a very likely reason.thanks again for the help folks! Pepp76

apistomaster · Post by **apistomaster** » 07 Dec 2006, 01:57

Rams will do fine in the tannin tint that some bogwood releases. Just keep them in warm ~84dF, clean water and do regular changes.

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 07 Dec 2006, 08:18

Rams will do fine in the tannin tint that some bogwood releases. Just keep them in warm ~84dF, clean water and do regular changes.

I second that.

It seems like a really light fish load you have, and I'm wondering what the problem is. Algae usually tends to build up in overstocked tanks, which yours isn't.

Perhaps changing between 30-40% of the water weekly would improve the situation.

Perhaps the next step should be to get a nitrate test kit. This will take away the guesswork when it comes to nutrient pollution in the tank.

Your LFS should also be able to test your water for you. Remember to ask for a value (in mg/l or ppm) rather than just "its OK".

Congrats on the daughter by the way

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 07 Dec 2006, 10:24

I'm agreeing with Racoll - bigger water changes will most likely help.

Also, reduce the feeding - that's the source of nitrates.

And do get a nitrate test kit. I'm currently using a Tetra NO3+ kit, and it seems to be a decent one. Cost something like 8 pounds and will do quite a few tests.

--
Mats

pepp76 · Post by **pepp76** » 08 Dec 2006, 00:37

Hi again,

Thank you for the info on the rams i will be adding a new piece of bogwood very soon! i have a poser on the higher water temp tho,will my peppermint bn's be comfortable with this?
The reason my tank's a bit under stocked just now is that i have come to a loss on what to add!(I had always planned on discus but have been suitably warned off!!).I was toying with the idea of some cory's just now.
I own various test kit's and have found my water quality to be of ph6.7 and soft with no ammonia,no2 and 7mg of no3.
I have another 3ft 100l comunity tank which i have been running for 2yrs with not a hint of algae,this house's a rather greedy rusty plec*(l77?)

Thaks,Pepp76

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 08 Dec 2006, 10:06

pepp76 wrote:i have a poser on the higher water temp tho,will my peppermint bn's be comfortable with this?

Depends on what a "peppermint bristlenose" is... Can you please find it in , or if you can't find which one is yours, please post photos of the fish in the "What's my catfish" forum, preferrably "good" photos showing the whole fish with the dorsal fin erect, from the side, and another shot from the top. A belly shot is also preferred.

As a general answer, most ancistrus are OK with a slightly higher temperature as long as the water is well oxygenated. But depending on what species it is, the higher temp may well be outside what they are OK with, or well within...

--
Mats

racoll · Post by **racoll** » 08 Dec 2006, 14:33

I own various test kit's and have found my water quality to be of ph6.7 and soft with no ammonia,no2 and 7mg of no3.

Well with that nitrate level it looks like your current water change routine is OK, but more can never be a bad thing.

I might be worth getting a second opinion on the nitrate result. Both Mats and I have experienced dud test kits.

I would say the algae could well be caused by a light issue. How old are your tubes? Apparently they deteriorate after about a year and start producing a spectrum that favours algae.

I reckon that by reducing your lighting period to about 8 hours per day and staining the water slightly you should sort the algae out.

pepp76 · Post by **pepp76** » 08 Dec 2006, 21:00

Hi MatsP and racoll.

I am still trying to upload all my pic's onto my gallery at the moment,(sorry)im still quite new to forum's and computer's in general!hopefully it wont be long now...Thank's for your advice it's been very helpful.

p.s my lighting system is only 3month's old.

cleanning dutie's

cleanning dutie's

cleaning dutie's