Aquarium algae is a common problem affecting every fish tank. A small amount of algae is actually beneficial and does no harm to the fish but when it becomes too much, it will be hazardous leading to fish disease. Algae growth is also unsightly and it will cause problems later on aquarium cleaning.There are different types of aquarium algae such as brown algae, blue-green algae and green water, which is also known as algae bloom. Usually the growth is caused by absence of live aquarium plants, which leads to heavy buildup of nitrate, prolonged exposure of light and overfeeding of fish food. For aquarium algae control to be effective, there are a few options to consider.
- Having live aquarium plants will actually consume the nutrients like nitrate in the water and thus reduce the availability for algae growth.
- Types of aquarium lighting such as fluorescent will emit lower intensity of light compared to metal halide and thus will help prevent sudden algae bloom. The aquarium should also have a light timer to determine sufficient hours of lighting
- Feed the exact amount of fish food so that there are less waste and uneaten food left in the aquarium tank.
- Conduct regular water changes at least once a week.
- Depending on what types of fish you have in your community aquarium, you can also consider introducing algae eating species like pleco or freshwater shrimp.
- Finally, aquarium UV sterilizer can also help to prevent algae bloom but not other types of algae like blue-green algae, brown algae, and so this is also another alternative.
Sometimes even with the aquarium algae control measures in place, once in a while it will still become a problem. If that’s the case, try to use magnetic aquarium scraper for the cleaning and then siphon out the scrapped off pieces. I would not recommend using anti-algae chemical solution to prevent overdosing and poisoning of your fish. If possible, avoid stripping down the whole system with full water changes because this will require starting all over the nitrogen cycle.
