Algae in tank

[Reflections2021]

Help!

DH has spent a ridiculous amount of time and money on trying to sort our fish tank out (fancy goldfish) over many months.

It sits in the kitchen not too far from a window, that gets sun in the afternoon, although they are not in the direct sunlight - don’t know whether this has any bearing.

Within one day or so of cleaning - it looks like this. He checks the water quality often, done all sorts on filtration/pumps, removed plants, added plants amongst other things including removing their poop regularly and just can’t get the tank to remain algae free. Popped to a friends recently and noticed their tank after many years of ownership was pristine inside, no signs of any algae - similar position in kitchen only difference is her’s had cupboards overhead.

Please help us crack this algae problem - for this reason alone what was meant to be a low maintenance pet for the DC, has turned out to be a full time job!

How big’s the tank and how many fish?

Is he overfeeding and leaving excess food in the tank?

I've had my tank 2 years now, mine are tropical rather than cold water but I don't have algae like that in my tank. I do have black beard algae though which is a pain in the ass to remove.

Agree on pp about left over food, if it was tropical you could get algae eating fish but don't know of any cold water equivalents

The tank being in the sun will help with the algae production (algae needs sunlight to grow) does he also have lights on the tank, how long are the lights on for? Mine are on (normally, have them off at the moment to try and reduce the black beard) for about 3 hours every evening. Any more than that especially with large quantities of natural light will increase the algae

There are 2 fish in a 57litre tank. He feeds them twice a day (and won’t believe the man in the shop who said to feed them every 3 days). He believes that if they are not fed this often, the big one gets aggressive to the smaller one. He said the lights are on for 5 hours a day, and the type of algae he believes is diatom brown algae. Any further help to get on top of the problem will be very much appreciated.

Definitely way too much food!

I have 17 fish (6 platty, 1 guppy, 6 tetra, 3 corydoras and 1 otocinclus) in a 90 litre tank and I feed mine once every 2 days

Too much food + a lot of light = lots of algae.

Your nitrate levels will probably be out as well

I also have multiple assasin snails as well, though these don't eat algae - they do keep the pest snails at bay

If it is diatom brown algae it could also be your water - https://www.aquasabi.com/aquascaping-wikialgaee_brown-algae

I get my water from my local fish shop - it's filtered water with the right nutrients added already. So when I do my water changes the water is ready to go, no mucking about with tap water and treating it

modestfish.com/brown-algae/

This also has some hints

Your tank is way too small for the fish you have. Goldfish produce a hell of a lot of waste and need excellent filtration. You are also feeding too much.

Thank you everyone! Finally DH has agreed to reduce the feeding to every few days.

Up till now I had been reluctant to change the tank as it’s our 3rd one already (in 12 months), and this is what the shop sold us, same place we bought the fish from - so thought it should be OK. Already feeling like we may as well gone for a horse for the amount of maintenance involved in keeping these two fish. @GCITC what size tank would you suggest for 2 fancy goldfish? If they do need a bigger tank, we’ll have to sort one out.

what size tank would you suggest for 2 fancy goldfish?

I think 180 litres is the recommended minimum for 2 and loads of filtration as they are such messy fish, look for filters appropriate for a 3/400 litre tank.

Already feeling like we may as well gone for a horse for the amount of maintenance involved in keeping these two fish.

The fish look after themselves pretty much, what you’re actually “keeping” is water

We had this and it drove me crazy. The fish were obviously happy as they were regularly having babies. The water was clean inside but the algae on the glass was terrible. We tried everything and eventually got rid of the fishes

150 litres minimum I would say, amd as a PP said, a filter that turns over at least 600l per hour.

Goldfish are a pain to keep, they are so messy.

Remember that any new tank and filter will need to be cycled before you can move your fish over.

Oh, and the best way to get rid of algae on glass is with a credit card, just scrape it off.

Remember that any new tank and filter will need to be cycled before you can move your fish over.

In theory you should be able to transfer media from your current filter to the new one without the need for a cycle.

A bit of an update, have cut right back on the feeding to once every couple of days and that has made a massive difference. Also, we are looking to purchase a bigger tank.

@Reflections2021

A bit of an update, have cut right back on the feeding to once every couple of days and that has made a massive difference. Also, we are looking to purchase a bigger tank.

👍

Get your water tested for phosphate and silicates too as these are in tap water and the plants use them up to grow and as algae is a plant it will grow too, the tests are not part of the normal tests done in shops you have to ask for them

How long are you leaving the lights on for in the days? Brown algae is not enough light and green algae is too much light. And how are you cleaning your filter sponges out?