Comment by Peter on September 22, 2013 at 2:56pm

Adding more fish isnt the solution but it helps. If ur gettin tons of algae run ur lights 6-8hrs a day only.

Comment by Anthony Piti on September 22, 2013 at 6:16pm

Ottos and most algae eaters are actually pretty selective about what they eat. They may eat one type of algae and leave the rest alone. Finding the root problem is best. In diana walstad's book, she mentions that fighting algae is just sometimes a long game of patience. I fought algae in my 20 long for 6-8 months and finally the plants won out. Floating plants can help too.

Comment by Betta on September 23, 2013 at 4:10pm

thanks!! anymore help?

Comment by Chuck P on September 24, 2013 at 7:16am

I've had very good luck with Amano Shrimp pairted wtih Oto's since they seem to go after different algae strains..  I also cut back a little on my fish feeding which helped since I might have been overfeeding.  Algae can be an on going battle and there are many variables.

Comment by seth roach on September 25, 2013 at 10:31pm

farlowellas are also real good...fix the algae problem not just clean up the algae its one of the fastest growing organisms on the planet so getting rid of it just means room for more you have to make your tank as uncomfortable as possible for the algae...aka less light less nutrients more competition. make it want to go away... if all else fails poison it. its a balancing act dont add the heavy light and the nutrients before the plants get their foot in the door or your just shooting yourself in the foot...good luck.

Comment by Betta on September 29, 2013 at 9:21am

Thanks everyone. I've contacted some experts and they said i have algae because i didnt have enough nutrients. so they are telling me to dose nitrates. 

Comment by Peter on September 29, 2013 at 11:58am

Hopefully these experts werent ur lfs telling u to by more of THEIR stuff to fix the problem. Hopefully the add more stuff to balance method works. Keep us posted.

Comment by Betta on September 29, 2013 at 1:41pm

ok! thanks and dw it wasnt my lfs :P

Comment by TeamKRF on October 5, 2013 at 9:32am

I have tank raised amano shrimps for sale if you feel the need to go that route as mentioned by Chuck P. in a heavy green water battle with my 45gal right now, contemplating putting in a uv filter. Put one on a 20gal long with algae problems and green water, cleared the green almost within 24hrs and decreased volume of algae but did not 100% rid algae. Left uv filter in for a month and took out, water has been crystal clear since with regular water changes and the inhabitants have the other algae in check. Both tanks are med-heavy planted. Floating, stem, mosses.

Best of luck on your algae battle.

Comment by Luke Deer on November 18, 2013 at 11:44pm

If you are still having problems with your algae I would add some more plants. Specifically some floating plants like duck weed or frogbit. The algae competes for the nutrients with the plants. Floating plants are good at sucking up extra nutrients. Also I would listen to the advice above and limit the light down to 6-8 hours. My last two cents is to stay on top of water changes. 30-50 percent per week and make sure to scrub the sides of the tank down and vac up any loose algae when you do. Hope I could help.  

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