If you own an aquarium, you might always dream of having a beautiful aquarium. If you want to have some ideas of aquarium designs, look at the ideas about before you build your fish empire, get inspired from these aquarium designs.
However, sometimes it becomes only a dream. Your aquarium might turn out into a nest of algae in your aquarium. It is really a struggle to get rid of algae in your aquarium.
If you experience the presence of algae, you need to be knowledgeable of the types of commonly found algae in aquarium and how to get rid of them easily and practically.
Do you think algae is beneficial or harmful for your fish? Algae is not that bad for your aquarium as it produces oxygen for the fish to breathe. Unlike plants, algae is a very special plant that can survive in a very bad condition.
Algae can also be beneficial for your aquarium ecosystem as many fish and invertebrates like to eat it and filter the water in your aquarium as well. Algae can also make a natural view for the aquarium.
However, too much algae will also become a problem. Algae in a great amount block the scenery of the aquarium. It will be a disaster if it is left unchecked regularly.
When you see the glass of the aquarium turns green, then it is time to take an action. Do you know that algae is also one of the causes of cloudy water in aquarium?
In conclusion, algae can be annoying once it is left unchecked. Let’s get to know the 3 types of algae and how to get rid of them from your aquarium.
Common Types of Algae in Aquarium
There are many types of algae that are commonly found in an aquarium. Here are the types of algae:
This type of algae looks like wet hair when you take it out from your aquarium. There are many kinds of algae belonging to this group, such as hair algae, staghorn algae, string algae and thread algae.
They can be a problem to your aquarium as they grow so fast. Their fast growth is mainly caused by excessive nutrients, such as iron and too much light.
To remove this algae, you can decrease the light exposure to the aquarium and decrease the amount of iron. You can also use some clean up crew for this algae, such as Siamese algae eaters, molly fish and amano shrimp.
This algae looks like tiny and hard green spots on the aquarium walls. Too much light and imbalance amount of phosphate are the main causes of the presence of this algae. You can use a glass or acrylic safe scraper to remove the algae from the walls.
Brown diatom algae looks like a dusty, flour-like substance that cover the wall of your aquarium. However, this type of algae is easily rubbed off and many animals like to eat it. This brown diatom algae is commonly seen in a new aquarium and caused by high levels of phosphates.
How to Get Rid of Algae from Your Aquarium
There are some things that you can simply do to get rid of algae from your aquarium. Let’s take a look.
There are some fish that specialize on eating algae, so you don’t have to buy special tools to remove algae. Adding some algae eaters to your aquarium will help you to control the algae growth.
There are some examples of algae eaters, such as Siamese Algae Eater, Bristlenose Plecostomus, Twig Catfish, and Cherry Shrimp.
As we know that algae is a type of plant and it needs light to be able to grow. If your aquarium is exposed to light every day, then the growth of algae will be faster.
You can decrease the amount of algae in your aquarium by weakening the light source and the time your aquarium exposed to light source.
Food waste is one of the factors encouraging algae growth. Some people think that feeding a lot of food for your fish is okay, but it is actually not. There are some problems occurred caused by overfeeding, such as mentioned in common fish tank problems.
You can use some tools to remove or get rid of algae from your aquarium. Algae scraper or pad, razor blade, bleach and water siphon are needed for getting rid of the algae from your aquarium. These things are included in essentials things for your fish tank.
Keeping fish as pets in aquarium needs a lot of attention. You need to do some research about types of fish you can keep in your aquarium such as explained in freshwater fish to put in your fish tank. If you experience some of your fish keep dying without any reasons, try to check reasons why your fish keeps dying.