# Algae growth



## agrumpycow (Dec 14, 2010)

I've had a biOrb tank for a couple of years now, the medium size (however many litre that is!)
Currently got harlequins, a cherry barb and a silver tip tetra. They've been the only fish since a couple of silver tips went in the spring and 5 cherry barbs early in the year.
I do the recommended filter change every 4 -6 weeks yet algae growth over the last couple of months has been crazy. 
Any ideas what's causing it?


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

What exactly do you mean by filter change? 

All tanks need a weekly partial water change of about 20% (depending on the size of the tank/filter - you need a bigger proportion the smaller the tank and/or filter is and the more highly stocked it is), treating the new water with a suitable tap water conditioner (we recommend Seachem Prime) before adding it to the tank. Depending, again, on tank/filter size and stocking levels, every 2-4 weeks the filter is briefly turned off, opened up, and the filter sponges squeezed out in the dirty water removed from the tank (ie removed using a siphon into a bucket), then put pack together and turned back on. That's it. If you are doing anything different to what I have just described then i'm afraid someone along the way has given you some very bad advice indeed.

From your recent fish losses I suspect there is something wrong with your maintenance routine - the number one glaring issue being frequency. Whatever you are doing with your 'filter change' (which sounds horribly like something it shouldn't be, but please enlighten us) maintenance should be weekly regardless of tank size and shape. The shape of your tank has probably also contributed to fish loss, as I will explain.

BioOrbs are really rubbish, actually, for a number of reasons, the top one being their shape. They are simply not designed well for adequate filtration, and are extremely poor for water circulation and - most importantly - gas exchange. You see, a sphere shaped aquarium has a very small area available at the surface for oxygen to dissolve (and carbon dioxide to escape), and unless you only keep it half full (which would not be ideal for many other reasons) the normal fill level for the tank is the worst. Also, most of the bioorbs do not offer sufficient swimming space for many fish. 

If you have ever wondered why the majority of tanks on the market or roughly oblong (with or without a 'bow front') then that's because that is the best shape for a) filtration/water circulation b) gas exchange and c) swimming space. 

In short, the least of your worries is algae. If you have too much light in the room, especially from any windows (be it direct or not), you will get algae - especially in the summer. If you have too many fish in the tank, feed the fish too much, or have a problem with your water chemistry, you will get algae. If what you are seeing is not green, then it could actually be a bacterial bloom which could be caused by inadequate filtration (an ammonia spike causes bacterial blooms). You can reduce algae by turning off any aquarium lights, shading from sunlight, closing curtains when the sun is shining through, or using black paper on the tank for a couple of days (the fish will be fine, but all plant life will die).

If you have already got it, you need to get a water test kit called the api freshwater master test kit (or equivalent, but that's generally thought to be the most reliable) and test your water for ammonia, nitrites and nitrates (high nitrates will cause algae, and any ammonia or nitrite above zero indicates a problem with your water nitrogen cycle, and being as both are highly toxic to fish you need to fix this asap), and you need a bottle of seachem prime which will treat problems with your water chemistry.

If anything I have just said is a complete mystery please free to ask questions, we on here are only too glad to help


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## agrumpycow (Dec 14, 2010)

Hi thanks for the reply. 
The filter change I refer to is the biOrb service kit - filter cartridge, cleaning pad & water treatment sachet - which I use as per instructions.
The tank itself isn't near a window and hasn't been moved since I first set it up and I do a fortnightly 10% water change.
It's just puzzling how the algae growth has increased so much when nothing has changed with regards to fish, position and maintainence. 
I will do a water test, something I had overlooked. 
Oh, and I know the biOrb isn't ideal but at the moment it's all I have and can't afford to replace


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## HenryJordan (Jan 7, 2014)

Do a water test. May be there is high nitrites or nitrates in water that cause algae growth.
And switch off UV bulbs for sometime. It might help you.


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## Phoenix24 (Apr 6, 2013)

Following the BioOrb's instructions I can guarantee you is designed to make you spend more money on something you don't need to. Its a money making con the companies often use, but are totally unnecessary. 

If you are being asked to change anything, then I suspect this is carbon media, which you do not need to run routinely in the tank at all. Carbon media is for removing medications, generally, after treatment, and after about 4 weeks they begins to release everything they have absorbed back into the water - which is why they say you need to change it. But you don't need to run carbon all the time, so save yourself some money and ditch the cartridges or carbon sponges altogether, and in the space left use bio-media (in the form of ceramics of some sort) or normal filter sponge pads, as these will boost your biological filtration - these do not get replaced, merely 'rinsed' in dirty water that you suck out with your siphon during a water change. They might also be asking to to remove/replace zeolite media - this is another media that is supposed to remove ammonia. Again it is not necessary for general tank running, and like carbon it is exhausted after a few weeks and can release chemicals back into the water, so remove it and replace with biomedia. 

If you are replacing anything other than carbon or zeolite, then you are probably harming your tank. If you are replacing ordinary filter sponges, or ordinary bio-media (such as ceramics), then you are removing established bacterial colonies that remove toxic wastes from the water (ammonia and nitrite), and every time you do this you are diminishing (or even wiping out!) the biological filtration that keeps your tank healthy, causing mini-cycles, and basically poisoning the fish. If this is what you are doing please say so, and we can help advise you further.

Please read your instructions from bioOrb carefully, and if it is telling you to remove anything to do with carbon and zeolite - it is basically exhorting you of money, and if it is telling you to replace normal bio media/sponges then it is basically getting you to kill your fish.


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## blitzens mum (Jul 15, 2012)

light, overfeeding and having too many fish can cause an overgrowth of algae also heat can, it could be due to the very hot weather we have had causing the temperature in your tank to rise. i haven't had too much of a problem with algae due to the weather but i have losr several of my shrimp


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## NaomiM (Sep 22, 2012)

I'm not sure what the filters are that come with BiOrbs, but from your description I'm assuming they contain a cartridge consisting of filter floss on the outside with other media (probably including carbon) on the inside. I had a filter like that with my first-ever tank, and they're completely rubbish, because you end up having to replace all the media at once (unless there's more than one cartridge in there, but even then you'd be chucking out far too much of the mature media every time).

As phoenix said, this is a serious problem for your fish because the mature filter media contains almost all of the good bacteria that you need in order to process the harmful ammonia and nitrite which come from fish waste. These bacteria take time to grow and mature - a brand-new filter cartridge will do nothing whatsoever in terms of biological filtration (i.e. getting rid of ammonia/nitrite).

I'm certainly no expert when it comes to algae, so phoenix or someone else may correct me if I'm wrong, but I believe that high ammonia levels can also promote algae growth, as well as being extremely harmful to the fish.

Either way, your first course of action, as others have said, needs to be to test the water using a good quality liquid test kit (not the cardboard test strips, as they're notoriously inaccurate).


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## Dragonlady (Jul 5, 2010)

Hi, 
Have you tried to buy a second-hand tank from eBay, Gumtree etc.? You can get really good bargains. 
Apart from that, put your own adverb that your are looking for a tank as a replacement and cannot effort much at the moment. Some people just want to get rid of an aquarium after a couple of months.
Put also "looking for ad" on freecycle website. You never know...

Any rectangular tank will be better as your "gold fish bowl".


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## Picklelily (Jan 2, 2013)

If all your water parameters are reasonable then I would look at position in the room and the amount of light in the tank.

Do you have any plants in there to use it the Nitrates?

What colour is the algae different algae types relate to different tank issues.

Currently I'm giving my tank a little extra light as my plants were looking a bit limp, as such I'm thrilled to find spots of green algae on my tank it means I'm getting optimum growth conditions and can scale back the light just a fraction to cut algae growth but keep the plants doing well. If I didn't already have lots of plants I would be adding more now for this.

Brown algae on the other hand isn't good and indicates poor water quality.

There is a good article here

Algae control in the aquarium


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