# Desperately seeking advice



## Jean-Jeanie (Sep 16, 2007)

Hi all,
My name is jean and im new to keeping fishies.
I have a 43litre tank in which i keep 1 small lionhead, 1 Super-small Plec,
A blackmoor and a globe-eye.
I have a few problems with keeping the tank clean, in such that after changing to sand type gravel my babies have been overcome by fine algae.
I am using this as an oportunity to kill 2 birds with 1 stone. I hope one of you more experienced ppl can give a little guidance on this topic. Because i really dont know what the best course of action is, and i am dubious about the advice i recieve from my local pet store (not a fish specialist).
Is it as simple as swapping the fine gravel over to the larger stones? or will this cause problems for the Plec? Help!!!!!

Thank you in advance
Jean - England :fish: :fish: :fish:


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## mesapod (Aug 18, 2007)

is the algae all over your tank? Is it near a window where it get natural sunlight because that will create algae very quickly.


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

What color is the algae?


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## Jean-Jeanie (Sep 16, 2007)

mesapod said:


> is the algae all over your tank? Is it near a window where it get natural sunlight because that will create algae very quickly.


The tank is strategically placed so that it never comes in contact with direct sunlight, It sticks to the glass and somehow even manages to get onto the Cap (where the light sits) It is mainly green in colour, quite a vibrant green to be honest. I have given the tank a partial water change roughly every week as It appears to build up rapidly.....

Any ideas what im doing wrong?:?:


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## mesapod (Aug 18, 2007)

My parents old tank used to do that but all the water was green it was really gross they put something in there filter like special cotton for fishtanks and eventually it cleared up.


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2007)

What are you water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates)? Your tank is too small for all those fish. Goldfish need about 20 gallons for the first and 10 gallons for each additional. Since you have 3 Goldfish, you should have a 40 gallon tank...about 150 liters. You could get away with say a 30g tank since yours are fancy goldfish, but none the less, your tank is too small. Also, if the pleco is a common pleco, it will need a huge tank...as they can reach around 2ft in length.

Goldfish make alot of waste....waste builds up and feeds the algae in the tank...giving you an algae problem. 

How many watts of light are over the tank and how long do you keep them on? What kind of filter do you have and is there alot of water movement in the tank?

About how much (%) of the water do you change weekly? And how often are you feeding the fish?


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## Jean-Jeanie (Sep 16, 2007)

JustOneMore20 said:


> What are you water parameters (ammonia, nitrite, nitrates)? Your tank is too small for all those fish. Goldfish need about 20 gallons for the first and 10 gallons for each additional. Since you have 3 Goldfish, you should have a 40 gallon tank...about 150 liters. You could get away with say a 30g tank since yours are fancy goldfish, but none the less, your tank is too small. Also, if the pleco is a common pleco, it will need a huge tank...as they can reach around 2ft in length.
> 
> Goldfish make alot of waste....waste builds up and feeds the algae in the tank...giving you an algae problem.
> 
> ...


Reading PH 6.8 approx.
Should i be clear as to the size of the fish.... The lionhead (the largest) is about 1.5" in length (not including fins)....we are running a 18W Bulb for approx 8-10hrs.....Depending on my work (Nurse of SCBU) as im not always able to watch the clock. The Plec is currently 3cm full length, and if it comes to it I will purchase a new tank for him, or even let my son and his wife adopt Spot (plec)

We change upto 50% of the water depending how bad it is, as we dont plan on farming algae, and the fish are fed once per day. The plec is not a major problem as my son has kept many over the years, his last one growing to around 14 "


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## Jean-Jeanie (Sep 16, 2007)

As you can see Leo (our Lionhead is not so big , Certainly not as big as some we have seen....)
And this is an average sized hand  no NBA Players in this house


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## Guest (Sep 16, 2007)

Do you have test kits for Ammonia, NitrIte, and Nitrates? If you are changing 50% weekly, than the nitrates shouldn't be a problem (if the tank is cycled), but sometimes, high nitrates can contribute to algae.

Do you have a picture of the algae for ID?


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## Ice Prince (Jun 15, 2007)

if you cant watch the clock and shut the lights off at the same time everyday you could get a timer.


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## jones57742 (Sep 8, 2007)

Jean:

Also please refer to:
http://www.fishforums.com/forum/fyi-your-info/17334-algae-fighting-west-texas-style.html

TR


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## Jean-Jeanie (Sep 16, 2007)

JustOneMore20 said:


> Do you have test kits for Ammonia, NitrIte, and Nitrates? If you are changing 50% weekly, than the nitrates shouldn't be a problem (if the tank is cycled), but sometimes, high nitrates can contribute to algae.
> 
> Do you have a picture of the algae for ID?



Have all the test kits you referred to.
Forgive ignorance...(maybe we have a different term here in blighty) 
But what exactly do you mean by cycled?
Sorry no pics of the algae. Didnt think to take one,


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## Buggy (Oct 17, 2006)

http://www.fishforums.com/forum/general-freshwater/7125-nitrogen-cycle-basics.html
This is a great sticky on the nitrogen cycle. 
Test your tank for each of the things JustOneMore mentioned and post here. With these numbers we have a better understanding of what is going on with the tank and can give better advice.


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## Jean-Jeanie (Sep 16, 2007)

ok, have done all the things asked before introducing the fish, and also for the predesignated time scales. this seems to be hunky-dory. so are there any other obvious reasons for the algae? (since changing the sand gravel to larger sized gravel, the algae production seems to have diminished)


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## emc7 (Jul 23, 2005)

Diatoms use silicas to build their skeletons, so it could have been using the sand to grow faster, but there is plenty of algae that doesn't need silica.


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