Prevent Algae Growth in Saltwater Aquarium
Posted: Monday, February 08, 2010
by Peter Dranitsin
Petes Original Art Inc.
Algae are primitive microorganisms with characteristics pretty close to that of plants. The range of algae variety covers microscopic single-celled to multicellular forms reaching 100 feet long or more. They are distinguished from plants by the absence of true roots, leaves and stems. In some cases, they are prized for their rare beauty. Algae culture is, as a matter of fact, quite an active category of aquarium care.
Algae are not necessarily bad organisms. Like plants, they consume mainly phosphates and nitrates from your aquarium and release oxygen.
For most aquarists, however, having algae in your aquarium only means trouble. Algae overgrowth seems to spike randomly and is a threat to practically every aquarium. This problem is also better prevented than fight.
In general, algae overgrowth is very proportional (but not exactly) to the amount of dissolved organic compounds in the aquarium - mainly phosphates and nitrates. These compounds can come from the tap water, the salt you are using, uneaten fish food, and as byproducts of the nitrification process.
Scraping algae from the surfaces of your tank is a tedious job that often involves methods that can scratch your tank. Without the proper scraping material, for instance, you could easily scratch the inner surfaces of your acrylic tank. Glass aquariums may be more resistant but are definitely not exempt to scratching by cleaning. In any case, cleaning up is but a palliative effort to control algae growth. Days after you clean your tank, you can bet that the algae will be back, often at a more ferocious rate.
It is wise, therefore to tackle algae overgrowth problems at the source - their food source. Since phosphates and maybe nitrates can come from your tap water, using a reverse osmosis (RO) filter will often cut that supply. Resin exchange filters remove dissolved organic compounds (DOCs) from the water but it also removes trace elements needed by most invertebrates.
DOCs produced in the tank (uneaten fish food, excreta) can be removed effectively by protein skimmers. Routine water changes also reduce nitrates and phosphates in the water provided you use RO-filtered water. However, be careful in changing water as this also disrupts the balance in your tank. A 30% water change will work just fine.
Avoid overfeeding and overstocking your tank. A fish's stomach is about as big as its eye. Giving them food more than their requirements will only feed algae. A particular aquarium can also contain only so much fish. As a rule of thumb, the bigger the volume of water per fish, the better. Allow only 1 inch of fish for every 5 gallons of water in your tank.
Get a timer to control your lights. Fishes need regular lighting hours to feed but anything more than necessary only fosters algal growth. Keep your lighting to only about 6 hours a day. Also, avoid lights that offer excessive yellow to red shifts of the spectrum. This encourages algae to grow.
Consider putting algae-eating animals in your tank such as shrimp, hermit crabs, and snails. They can also add excitement to your aquarium.
Cedric James is a lifelong saltwater aquarium lover. For more great info about algae growth and prevention,visit http://www.saltwateraquariumeasy.com
This Article has been viewed 160 times. (Not updated in real-time.)
No comments yet.We want your comments! If you can read this, you don't have javascript enabled, so you can't use this comment system. Please enable javascript.