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A lot of algae

smurfrider

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I have a N. viridescens in a 5.5g planted tank. Green algae is slowly taking over the sides of the glass. Is there a "clean up" crew I could safely put in there or am I going to forever be scrubbing the sides of the tank?
 

Chinadog

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I use cherry shrimp and pond snails as a clean up crew, I have about 15 shrimp and 20 or so snails in my 35 gallon C pyrrhogaster tank.They do a great job of algae eating and getting rid of dead leaves.
If you haven't done it already, I would recommend testing the water for nitrate. I've found that if I keep nitrate levels low there's nothing to feed the algae so it stays well under control and grows very slowly.
5.5 gallons is a very small environment for mostly aquatic newts, you should try and get them a 10 g tank as soon as possible. It's very hard to keep water quality stable in such a small tank so I would guess the algae is a result of the fluctuating nitrate levels.
 

smurfrider

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I know 5.5g is small, but when my son brought him home awhile back I thought a 10g would be overkill for one newt. When my son is no longer sharing a room with little brother, Figgy will get a 20g tank and hopefully some buddies. Just waiting on father in law to clear his stuff out.

My nitrate levels are very low, they barely register with my test kit. Ammonia and nitrite also read 0. I test every week along with my other tanks. Tank was cycled before I added plants or Figgy.

I haven't seen cherry shrimp locally here, would ghost shrimp be suitable?
 

leandrah

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Yeah Ghost shrimp will also do the trick :)
Also, you could add some of that black filter coal to your filter - it helps with the algae :) (I have it in mine)
 

Chinadog

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If nitrate is as low as that and the tank is planted maybe try testing for phosphate? I'v never tested my tanks for it, but I have read that high levels can cause problem algae.
If phosphate is low as well there's only really lighting left to consider, If day length is overly long and/or the lighting is too dim some types of algae can still grow. I used to have problems with a black hair like algae in my 35g, but since I've swapped from fluorescent to a very bright LED fixture it's almost completely gone.
Hope this helps, I'm out of ideas now!

Edit: Just a thought, you could try testing your tap water for nitrate, here in the UK certain areas sometimes have nitrate present . It might be that you're adding nitrate every time you do a water change?
 

smurfrider

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Thanks guys! I'm off to the store to get a phosphate test and some ghost shrimp. And am going to try reducing the light. I can't add the charcoal because I just have a simple sponge filter in there.

How long should I quarantine the shrimp for, would a couple weeks suffice?
 

Jennewt

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Clean the glass on the front of the tank (so you can see in!), but don't clean the algae off the other surfaces in the tank. Having some algae still there will deter it from growing back quickly.
 

Boomsloth

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Just a note that ghost shrimp do a pretty good job at removing algae but if there is any food they can grab at they will prefer that every time. Green algae is photosynthetic meaning it's feeding off of something (most likely nitrates) and utilizing the light.
There is one thing that is pretty effective and is blocking out as much light as possible for maybe a week. Try to do a large water change before and after to reduce the free floating algae, and scrape the sides down. This is a remedy and is not a solution to your problem. If there is any sunlight hitting the tank that could be the source or maybe your light is too bright and left too long. Either way keeping the tank in low light will prevent it from growing and eventually it will die off.
 

Theoneandonly

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Just a note that ghost shrimp do a pretty good job at removing algae but if there is any food they can grab at they will prefer that every time. Green algae is photosynthetic meaning it's feeding off of something (most likely nitrates) and utilizing the light.
There is one thing that is pretty effective and is blocking out as much light as possible for maybe a week. Try to do a large water change before and after to reduce the free floating algae, and scrape the sides down. This is a remedy and is not a solution to your problem. If there is any sunlight hitting the tank that could be the source or maybe your light is too bright and left too long. Either way keeping the tank in low light will prevent it from growing and eventually it will die off.

Excellent advise, will try this asap, thank you!
 
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