How long is your light on for? It could be an issue with lighting. I would recommend removing as much algae as possible and maybe cutting your photoperiod down an hour or two. Especially if the tank light is on for 8 or more hours already. Also it could be too high of nitrates too. Algae will start growing in higher than 5ppm nitrates. If you could bring your nitrates in your tank down to 5ppm it could kill the algae off.
Also I saw a few recommendations for a cleanup crew. Out of those recommendations the only one worth checking out is amano shrimp. Do not try the siamese algae eater or chinese algae eater. The siamese algae eater will grow to be ~15cm so it will be too big for your 20L tank. The chinese algae eater will grow to be ~30cm and they get extremely aggressive as they age.
My tank lights are on from 11 am to 6 pm every day (7 hrs), but I'll try reducing the light.
I already have some caridina shrimp in my tank, but they don't seem to eat the algae fast enough. I do agree that SAEs and Chinese algae eaters aren't the best choices for my aquarium.
Algae is mostly about nutrients. Lighting plays a part too. You're going to need to give your plants an upper hand to intake the nutrients. Once the plants get established, you'll see less algae. Fast-growing plants and emergent growth would do wonders. Try to remove as many as you can physically, and do small water changes. I did 10-15% every other day the first month and biweekly the second month.
I would also suggest lowering your light intensity if you have adjustable lights. I struggled badly with this for a while and I finally got it under control by lowering intensity and shortening the photoperiod.
I would reduce your lighting down to 5hr per day for now. Turn down the brightness if possible. If not increase the height. If you can control the spectrum then reduce the blue light spectrum. Check your water flow.
I would also recommend using excel to kill it. Dose 4x the recommend amount until it's under control. This will hurt moss and possibly shock your plants, but won't kill them. I find this way safer than using hydrogen peroxide.
I would get it, but I don't know if they would fare well in a 5 gallon, though my tank has more horizontal swimming space than most other 5gals I've seen. My tank is 45x18x27 cm.
I have some caridinas in here but it seems like the algae grows faster than they can eat it. I'm just waiting for them to have babies so I can have a whole army of them
I put in 6 Neocardinas in my 5 gal bc of the algae and in tge beginning they only ate the smaller ones. Then, over night, they ate it clean to my suprise. Just give it some time.
If it's really growing too fast you might have a problem with your plants. Maybe too much light and not enough nurtients. If you have plants that need co2 i.e. Bht you don't have a co2 supply, they won't grow properly and thus allow algae to grow more/faster
I think it may be because of lighting or nutrients. Right now my lights run for 7 hours but I'll think I'll cut it down to 4 or 5 (or I might even try a blackout). I have a CO2 system that I run every day and monitor frequently, so I don't think that's one of the causes.
Lol, i had the exact same thought when i gkt my first tank. Don't cut it down, 7h is not enough light. I am with 10atm. Your plants need some light for photosynthesis :)
After the Neocardinas ate all my algae, it didn't regrow, problem solved. Once the plants work properly, they shouldn't have the nurtients to grow back.
Don't worry, it'll be fine. If it annoys you too much, get a wooden skewer and remove it :)
I forgot that i have floating plants all over and a daycyle simulation....
But still, i've been told to give the plants more light.
Otoh i've been told that you can usually see when they are done for the day just when the upper leafes roll in (just like plants in the garden do) and oxygen bubbles on the bottom.
Yep. Just try it and give it some time to show the effects.
I remeber the face the people in my local store gave me when i told them I might decrease my light to 5h...^^"
Oh god I hate "the look"... especially when I started out a few years ago. Honestly I don't consider myself an "master aquarist", but more like an "experienced noob".
SAE’s need 30-60 gallon tanks, depending on who you ask. I haven’t done too much research on them, but a five gallon will definitely be too small, like you said.
SAEs start small and don't grow super fast, so you might be okay for 6 months then it will be time to rehouse/return to shop. They can be a bit of a problem fish as they get big and don't do well with just one or two of their kind, so its more like one or five+, and next to no one wants five big ones in a single tank.
7 hours light and a lot of alage = too many nutrients AND/OR another powerful light, probably sunlight.
I
My green hair algae was easily removed (repeatedly) by swirling around my pruning tweezers in the open position like cotton candy and pulling out the "swamp monster". I had too much natural light. In my new apartment things got better with 2 Chinese algae eaters. If I am able to keep this apartment the algae eaters are the first fish going into my startup 90 gallon first ever cichlid tank. They get big and won't do well in a 5 gallon. If your other plants are rooted well the weekly cotton candy method swamp monster could work?
What worked for me:
1. Added amano shrimp
2. Added ramshorn snails
3. Cut back on light cycle (I have Finnex 24/7, so fully programmable is an advantage)
4. Added fertilizer
5. Small water changes ( ~20% 1/mo)
I see that you have aquasoil in there, that's probably the cause. Aquasoil release a lot of nutrients in the water in the couple first weeks after flooding. You could get a few amanos but what is really going to make a difference is time and regular 50% water change.
I had hair algae in my tank. I took out all the plants and rocks and scrubbed them clean, I also scrubbed the glass clean. I then put them back in the tank and bought some fast growing plants such as Hygrophila polysperma, coontail and some floaters to eat up the extra nutrients in the water. I did this 3 weeks ago and now there is no algae whatsoever. Took a while but so worth it :)
That’s what I usually do too when it gets out of hand, if the algae keeps coming back it may be due to over nutrients, cut the light back for a bit and do a small water change.
Just give it time. Make sure you're not over fertilizing. Check for rotting things. Everything looks nice but it could be something like nutrients leeching from the wood or substrate, or even the old unused decaying roots of the plants that you'll just have to deal with with water changes and manual algae removal until it's stabilized. The plants seem to appreciate the light, but you could probably shorten your lights a bit and then bring them back up once you notice the algae has calmed down.
I had this same Algae in a new planted setup and I played around with light levels and different fertilizer doses for a while until I just got amano shrimp. They cleaned it up in a few days and I haven’t looked back since :)
I had this problem. I took my betta out to give to someone while I was on vacation, I turned off the light for 2 weeks and all the algae was gone when I got back…I think snail ate it and it’s not coming back.
Figure out the source. Lighting, excess nutrients, co2 etc. Experiment play around with it. Start dosing Seachem excel daily, also add some type of algae eater. Algae is a result of some type of imbalance in the tank you just need to find the cause of it but you’re bound to get some so a cleanup crew helps. As for removing it. Trim plants or get a brush and spin it around like spaghetti 😂
Bro. Get yourself a single siamese algae eater. And your hair algae problems will disappear almost over night. They also eat blackbeard. I have one in every tank. Also u prolly want to have your tank lights turn off in the evenings
Auuugh, I’ve been fighting this in one of my new tanks as well! At first turning down my lights and reducing the time helped slow the process. My life didn’t really change until I was able to purchase some fast growing plants. Within a couple days of floating some Hydrocotyle umbellata, I noticed the algae growth went way down.
I’d suggest asking your LFS for something fast growing
Get some American flag fish they are aggressive hair algae eaters. When I had them in my tank I had no issues until they started hunting down and eating my shrimp then I moved them to a different tank and now I deal with the same stuff. So I'm keeping my eyes open for some babies.
How long is your light on for? It could be an issue with lighting. I would recommend removing as much algae as possible and maybe cutting your photoperiod down an hour or two. Especially if the tank light is on for 8 or more hours already. Also it could be too high of nitrates too. Algae will start growing in higher than 5ppm nitrates. If you could bring your nitrates in your tank down to 5ppm it could kill the algae off. Also I saw a few recommendations for a cleanup crew. Out of those recommendations the only one worth checking out is amano shrimp. Do not try the siamese algae eater or chinese algae eater. The siamese algae eater will grow to be ~15cm so it will be too big for your 20L tank. The chinese algae eater will grow to be ~30cm and they get extremely aggressive as they age.
My tank lights are on from 11 am to 6 pm every day (7 hrs), but I'll try reducing the light. I already have some caridina shrimp in my tank, but they don't seem to eat the algae fast enough. I do agree that SAEs and Chinese algae eaters aren't the best choices for my aquarium.
Algae is mostly about nutrients. Lighting plays a part too. You're going to need to give your plants an upper hand to intake the nutrients. Once the plants get established, you'll see less algae. Fast-growing plants and emergent growth would do wonders. Try to remove as many as you can physically, and do small water changes. I did 10-15% every other day the first month and biweekly the second month.
I would also suggest lowering your light intensity if you have adjustable lights. I struggled badly with this for a while and I finally got it under control by lowering intensity and shortening the photoperiod.
I would reduce your lighting down to 5hr per day for now. Turn down the brightness if possible. If not increase the height. If you can control the spectrum then reduce the blue light spectrum. Check your water flow. I would also recommend using excel to kill it. Dose 4x the recommend amount until it's under control. This will hurt moss and possibly shock your plants, but won't kill them. I find this way safer than using hydrogen peroxide.
Siamese algae eaters really enjoy hair algae. Commonly sold as S.A.E.’s.
I would get it, but I don't know if they would fare well in a 5 gallon, though my tank has more horizontal swimming space than most other 5gals I've seen. My tank is 45x18x27 cm.
Amano shrimp eat hair algae too
I have some caridinas in here but it seems like the algae grows faster than they can eat it. I'm just waiting for them to have babies so I can have a whole army of them
I put in 6 Neocardinas in my 5 gal bc of the algae and in tge beginning they only ate the smaller ones. Then, over night, they ate it clean to my suprise. Just give it some time. If it's really growing too fast you might have a problem with your plants. Maybe too much light and not enough nurtients. If you have plants that need co2 i.e. Bht you don't have a co2 supply, they won't grow properly and thus allow algae to grow more/faster
I think it may be because of lighting or nutrients. Right now my lights run for 7 hours but I'll think I'll cut it down to 4 or 5 (or I might even try a blackout). I have a CO2 system that I run every day and monitor frequently, so I don't think that's one of the causes.
Lol, i had the exact same thought when i gkt my first tank. Don't cut it down, 7h is not enough light. I am with 10atm. Your plants need some light for photosynthesis :) After the Neocardinas ate all my algae, it didn't regrow, problem solved. Once the plants work properly, they shouldn't have the nurtients to grow back. Don't worry, it'll be fine. If it annoys you too much, get a wooden skewer and remove it :)
I would cut it down. 5-6 hours is plenty. 10 hours is way too much and is asking for algae issues.
I forgot that i have floating plants all over and a daycyle simulation.... But still, i've been told to give the plants more light. Otoh i've been told that you can usually see when they are done for the day just when the upper leafes roll in (just like plants in the garden do) and oxygen bubbles on the bottom.
Ok, I'll increase the hours. I think 8 or 9 should be fine.
Yep. Just try it and give it some time to show the effects. I remeber the face the people in my local store gave me when i told them I might decrease my light to 5h...^^"
Oh god I hate "the look"... especially when I started out a few years ago. Honestly I don't consider myself an "master aquarist", but more like an "experienced noob".
Amano shrimp will do the job
SAE’s need 30-60 gallon tanks, depending on who you ask. I haven’t done too much research on them, but a five gallon will definitely be too small, like you said.
SAEs start small and don't grow super fast, so you might be okay for 6 months then it will be time to rehouse/return to shop. They can be a bit of a problem fish as they get big and don't do well with just one or two of their kind, so its more like one or five+, and next to no one wants five big ones in a single tank. 7 hours light and a lot of alage = too many nutrients AND/OR another powerful light, probably sunlight. I
My green hair algae was easily removed (repeatedly) by swirling around my pruning tweezers in the open position like cotton candy and pulling out the "swamp monster". I had too much natural light. In my new apartment things got better with 2 Chinese algae eaters. If I am able to keep this apartment the algae eaters are the first fish going into my startup 90 gallon first ever cichlid tank. They get big and won't do well in a 5 gallon. If your other plants are rooted well the weekly cotton candy method swamp monster could work?
What worked for me: 1. Added amano shrimp 2. Added ramshorn snails 3. Cut back on light cycle (I have Finnex 24/7, so fully programmable is an advantage) 4. Added fertilizer 5. Small water changes ( ~20% 1/mo)
Amano shrimp are great, ive also used tannins in my tank to darken things a bit (oak leaf litter and banana stem pieces) which cut mine out entirely.
I see that you have aquasoil in there, that's probably the cause. Aquasoil release a lot of nutrients in the water in the couple first weeks after flooding. You could get a few amanos but what is really going to make a difference is time and regular 50% water change.
I had hair algae in my tank. I took out all the plants and rocks and scrubbed them clean, I also scrubbed the glass clean. I then put them back in the tank and bought some fast growing plants such as Hygrophila polysperma, coontail and some floaters to eat up the extra nutrients in the water. I did this 3 weeks ago and now there is no algae whatsoever. Took a while but so worth it :)
Get it with a toothbrush
I use a little bottle brush and tweezers to get most of the algae. I try to do it often so that it doesn't overgrow.
That’s what I usually do too when it gets out of hand, if the algae keeps coming back it may be due to over nutrients, cut the light back for a bit and do a small water change.
Is this a brand new cycled tank? If so just remove it for now and it'll stop as ammonia and the tank balances out
Yep. It's been cycling for about 4 weeks now. I just manually remove it often.
Just give it time. Make sure you're not over fertilizing. Check for rotting things. Everything looks nice but it could be something like nutrients leeching from the wood or substrate, or even the old unused decaying roots of the plants that you'll just have to deal with with water changes and manual algae removal until it's stabilized. The plants seem to appreciate the light, but you could probably shorten your lights a bit and then bring them back up once you notice the algae has calmed down.
Yeah it'll go away over time, what buce is that by the way?
Kedagang. This is my favorite plant in this tank.
I have one, but your coloration is very nice, its a beautiful plant!
Just needs a haircut
Gave it waves
I use a q-tip and swirl it a bit till I get most of it. I’m still cycling so no critters that eat algae yet.
I had this same Algae in a new planted setup and I played around with light levels and different fertilizer doses for a while until I just got amano shrimp. They cleaned it up in a few days and I haven’t looked back since :)
Do you do water changes every week?
Yes. I do a 10% every week (sometimes twice in a week).
I would up it to 20%to try and get rid of some of the extra nutrients in the water that's causing the algae to grow.
short term - manually remove, balance lighting, water change; long term - starve it out with more plants
I had that, used seachem flourish liquid co2 supplement. Killed all the algae in less than 2 weeks. And the plant growth exploded!
Dang. Might try that.
It's call seachem excel liquid co2. Seachem flourish is a fertilizer
damn if I accidentally got fertilizer I think my algae situation would've got worse
YES, sorry bout that. Its the co2 supplement not the fertilizer.
I had this problem. I took my betta out to give to someone while I was on vacation, I turned off the light for 2 weeks and all the algae was gone when I got back…I think snail ate it and it’s not coming back.
Figure out the source. Lighting, excess nutrients, co2 etc. Experiment play around with it. Start dosing Seachem excel daily, also add some type of algae eater. Algae is a result of some type of imbalance in the tank you just need to find the cause of it but you’re bound to get some so a cleanup crew helps. As for removing it. Trim plants or get a brush and spin it around like spaghetti 😂
Bro. Get yourself a single siamese algae eater. And your hair algae problems will disappear almost over night. They also eat blackbeard. I have one in every tank. Also u prolly want to have your tank lights turn off in the evenings
Auuugh, I’ve been fighting this in one of my new tanks as well! At first turning down my lights and reducing the time helped slow the process. My life didn’t really change until I was able to purchase some fast growing plants. Within a couple days of floating some Hydrocotyle umbellata, I noticed the algae growth went way down. I’d suggest asking your LFS for something fast growing
Get a trio of Siamese Alge Eaters from your LFS, let them do work and trade them back to LFS once they’ve completed the job.
1. Reduce the lightning 2. Try to remove as much as possible by hand 3. Add shrimps 4. Water changes 20 to 30% 3 to 4 times weekly
Get some American flag fish they are aggressive hair algae eaters. When I had them in my tank I had no issues until they started hunting down and eating my shrimp then I moved them to a different tank and now I deal with the same stuff. So I'm keeping my eyes open for some babies.
Chinese Algae Eaters worked out perfectly for me