The 7 Best Ways To Stop Algae In Your Aquarium!
Summary
TLDRIn this video, Fish Tank Mike discusses seven effective strategies for preventing algae growth in aquariums. He emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balanced ecosystem and suggests reducing organic materials like driftwood and nutrient-rich substrates. Mike also recommends adding live plants, adjusting lighting intensity, using activated carbon and liquid carbon, limiting fish numbers, and feeding high-quality food in moderation. He concludes by advising viewers to monitor their tanks and perform water changes when necessary to keep algae under control.
Takeaways
- 🌿 Reducing the amount of wood in your aquarium can help prevent algae growth, as wood decomposes and adds to the nitrogen and organic load in the tank.
- 🌱 Adding live plants to your tank can absorb excess nutrients, thus limiting algae growth. Ensuring plants are healthy and actively growing is crucial.
- 💡 Reducing the intensity of light, rather than just the duration, can significantly decrease algae issues. Dimming the lights to a level that's sufficient for the tank's needs can be beneficial.
- 🦐 Introducing algae-eating organisms like Amano shrimp or small Siamese algae eaters can help control certain types of algae, particularly string algae.
- ⚫ Running activated carbon in new tanks for the first month can be an effective method to prevent initial algae blooms, as suggested by experienced aquascapers.
- 💧 Using liquid carbon as an additive can help in preventing certain types of algae by reducing their growth in a preventative manner.
- 🐟 Having fewer fish in your tank reduces the overall nitrogen input, which can lead to less algae growth.
- 🍽 Feeding high-quality food in smaller quantities can reduce waste and the nutrients available for algae growth. Fasting fish occasionally can also be beneficial.
- 🔍 Regularly monitoring water parameters and performing water changes when necessary helps maintain a balanced ecosystem and control algae.
- 🧹 Paying close attention to your aquarium and removing organic detritus during water changes can help minimize the organic matter that contributes to algae growth.
Q & A
What is the main issue discussed in the video script?
-The main issue discussed in the video script is the prevention of algae growth in aquariums.
Why does the speaker claim that everyone who says they don't have algae is not being entirely truthful?
-The speaker claims that everyone who says they don't have algae is not being entirely truthful because even if they don't have a significant algae problem, they likely experience occasional small green spots which they quickly remove.
What is the ultimate goal for an aquarium according to the speaker?
-The ultimate goal for an aquarium, according to the speaker, is to create a balanced and sustainable healthy ecosystem that requires minimal external inputs.
Why might having a lot of driftwood in an aquarium lead to more algae problems?
-Having a lot of driftwood in an aquarium can lead to more algae problems because driftwood constantly decomposes, adding to the nitrogen and organic pools in the aquarium, which can contribute to algae growth if other factors are out of balance.
What role do live plants play in preventing algae in an aquarium?
-Live plants help prevent algae by absorbing excess nutrients in the water, thus limiting the nutrient pool available for algae growth. However, they must be healthy and actively growing to be most effective.
How does reducing the intensity of light in an aquarium help in preventing algae?
-Reducing the intensity of light in an aquarium helps prevent algae by providing less energy for photosynthesis, which is a process algae use to grow.
What is the bonus tip provided by the speaker for dealing with string algae?
-The bonus tip provided by the speaker for dealing with string algae is to add Amano shrimp or young small Siamese algae eaters to the aquarium as they can help control this type of algae.
Why does the speaker recommend running activated carbon in a new aquarium setup?
-The speaker recommends running activated carbon in a new aquarium setup to help prevent algae bloom in the initial stage, as suggested by expert aquascapers who studied with Takashi Amano.
What is the purpose of adding liquid carbon to an aquarium?
-Adding liquid carbon to an aquarium serves as a preventative algaecide, helping to reduce certain types of algae by floating around the tank and being introduced during water changes.
How does the number of fish in an aquarium affect algae growth?
-The number of fish in an aquarium affects algae growth because more fish produce more waste, particularly nitrogen, which can contribute to algae growth. Therefore, having fewer fish can help prevent excessive algae.
What is the speaker's advice on feeding fish to prevent algae problems?
-The speaker advises feeding high-quality food in smaller quantities and occasionally fasting the fish for a few days to reduce waste and the nutrients available for algae growth.
Why is monitoring and maintaining water parameters important in preventing algae?
-Monitoring and maintaining water parameters is important in preventing algae because it allows for early detection of imbalances that can lead to algae growth, and timely water changes can help reduce nutrient levels.
Outlines
🌿 Preventing Algae Growth in Aquariums
In the first paragraph, the speaker, Fish Tank Mike, introduces the topic of preventing algae in aquariums. He acknowledges that algae growth is a common issue faced by aquarium enthusiasts and emphasizes the importance of maintaining a balanced aquarium ecosystem. He suggests reducing the amount of organic materials, such as driftwood and nutrient-rich substrates, which can contribute to algae growth by decomposing and adding to the nitrogen and organic pools in the tank. Mike also highlights the role of live plants in absorbing excess nutrients and recommends using less wood and choosing appropriate substrates to help prevent algae.
💡 Reducing Light and Introducing Algae Eaters
The second paragraph focuses on the importance of light control in preventing algae growth. Mike suggests reducing the intensity of light rather than the duration of light exposure, as excessive light can promote algae. He shares his personal experience of using lower light intensity and observing reduced algae issues. Additionally, he recommends adding Amano shrimp or small Siamese algae eaters to the tank for controlling string algae. Mike also discusses the use of activated carbon and liquid carbon as methods to prevent algae, especially during the initial setup of a planted aquarium, based on insights from expert aquascapers.
🐟 Managing Fish Load and Diet to Minimize Algae
In the third paragraph, Mike talks about the relationship between the number of fish, the type of food they are fed, and algae growth. He advises having fewer fish and feeding them high-quality food in smaller quantities to reduce waste and nitrogen levels, which can contribute to algae. He shares his experience with fasting fish occasionally and the benefits of using his own brand, Legit Fish Food, which is less heated and retains more nutrients, thus requiring less food and producing less waste. Mike also stresses the importance of monitoring water parameters and performing water changes when necessary, including removing detritus from the substrate to maintain a clean and balanced aquarium environment.
Mindmap
Keywords
💡Algae
💡Aquarium
💡Organic Materials
💡Live Plants
💡Light Intensity
💡Activated Carbon
💡Liquid Carbon
💡Fish Load
💡High-Quality Food
💡Water Changes
Highlights
Algae is a common issue in aquariums, and everyone experiences it to some degree.
A balanced aquarium is the goal for sustainable and healthy ecosystem.
Reducing organic materials, such as wood, can help prevent algae growth.
Using an organic nutrient-rich substrate can lead to excess nutrients and algae issues.
Adding live plants can reduce the nutrient pool and limit algae growth.
Healthy and actively growing plants are more effective in absorbing nutrients.
Reducing light intensity can help prevent algae growth.
Adding Amano shrimp or Siamese algae eaters can help control string algae.
Running activated carbon can prevent algae blooming in the initial stage of setting up an aquarium.
Liquid carbon can be used as an algaecide to prevent certain types of algae.
Having fewer fish in the tank reduces the overall nitrogen, which can cause algae.
Feeding high-quality food and less of it can reduce waste and prevent algae growth.
Legit fish food is produced without heating to preserve valuable nutrition.
Monitoring water parameters and performing water changes when necessary is crucial.
Spotting and removing detritus during water changes can help reduce organic matter contributing to algae.
A well-maintained aquarium with limited inputs can prevent out-of-control algae problems.
Despite best efforts, some algae may still appear, but should be easily manageable with routine maintenance.
Transcripts
hey guys fish tank Mike here today I
wanted to talk about seven different
ways you can prevent algae in your
aquarium because let's face it everybody
hates algae and everybody has it if
anybody says that they don't have algae
they're lying to you okay maybe not
lying but they're leaving out the part
where it's like they get a little green
spot on the glass from time to time and
they're just quick to remove it but
here's the deal algae is one of those
things that it happens no matter what to
all of us in our aquariums and we don't
like it and if anybody knows about algae
it's me if you follow me on Instagram
you know what I'm talking about over the
years I've learned so many different
ways that you're supposed to be able to
get rid of algae prevent it all of these
things but what I've done here is tried
to condense it down into what I think
are the best ways that you can prevent
it from even starting a little bit
different than if you already have a
really bad algae problem but some of
these things you could certainly dial in
to help your current situation the
overall thing that we're trying to
accomplish here is a balanced aquarium
and I know you've heard that term
probably a million times before it's
super vague and annoying I know but what
we're really all trying to do here is
create a sustainable healthy ecosystem
that can take care of itself and has
little to few inputs that we introduce
to it if we can throw a little bit of
time in there and achieve it then you're
probably not going to have the algae
problem that you might be experiencing
right now the first thing I want to talk
about is reducing the amount of organic
materials that you have in your tank and
what I mean by organic material is a few
different things so the first one I want
to talk about is reducing the amount of
wood that you have in your tank
Driftwood is a cool part of aquascaping
I love to use it I have some in the
tanks behind me right now and I've used
a lot of it in the past but it does
suffer from a problem being that no
matter what type of wood it is it is
always constantly decomposing I've found
that in a lot of Tanks where I have a
lot of wood relative to water volume
that I tend to have more algae problems
than in tanks that have no or a lot less
wood so maybe keep that in mind next
time you're thinking about setting up a
new tank try not to go overboard with
the wood certainly don't limit your
creative abilities and what you want to
do but just don't forget that the more
wood you use relative to water volume of
course could be an issue that organic
material just slowly over time
decomposes and adds to the nitrogen pool
and the organic pool in your aquarium
and that can if other things are out of
balance can lead to some problems
another source of Organics in your
aquarium could be the substrate that
you're using because most all the tanks
that we do here are planet aquariums we
tend to use an organic nutrient-rich
substrate like a contra soil a Fluval
stratum stuff like that but what you
have to keep in mind is that a lot of
that material can be a source of excess
nutrients in the tank which can lead to
algae issues so if you're somebody
that's new you're setting up an aquarium
for the first time second time third
time you might not have all the things
dialed in as far as the you know huge
breadth of knowledge that is aquariums
don't make the mistake of putting in a
substrate like that if you're not going
to be using plants stick to to a sand or
a gravel I don't think that this is a
problem that a lot of people have but I
had to include it here there's more to
the organic story but we'll cover that
here in a little bit the second thing
you can do to prevent algae is of course
my favorite and that is adding live
plants to your tank chances are you've
heard a million other people talk about
how adding plants can help reduce the
nutrient pool in the aquarium and thus
limit the amount of algae that can take
advantage of those excess nutrients this
is totally true and it works in practice
I've experienced it many times but it's
sometimes easier said than done I've
seen a lot of planted tanks and I've
even had some over the years where I had
a ton of plants but still had algae
problems and that was probably because
there was certain other factors that I
was going overboard with that just
negated the fact that I had plants in
the tank at all so plants aren't a
silver bullet but I think there's a
right and wrong way to do it I'll try
and cover that in as much detail here to
be able to truly take advantage of the
plants absorbing nutrients in the tank
you need to have them healthy and
actively growing if a plant's not
actively growing then it's probably not
assimilating a lot of nitrogen and other
components in your water column I think
the problem with this though is that
most people have simple low-tech
aquariums they're not using CO2 they're
not cranking the Highlight so they're
not really getting the most aggressive
plant growth and thus they're not
getting the most out of those plants
ability to suck nutrients out of the
water all you can really do in this
low-tech type of a situation is have
plants that are happy maybe they're not
growing like crazy but they're not dying
off I think the more important thing is
just having a substantial amount of
plants that aren't dying they're looking
pretty good in the tank and then you
should get the most benefit out of that
that you possibly can more plants is
always better that should be the take
home the third thing I think you should
focus on is really reducing the amount
of overall light that you have going
into your tank I don't much so mean that
you reduce the amount of time that your
lights are on but I think reducing the
intensity of that light is really
important something that I've been
experimenting more and more with is
really dialing the light down on my
tanks and having them be almost dark to
the camera in real life they don't look
like they do on camera like this tank
back here it looks like it's almost no
light going into it I can see everything
just fine the fish look great but the
point is is that there's a lot less
light going into this tank than I've
ever had on any tanks ever before and
what I'm finding by doing this is that
I've been having way less issues with
algae and it's almost like a rare
Occurrence at this point with at least
these three aquariums I think most of
these newer LEDs that are on the market
probably have way too much par for or
the average aquarium owner so if you
have the ability to really dial down
your light try and set it if the fixture
allows you to 50 percent forty percent
thirty percent and see how things go I
think most plants in your tank aren't
going to have a problem from that unless
you're trying to grow something that is
a little more High demanding I think
you're going to be just fine quick bonus
tip that I almost left out try adding
some Amano shrimp or young small Siamese
algae eaters to your aquarium they're
not going to eat every type of algae but
they do a phenomenal job if your problem
is string algae I didn't want to cover
them completely on this list because
everybody's Tank's different and not
everybody can have particularly shrimp
but if you can get these organisms in
your tank get them they'll help out a
lot the fourth thing I recommend to
prevent algae from ever starting in the
first place is to run activated carbon
on your tank this is something that a
lot of planted aquarium keepers have
talked about being a useless thing to do
something that could harm the overall
goal of growing plants and it's not
something that I've done a lot of in the
past I mean the three aquariums behind
me don't even have filters and so I'm
definitely not running Carbon on them
but when I had a chance to hang out with
Mike and Jeff sensky of aquarium Design
Group Master aquascapers people that are
really well known in the planted
aquarium World they studied with Takashi
Amano when he was alive one of the trade
secrets in that area was that when you
set up a planted aquarium for the first
time in the first month or so you go
heavy on the activated carbon and I
thought that's interesting I've never
really heard that before but if these
guys say it's a great way to prevent
algae from blooming you know in that
initial stage of setting up your
aquarium I trust them I need to do a
little bit more experimenting myself
with this but if they do it I trust them
I think that it's probably a really good
method and it makes sense from a
chemistry and biology standpoint part
two of number four is going to be the
addition of liquid carbon if you're new
these two things are going to sound a
little similar because they both involve
carbon but they're totally different
liquid carbon is a type of algaecide
that a lot of people use is pretty
popular and it's a method for reducing
certain types of algae in a preventative
way there's a few different products
that do this there's of course the sea
chem stuff and then even Corey sells a
liquid carbon additive that does help
reduce algae I've used it in the past to
eliminate certain types of algae but
also prevent it because it is this thing
that's going to float around your tank
you're going to add it when you do your
water changes and then you shouldn't
have as much of an issue with algae
overall I know that's not everybody's
favorite thing to do is adding some type
of chemical to the tank to prevent it
but it is an option that a lot of people
use and have success with the number
five thing you can do to prevent algae
is to just have less fish in your tank
we all know that fish are a source of
nitrogen they produce ammonia which then
gets converted to nitrate in your filter
so the less fish you have in your system
the less overall nitrogen you should end
up with and you're totally right
nitrogen is not the only waste product
that ends up in your tank and can cause
algae but it's a big one sticking with a
light fish load is definitely one of the
best methods and it's something that
I've experienced a lot over the years if
I do a tank and I put too many fish in
it I know right away I think that's
actually one of the reasons why I'm
having such an easy time right now and
not really having any algae problems
because the smaller tanks require me to
keep smaller fish and a fewer number of
them the sixth thing to help you prevent
algae is to feed a high quality food and
feed less of it I think for most fish
Keepers the size and amount of fish in
the tank paired with how much you feed
them is like the number one factor as
far as do you have algae or not this is
another thing I've experienced a lot of
over the years tanks that have a lot of
fish usually require more food to be put
in food is definitely one of the biggest
inputs that we add to our closed system
that's not really closed and thus can
have a big impact on whether or not we
have algae problems so one of the things
I do besides feeding a really high
quality food is that I just feed my
aquariums and fish a lot less than I
used to and what this means is really
just rethinking the diet of the fish
another thing that I do now from time to
time maybe a few times a month is go two
or three days without feeding my fish
putting them on a little bit of a fast I
think is probably not a bad thing and
it's probably something natural that
they experience in the wild anyway the
whole reason why I started my company
legit fish food was because I went
through a period where I learned a bunch
about fish nutrition and of course the
pet food industry and what was being fed
to our animals all the weird Horrors
about the dog and cat food industry was
kind of the same thing with fish I think
we just don't think about it as much
because you know our fish aren't dogs
and cats but for somebody like me and
I'm sure you're this way too if you're
watching this video we care a lot about
our fish and we want the best for them
so when I learned that the producer of
the food I was going to brand was made
in a completely different way wasn't
heated up to a million degrees to
destroy the valuable nutrition of it all
I thought hey that's a pretty cool
concept let me dig a little bit deeper
let me learn more about this because
because legit is not heated up to a
million degrees it doesn't destroy as
much of the valuable nutrition in the
pellet so when we feed it to our fish
the fish can absorb more of what's in
the food that really drives their color
and their overall activity in the tank
it's another reason why I don't have to
feed as much is because what I put into
the tank the fish absorbs more of those
nutrients and it just doesn't need as
much food to be put in that equals less
waste overall in the tank and I think
it's a big reason for why I'm not
experiencing as many algae problems
these days in my aquariums don't get me
wrong you feed too much of any type of
food even my food you're going to have
algae problems that food's going to end
up at the bottom of the tank it's going
to get decomposed and that's going to up
the different factors that can
contribute to algae and so you need to
be careful you need to monitor your
system and that's going to lead us into
the last thing that I think everybody
should be doing and that is just pay
attention to your aquarium monitor the
water parameters from time to time and
change the water when you need to if
you've watched this far you've probably
really been waiting for me to say it
water changes they're still important I
think you should do them but for me
these days I'm trying to create systems
where I don't have to change the water
as much as I used to in the past
combining all the things that we've
talked about makes it to where these
aquariums sometimes I do a 25 water
change once a month and I'm really happy
with that get yourself some easy to use
test strips I know they're not the most
accurate things in the world but they're
less of a pain to use which means you're
going to probably do it more often and
then if you happen to see that your
nitrate is 40 or 50 you know do a water
change do 50 cut that down in half but
don't go crazy overboard with it I
should also mention that when you do
your water changes you know try and spot
the detritus that's down at the bottom
of your substrate and remove that as
well that's another one of those organic
components that can add to the algae
problem so to try this as a blanket term
for just dead or decaying organic matter
and we want to try and eliminate that
from the tank as much as you can but
it's always going to live in your
substrate rate you won't be able to get
it all out it's just something that
where if you see a big pile of it you
probably want to get rid of it anyway it
can be a little unsightly so just suck
that out while you're doing your water
change and you should be good to go
hopefully because you have an
appropriate amount of fish or maybe less
fish than you would normally keep in the
tank you're feeding less you have plants
that are happy and healthy then you
shouldn't have something like a 50 PPM
nitrate level all of these things kind
of in concert with one another can
really help you to prevent any algae
from popping up in your tank I shouldn't
say any algae you're going to still have
algae you might get some green spot you
might have a little bit of hair algae
pop up from time to time the goal is
here and I think what you're going to be
able to achieve is a tank that the algae
that pops up you just can get it easily
when you do your routine maintenance and
you don't have any out of control algae
problems that are just impossible to fix
I think if you just focus on limiting
the big inputs to your tank then that
can dramatically help you in your battle
against algae it'll you'll never not
have a battle against algae things
happen sometimes you you know even if
you follow all of these rules you might
still have a little bit of an issue
develop that's where it's paying
attention getting in there and doing
your manual removal as soon as you can
helps out a tremendous amount I think if
you follow these I think they're going
to help out a lot so that was the goal
of this video I hope you learned
something new thank you so much guys if
uh my Spiel on Legit fish food got you
interested and you haven't tried it yet
we still have free samples available on
the website you just have to pay like
four bucks for shipping you can try out
all three of the foods see if your fish
like them I know they're gonna love them
but yeah other than that uh we're just
still chipping away here at getting more
of our tanks set up I'm not quite sure
uh when we're going to have enough Monte
Carlo to do the reboot on the bonsai
tree tank behind you but it's on my goal
for this month so hopefully we can get
it done we'll cross our fingers
hopefully the holiday doesn't impact
shipping too much uh yeah I think that's
pretty much it guys thanks for watching
today's video maybe the next one will do
I have a list here four best ways to
actually get rid of algae so different
topic slightly different approach you
need to take with that but if you're
interested in that let me know down in
the comments thank you once again for
watching guys and we'll see you next
time
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