Magpie

Help- I have a 10 gallon tank that contains fish, real and fake plants and so much alga that I can bearly see inside. I have an undergravel filter and a bubble disk and am religious about tank maintenance. I just purchased a product called AlgaeFix but am reluctant to dump it in my tank without a little feedback. It claims to be a miracle cure but will it kill my fish along with the alga? Thanks.

Tommy Gun

I know that this is usually a good topic to refer to Jay's input on, but seeing as how you could be setting yourself up for more problems, I wanted to get in a quick reply to you.

I believe that there are MANY MANY MANY better ways to deal with algea other than chemicals and while I am not familiar with the exact product you have (AlgeaFix), I have read in Jay's posts that algeacides are going to also kill your fish and most definetly your plants.

I also know that most algea problems are due to a tank having too many nutrients in the water. I would suggest that you take a look at how much and how often you are feeding your fish as a first step. Secondly, with a 10 gallon tank, you can easily overstock it which would also lead to high nutrients in the water. Do you test your water for ammonia, nitrites, and nitrates? If so, could you tell us those numbers? It would also help to know what type, sizes, and how many of each fish you are currently keeping so could you post a list for us?

Also light has a big impact on the ability for algea to thrive (as well as plants) so you may want to look at reducing the amount of time the lights are on in your tank.

Lastly, I wanted to welcome you to the forum and I think you will find that you made the right decision to get some feedback about your situation before doing anything drastic. There are some VERY knowledgable people on this site and I guarantee that you can find all the answers you need here. I suggest that you wait a bit longer and keep tabs no this post and you will be pointed in the right direction.

Jay

Hi and welcome to our forums!!

IMO and IME that product will kill your plants, your fish, and solve your algae problem. all at the same time.

Green algae is easy...

1. Stop overfeeding your fish, and cut back on your light.
2. Buy a hang on the back filter
3. Clean and Vacuum your tank very thoroughly, including scraping the algae off the glass.
4. Take all fake plants and decorations and use a 19:1 household bleach dip to kill the algae. Rinse well and return to the tank.
4. Do a 60% water change.
5. Get a black plastic lawn and garden bag and black out your tank for 72 hours. No light, no peeking, fish and plants will be fine. Continue to run the hang on the back filter and air.
6. After 72 hours, unwrap tank, clean HOB filter, do a 50% water change.
7. Repeat step (1) above.

You have live plants excellent. Let me whisper this in your ear, go and get some Seachem "Excell" and use it according to the label instructions.

Regards,
Jay

Magpie

Thanks for the two responses. Both are helpful. I am probably overlighting the tank as I was told to keep live plants, I needed to keep the light on for many hours a day. I feed the fish once per day, only a tiny amount of food (they are all immediately at the top of the tank when I appear, begging for food). I just got a test kit so I can begin testing for more than just Ph (which is fine). Can I use a filter that sits in the tank or should it be a hang on back (question for Jay).

Thanks again for the help. I will do 60% water change tomorrow and put the BIG BAG on the tank after that.

Magpie

Tommy Gun

Just to add a bit on your most recent comments, I think that you getting a better test kit is a great idea and in my opinion, should be the first thing put into a shopping cart on top of a fish tank.

Please dont be fooled too much by your fishes' apparent 'begging' at the top of your tank since this is usually not the case. Many fish are simply 'opportunistic feeders' meaning that they will eat any food that is available whenever it is available regardless if they are hungry or not. Since fish can learn a pattern, much like Pavlov's dog did with the ringing bell, they are starting to recognize you as their food source and so when they see you near the tank, they instictively move to the surface of the water. Trust me, you will be fine feeding once a day and if your fish are starving, you will be able to see the effects of that.

I am glad to hear that you are going to try Jay's recomendations before using your algeafix product. I know that his ideas and info sound like a much safer route to solving your problem (and many other people's as well) which, in my opinion, it is always better to play it safe rather than risk killing a bunch of fish and plants.

Magpie

I did think that I would try to soak the fake plants in the AlgaFix instead of the bleach mixture, rinse, and put back in the tank. It is somewhat disturbing to be sold a product that claims to be safe to put into a tank of live fish without killing them........I purchased is from Drs. Smith and Foster.....any feelings about their business? I've been happy so far.

Magpie

Jay

Drs. Foster and Smith is an excellent company to deal with. Having said that keep in mind what they are. They are distributors of aquarium goods and equipment, fairly and competitively priced, good customer service, and the bottle of algae fix will arrive in good condition. They do not stand behind, research or verify the accuracy or the warranties made by the companies of the thousands of products they sell.

That is one of the benefits of belonging to a forum like this, you get to hear about other folks experiences.

IME this product can kill tropical fish, plants, and algae.

Jay

Tommy Gun

I couldn't have said it better than Jay. While I am still a bit leery about buying anything that needs to be kept alive during shipping, I have been looking through the Dr. Foster's and Smith's website and they have pretty much convinced me that they know exactly how to get anything I order to my house and even have a guarantee on SW items, which from my observations is rare other than to promise the fish or inverts will get to my house alive.

Jay's logic here makes complete sense though as Dr. Foster's and Smith's website would be sort of like a walmart in that they obviously sell a lot of items they dont make themselves and so even though they offer the product on their website, they aren't the ones who make the little promises as to the product's safety and uses. At one time, I had an issue with cynobacteria in my freshwater tank and searched high and low to find a product (antibiotic in nature) that wouldnt put any silly dyes in my tank. I eventually found one that promoted all over the box that it would leave my water looking clearer than ever. It certainly killed off the cyno and the water looked very clear...if water was a nice shade of blue that is! Point being, not everything can be trusted as it is described on a box or bottle and I am really glad that you asked your question first before taking the risk of hurting things in your tank more than helping them.

Magpie

Jay- I covered my tank with black plastic for 72 hours after cleaning the plants and the sides and the water is still very cloudy. You were correct that the fish are just fine (begging as usual), but all is not great. The ph is fine, as are the fish. Any other suggestions?

Magpie

Jay

Did you vacuum and do a water change, clean the filter?

Jay