algae, cleaning, & ph/aklanity ???

[Saphira]

We were given a 40 gallon tank with several fish.

The algae is gross. I am trying to clean it off stuff but it doesn't want to come off. Any suggestions?

Also we have water softener water. But when I test the water in the tank it says the water is hard... (but not out of the faucet so I know the softener is working) ..... Not so much an issue I don't think but puzzling.

The ph and alkalinity are High... Is there a way to change this w/o buying stuff at the store to fix it?

Also... What kind of salt do you stick in the tank (the fish store has it in every tank) ...

 

[Saphira]

The Nitrate and Nitrite levels are fine. No chlorine either.

 

[Tony C]

Do you have any limestone or natural coral decorations/sand in the tank?

 

[Saphira]

no... just normal aquarium rock and ornamental stuff.

 

[RampantReptiles]

Can you take a picture of your tank? That might give a better idea about what is in there and what kind of algae you have...

For glass: Usually the blue sponges from the pet store will work. For harder stuff a scraper made for glass might be helpful. Also the magnet algae scrapers are very nice but might not be able to handle very tiny hard algae.

For aquarium equipment: Depending on the algae it might rinse off or scrub off with a sponge. If not then a 20:1 water to bleach solution can help but may also bleach the colors out of your decor. After using a bleach solution make sure to rinse thoroughly with water or even stick the stuff in a bucket of water with a double dose of dechlorinator.

For gravel: Not much can be done, use a gravel siphon to clean out excess particles, aka uneaten food, poo, etc. When cleaning the gravel will be moved around and algae may be buried or less noticeable.


So you were given this tank with fish... did you keep some of the old water or totally replace it? What kind of fish are in there?

It may take a while for the water softener to soften the water especially if you are doing infrequent or small water changes.

What kind of test kits are you using? Do they test pH and alkalinity together?
Is the ph and alkalinity fine out of the tap?

What exactly are the ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate values? Can you also test for phosphates? if not thats ok...

There are a few choices for salt that you can use in the aquarium. You can use aquarium salt especially made for aquarium use or you can use Epsom salt which can be found in the pharmacy section of most stores. Epsom salt is probably cheaper but it is a different kind of salt. Salt is great for disease prevention, help with healing and disease cure. Some species of fish are sensitive to salt so be careful of salt usage. Only add salt after a water change. Some recommend a teaspoon per 5 gallons others a tablespoon per 5 gallons. I think it depends on the fish.

 

[Saphira]

Wow.. that is a lot of info.. lets see....

Fish we have: gourami, black tetras, chinese algae eater, ghost fish, and an orange one we don't know what it is... will post a pic. maybe you can tell me.

I have the 6 tests in one strip testing strips.
The water out of the tap is also high in ph and alkalinity. Good for us but not for fish.
alkalinity is 300 and PH is 8.4, hardness is 300,

yes we left a little bit of water in the bottom of the tank..but not a lot.. it was too heavy.

the algae is black and stringy. It isn't on the glass, just the ornaments and plants. It is hard to get off. Will post a pic.

will have to post pics later.

coming back to post pics!

Tank, not a great shot..but you get the idea. It is w/o the rest of the plants because I took them out.

algae

What is this orange fish?

Algae on ornament, the rocks aren't usually on top of it btw..that was me removing the plants..

 

[Saphira]

sorry the pics are blurry... the camera sucks.

 

[Taquiq]

The Orange fish looks like a Platy maybe Sunset Platy but the pics are blurry.

As for the ph you could put some drift wood to lower it or get a PH lower chemical.

 

[Saphira]

I looked up platy's and I don't think that is what is..close but not quite. Ours isn't as short and squaty, iykwim... the tail isn't as fanny either.

 

[leoman777]

im gunna say sometime of molly for the orange one kinda hard to tell

 

[Saphira]

yah I am sorry it isn't a better picture...

 

[jemjdragon]

The orange fish might be a female sword tail of some kind.
As for the algea, you could get something that will eat it. Shrimp and snails do a great job with it. Nerite snails don't breed in fresh water, so that's usually great since most snails breed like crazy. And there are a lot of pretty shrimp (I like crystal red bee shrimp).
Crystal Red Bee Shrimp

Zebra Nerite Snail

Female Marigold Swordtail