Roomate wanted: must eat algae.

[Ouch]

I'm a believer in keeping algae to reduce Nitrates.

Would a UV light kill the beneficial bacteria in a cycled tank or am I confusing it with something else? (which is a possibility with me lol)

[ChoclateBetta]

Some green algae is good. But many types of algae indicate a problem.

[sandybottom]

they have a uv hob with surface skimmer made by aquatop. its on the true aqua web site. $50-$59 depending on size. its adjustable too, i think it has 5 step filteration. the uv light has its own switch ,so you can run it for a few hrs not all day. this extends bulb life. from what i understand, you want to run it on low,so it comes into contact with the water longer. pretty soon all hobs will be this way. hopefully.

[ChoclateBetta]

Just put live plants in the tank and filter.

[Ouch]

Algae should be green or brown. Any other colour then it's fungus and should be treated as such.

There is actually lots of benefits to algae as it contains chlorophyll.

[Kithy]

Originally Posted by Ouch

Algae should be green or brown. Any other colour then it's fungus and should be treated as such.

There is actually lots of benefits to algae as it contains chlorophyll.

Is there anything you can do to boost algae growth? I know this is a little off topic but I am curious. I seem to be having a tough time getting a lot of algae in either of my tanks.

[sandybottom]

not having to deal with parasites is worth the money for me. just that alone not to mention no algae bloom. i will eventually replace all of my filters with these. my buddy/lfs guy has them on all of his tanks. talk about crystal clear. he told me that the guy that started aquatop, used to work for tetra or some big manufacturer. he proposed the uv hob to the company. they passed,and he started aquatop.uv units on their own start at around $80 or so. this has a surface skimmer too. i will be reviewing it in the spring on this site.

[Ouch]

If you have a fully cycled tank then algae should form naturally with little light, Kithy. Algae feeds from Nitrate, it also feeds from phosphate.

I have to add to people getting rid of algae to be careful, removing too much at once could cause a spike in nitrates.

[aokashi]

shrimps jump the tank when ur water is uninhabitable to them. meaning the params were toxic to them and they decided to suicide(or look for another cleaner body of water) lolol

[fishy314]

Originally Posted by Kithy

Is there anything you can do to boost algae growth? I know this is a little off topic but I am curious. I seem to be having a tough time getting a lot of algae in either of my tanks.

Put the tank in direct sunlight.