Cleaning an Algae-Filled Tank

[jessiepbg]

Sorry for double posting this, but I don't think I had it in the right section to start with.

My boyfriend's parents have a 20 gallon tall tank set up. It's got 2 neon tetras and a bigger rounder fish his mom didn't know the species of. They found out I've started fish keeping and said I could keep some fish in it if I wanted to keep it clean. It's cycled and has a heater and filter system. The big problem with it is that it has a ton of algae growing in there. The glass and gravel are covered in a thick layer of green. The fish are all doing pretty well in it, they look healthy, but the tank just isn't attractive. How should I go about cleaning the algae out and introducing new fish without stressing out the current residents or having to cycle the tank again?

[baylee767]

Well I bought a thing... an algae scraper. It's basically a sponge designed for keeping aquariums algae free on a stick. You could get one of those for the glass, and to clean a gravel you just have to gravel vac it and most of the algae should come off. I don't think disturbing the top of the gravel messes with the cycle, since so many people use gravel vacs in cycled tanks. Link for the algae scraper:

http://www.amazon.com/Aquarium-Pharm...&sr=8-12-spell

Except I got mine for $4....

Or to clean the glass you can just use your hands and a filter sponge and rub the algae off. Hope I helped.

[jessiepbg]

They've got an algae scraper and a gravel vacuum. Would it be safe to do the entire tank at once or should I do it a little at a time? Also, the algae goes visibly to the bottom of the gravel layer against the front glass. I think I'd have to vacuum all the way to the bottom of the tank to get it out. Or should I just vacuum the front inch or so all the way to the bottom so that the algae just isn't visible?

[Alex09]

Maybe a complete cleaning of the tank will be needed. I guess you can try scraping and vacuuming as much as you can and see if it works. If you decide to vacuum, go all the way to the bottom on all the tank. You can get otos or platies to help combat future algae. Before further stocking the tank try to find out what kind of fish that round one is and get the neons some buddies. They tend to get nippy when stressed. Then you can add a male or a female betta and make a betta community tank!

[jessiepbg]

Probably won't be adding a Betta. As much as I want to, it sounds like the big guy in there is semi-aggressive and I don't really want to see exactly how bad he is. I might try an Oto though. I've always really liked them, but never actually was able to keep one. Would a Pleco work too or would that get too big?