Green algae..

[Mog46g]

Hi,
well i am getting a green algae on the sides of my tank, it is really only on the sides of the tank,all of my levels are dead on i checked them and had two lfs stores check them jsut to make sure i am not a retard, my fish are fine i have changed both of my bulbs i have a good cleaning crew so i am kinda lost here. it is not hair algae it is not red it is jsut green algae that is very hard to scrub off with a mag float by that i mean u have to actually use elbow grease to get it off ,so whatever help some one can offer i would really be thankful,ohh i have a fowlr tank...:bounce:<--- i just wanted to put this in here

 

[dcantucson]

If you have a glass tank I would recommend a razor or metal blade scrapper. It comes of pretty easily with those.

 

[Bifferwine]

Do you have astraea snails? They tend to stay on the glass, so if you don't have some, get a handful of those.

Algae on the glass is unavoidable. I think all of us have to scrape our glass every few days, at least. Like David said, you can get razor blade attachments for mag floats (they're called the Easy Blade and I love mine!) or you can buy a different scraper altogether that has a razor blade on the end.

 

[XxKnuckleheadxX]

i got the green algea to its normal. its like encrusted onto the glass tiny little spots.. you just gotta do basic maintenance by scraping like everyone has mentioned.

 

[Coral Commander]

I have perhaps a similar problem. I have what appears to be green algae that is in hard spots. It's not like regular semi-furry algae that grows in blankets, this type grows in hard spots and is green. I have seen large, hard, scaly, purple spots of algae that I am told is good algae to have. The type I appears to be very similar except it's green instead of purple and so far the spots are not as large as I've seen in store aquariums. Is this purple algae I see in the stores good algae? If so, what does this stuff do that is so good? Also, does it sound to me as though I have the same type of algae or not?

 

[Bifferwine]

Coralline algae (the good purple stuff) does come in green, too. Does it appear in spots or circles? If so, it's probably green coralline.

 

[Coral Commander]

What is it about Coralline Algae that is good? Is it just good to look at or does it have some kind of positive benefit for the tank?

 

[Bifferwine]

Coralline algae is tough. When it starts to cover a rock, nuisance algae (like hair and red slime) have a much harder time grabbing ahold and establishing itself. So in a way, coralline helps prevent nuisance algae.

 

[littleyea1]

coralline algaes main benefit in an established tank is to not only provide a visual test for yourself to see that your water parameters are stable to some degree, it also establishes a base for corals to grow... for example Florida's elkhorn coral died off a few years ok to drop to about 3 percent, from a cold front but what most people did not see is that the sea urchins also died off which cleaned the rocks off for coralline algae growth and that leads to a suitable base for the elhorn to grow...

I on the other hand think it is a pest... I don't like having to stick my arms all the way down my tank to scrape off hard to reach areas with a razor blade...