If you have had an aquarium at home for at least some time, you must have surely been faced with the problem of algae. Unfortunately, all fish owners will have to deal with it sooner or later. Algae can be divided into four major groups - blue green, brown, red-brush, and green.

Green algae is the type that many people are familiar with and lives within any aquarium that gets an abundance of light. The two more frequently seen green algae within fish tanks are the hair algae and hard "green dot algae". Hair algae are long thin strings of algae which are simply cleaned from the tank, and the green-dot algae looks like green dots of algae attached to the side of the aquarium and it is very hard plus time consuming to get rid of.

Brown algae appears very often in new aquariums within the first few days. If it can be seen in tanks that have been in use for a while already, it is necessary to check if the water contains enough phosphate and nitrate. Brown algae is usually likely to appear if not enough light reaches the aquarium. Cleaning the tank and assuring that it is lit well enough usually solves the problem.

Red-brush algae is a form of algae which enjoys fish tanks which feature a heavy PH Level, although it's extremely hard to forcibly eliminate red-brush algae from aquariums.

Blue-green algae is deceiving because it's not really algae, it's actually a cynobacteria. As this shows up within an aquarium it appears to be a slime which is commandeering your aquarium and will not just be bad for plants in the aquarium, but may also harm the well being of your fish.

The easiest way to lower the amount of algae in your tank is to reduce the lighting level. If you keep the aquarium lights on for less than nine hours per day, you will shorten the time that algae has for photosynthesis.

Use distilled water whenever you clean your saltwater aquarium or change the water frequently, as doing it at two or three week intervals would lower the amount of time algae may grow within your tank. When you change the water make sure you vacuum your rocks and keep the use of additives to a minimum, changing your pre-filter pad weekly. Stock your tank with algae eating fish. In saltwater tanks this will be - Hard Star Fish, Yellow Tang Fish, Turbo Snails, Angel Fish, Blennies, and small Hermit Crabs.

Obtain the biggest, sturdiest glass cleansing algae magnet you're able to locate and then make use of it. If you utilize the magnet every single time that you cleanse the water in your aquarium the glass in the tank will probably remain algae free. For especially stubborn algae spots, you will have to use a razor blade, however do not fail to clean the runoff pipes. If you follow the advice found in this article, getting rid of fish tank algae will not be a problem for you ever again.