# Encouraging algae growth.



## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

This might sound wierd, but how can I encourage algae growth without compremising water quality?
The reason I ask is I keep a lot plecos and some are hard to wean onto vegetables and commercial pleco food, though they grace most of the time.

Thank you

-SF


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## deepdiver (May 30, 2006)

I'm toying with an outside tank right now. I had some green water, but it was starting to clear up because the plants were starting to take off. I think I added too much Nitrate/Phosphate/Potassium because the next day I had a severe case of green water, and also the small filamentous algae that grows on surfaces. So maybe add Nitrate and Phosphate in a little excess.


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## voshod (Mar 22, 2007)

Excess dose of Flourish Comprehansive always seems to result in fuzz algae for me. Of course, I didn't do a study on this to be sure it's that, it just what seems to cause it every time.


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

I'll be very interested to see how this thread progresses. Usually everyone is trying to get rid of algae.

Unfortunately the solutions I can think of will all lower your water quality.
If you insist on trying to grow algae in the tank, I think the safest way would be to gradually lengthen the photoperiod. I believe adding chemicals is a recipe for disaster. 
That said, it seems easier to me to find a controlable food source for your algivorous fish.

Have you tried something to make the veggies more interesting to the fish. My snails won't touch veggies unless I microwave them. I choose to nuke my food instead of blanching or boiling, as I believe too many nutrients are lost in the boil water.
Even with the cooked food, some snails won't eat certain veggies, while they're always the first to sniff out other vegetables they obviously prefer. To fix this, I always add a small portion of whatever veggie my family happens to eat that night. Variety is the spice of life.

Something crazy you might try would be to set a small aquarium, canning jar or two litre bottle in a window with some stem plants and a little KNO3 in it. For one, you'll have nice green water for fish fry or daphnia, also algae should begin to grow on the stem plants which you can then remove from the jar and add to the aquarium. It'd be a way of having a prettier viewing tank, and still having some algae to eat.


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## ruki (Jul 4, 2006)

I keep a 5 gallon tank of green water just for feeding fry and daphnia. It's getting close to a year now that it's been going. From my experience, once a tank goes green, it tends to stay green unless you have a plant like water lettuce that takes about a week to clear it up. When it becomes less thick, I add some nitrate and phosphate and that greens it up really well.

Green water usually kills off all the other algae since it clouds the water so much. So adding excess nutrients to get non-green water algae might be counter productive.

Haven't tried to raise other forms of algae. Don't plant to either.


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## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

Thank you for your replies, I am not looking for a way to grow water borne alage, they must be growing on surfaces. Green water won't do my plecos any good, I wanted to clarify (no pun intended).

SKSuser: I only keep panaques, and when they are fresh from the importer some individuals seem to take quite a while before they discover veggies. But they are very keen on the gracing. I guess that fruit and and vegitables are a rarity in thier native rivers and will probably disappear very quickly when they fall into the water. Panaques live almost exclusively of wood, including algae and aufwuchs.

So for those starved newcomers I imagine that a tank filled with pieces of wood coverd by a thick layer of alga would be really good. I did have a plan that involved a clear plastic container filled with water, fertilizer, pieces of wood and a greenhouse. The paln was to grow the algae in the greenhouse and move wood in and out as needed. Unfortunately my greenhouse was destroyed in a storm this winter. 

-SF


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

Wow, I'm sorry to hear that about your greenhouse. It sounds like you were on the right track.

I'd love to see pictures of your panaques setup.


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## scissorfight (Apr 17, 2006)

SKSuser: I take the worst pictures ever, but... here are some pics.

http://menarana.googlepages.com/smtank.jpg
http://sethputnam.com/xx/fisk%20010%20(Large).jpg
http://www.sethputnam.com/xx/fesk%20124%20(Large).jpg


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## SKSuser (Mar 20, 2006)

Very cool.
I assume we're looking at two separate tanks side by side? Are they DIY, or factory? Do they share a filter, or any other mechanics?

Also let us know about your lighting and day/night schedules, how long the tanks have been set up, and anything you add to the water. I'm sure when someone comes along that is about to give the definitive answer, they'll want to know those specifics.


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