# where can I get some algae?



## ming shipwreck (Mar 24, 2011)

I've just started a new NPT, and I want to encourage the right kind of algae to grow in it. Does anybody have any suggestions or better yet experience with finding an agreeable sort of algae to seed their tanks with? I was thinking to ask one of the local LFSes if they'll give me a couple pieces of gravel with some algae on them, maybe from their oto tank. I don't mind hair algae as long as the hairs don't get too long.

My 5-gallon bowl has this coarse, stringy green hair that I think is the same stuff that washes up on the shore of Lake Michigan when there's waves. The four otos and the small Chinese algae eater in the bowl seem to be at least trying to eat whatever algae is in there but they don't seem to have much affect on the amount of green hair that's in there.


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## mudboots (Jun 24, 2009)

I've never heard of a need to seed algae, as most types will show up in the water and come in on plants regardless. Even folks I know who do RO and bleach-dip their plants get algae of various species.


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## ming shipwreck (Mar 24, 2011)

It's not that I'm worried there won't be any algae, I'm hoping if I give a head start to algae that my critters (snails, otos, CAE) will eat, and that doesn't fill up the water with stringy mats, I won't get as much of the stuff that's overrunning the other tank.


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## psusaxman2000 (Dec 22, 2009)

I just laughed pretty good. I think this is the first time I've seen someone looking for algae. I don't know how to help with your quest except maybe turning your lights on for to long or messing with one of your other parameters. Get a few plants and let nature do it's own thing, then when it sufficient, introduce your ottos or other critters.

Kenny


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## Diana K (Dec 20, 2007)

Set up a bucket or two in the sun outdoors. Plenty of rocks about 2" diameter. 
Keep it full of used tank water. 
Watch the algae grow. Many sorts of algae seem to just show up. I think they are moving around on the birds or just through the air (??)

When you see the algae you like (or the fish like!) Dump all the others, scrub off the rocks and just keep the rocks with the right kind of algae. Put these back in the buckets, add the cleaned off rocks and refill with more used aquarium water. Then your overwhelming population will the the sort of algae you want. There will also be the 'wrong' sorts, but not much. 

Rotate these rocks into the tanks with Otos and other fish, and bring the rocks back to the buckets when the fish have cleaned them off.


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## ming shipwreck (Mar 24, 2011)

Thanks for the suggestions. Yeah, looking for algae does sound kind of like a joke. I like this idea of starting an algae farm. I live in a high rise, so no backyard, but I have big S-facing windows. I'll use pond water in some tanks, try and borrow a bit of gravel from an LFS, and maybe a bit of local topsoil or just nothing at all in others, and see what I get.


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## jetajockey (Nov 11, 2010)

I've had good luck growing algae in a 10g or 5g with a standard hood and screw in CFLs, leave em on 24/7 and in a few days all kinds of funk appears


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## Peterjay (Mar 4, 2011)

Algae spread by spores that are found everywhere on the planet in the air, soil, and water. There's no need to "seed" algae as long as you have a place and the proper conditions for it to grow. Unless you're in a hurry, all you need are water, nutrients and light.


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## Tex Gal (Nov 1, 2007)

Just get some algae wafers for your ottos and such. Don't worry about trying to seed your tank. You'll have more algae than you want soon enough.


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## jetajockey (Nov 11, 2010)

I've never had good luck getting my otos to eat regular algae wafers although recently i switched to a veggie wafer through bulk supply that they jump all over.


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## Fabien01 (Jul 11, 2011)

I think, we buy Oto to control algae , but we don't buy algae to have Oto ...


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## atarunomiko (Jul 18, 2011)

*I must be the only other person who ever had this same question*

Years ago, my 75-gallon semi-planted betta sorority developed thick curtains of green algae and a carpet of brown diatoms after a year of benign neglect (ammonia/nitrite/nitrate = 0, no filtration besides a bunch of A. ulvaceus and a sponge filter).

I didn't want to "waste" the algae (I wasn't just being lazy, I swear! :^o), so I got a bunch of different kinds of algae-eating fauna. My 3 otocinclus, 3 "true" Siamese algae eaters, and various snails and shrimp were so diligent that the tank actually completely ran out of algae within a shockingly short few months.

I tried lots of different kinds of commercial algae wafers and blanched vegetables which the SAE, snails and shrimp were only too happy to accept. But my otos refused to touch any of it and, after weeks of this experimentation, were starting to get skinny. They looked so pitiful, moving from spot to spot, sucking on the clean glass in vain.

I rushed to consult the great oracle, Google, for ways to grow more algae quick before my otos were toast. The only advice I could find were slow methods, like setting glasses of water in windowsills and waiting.

Not being able to find any good advice on rapidly increasing algae growth, I took Diana Walstad's book's advice on preventing and slowing down algae growth, and did the complete opposite (sorry, Diana): I *added* iron to the water column by (over)dosing API Leaf Zone (I usually don't use any ferts or additives at all, beyond food and fish waste). In two days a thin film of green algae started to appear on the tank wall that faces the window that's about five feet away from the tank.

True story. Science rules. 

One caveat: you might end up with some unwanted algae types if you go overboard with the iron, so monitor your tank carefully. If your otos are unable to keep up with the growth, stop dosing iron until they've finished most of the algae, to prevent the algae from taking over. Don't let them eat all of it before starting to add iron again, or you'll have to start from scratch again. (However, a few days without food shouldn't harm them unless they've been starving for a long time already.)

Hope this helps!


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## redchigh (Jul 10, 2010)

Diatoms, Otto's favorite foods, are common in new tanks.. So I would find a way to simulate that.

Find a large clear jar, and add some soil and leaves from outside. On top, add some rocks. High ammonia would likely be beneficial, since that's common in new tanks... Perhaps a tiny bit of non-aquatic plant food with high N...

Or you could try... a little bit of.. urine in the jar... (tiny amount, like a tsp per gallon...)


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