The Puffer Forum

so lately i've been noticing A LOT of algae growth on the glass and decor of my green spotted puffer's tank. it's pretty nasty. i can clean it off the glass but when i go to clean it off the fake plants and the tube that is connected to the bubbler it just makes a mess and like flakes off and goes everywhere! should i take all the decor out and clean it all outside the tank? what do i do...

and it always seems like no matter how much i stir up the sand and run a gravel vaccume along the top of it there's always food and crap on the top of the sand. i just want my puffer's tank to be crystal clean=] any tips are appreciated

They are messy eater so the crystal clear tank is probally outta the question! I use a small fish net to grab the floating debris!

yeah i figured i'd get that reply hahahah and yeah i use the fish net technique also, im just more so upset about the nasty algae=/

Algae is hard cuz there so much that can cause it along with the type of algae your getting !I have always read to locate the source of your algae then eliminate that , but in a puffer tank it can just be due to the water condition! Im not sure if you have fresh, brackish or marine! I have 3 marine tanks and use cleanup crews ( turbo snails and hermits ) to help out ! I still have to get into the tanks once a week to scrub algae before it gets nasty . My porcupine tank gets most of the care cuz it needs the most love ! I am working on a sump to help out ! Not sure if im helping or not ! But just some ideas!

One of the best ways to eliminate algae is to actually make sure your tank isn't in direct sunlight. You can use a magnet cleaner for the glass, and if you happen to stir up algae when you're using your gravel vac don't worry too much. The filter will suck most of it up if it's good. Good luck =]

Is the tank brightly lighted for long days? Reducing the hours and intensity of the light will reduce the algae problems.

I'm having algae problems too!

I'm getting 'blanket weed' type stringy algae in my trop pond - that's because it's in a conservatory. I do a 50% change every other week and use a 1 inch bore syphon tube (corrugated pond tubing) to an outside drain. It's enough to get the stuff out to a resonable degree. Too much light that I can not do too much about apart from keep on top of clearing it out on water changes. Still - it hoovers nitrate and I'm careful to check the pH and hardness at least once a week in case too many minerals are removed. Soft water system, so I have to be careful of pH crashes. Just water changes seem to be ok in keeping things stable (2000l single Pacu and Clarius cat pond).

I also get 'hard' algae on my goldfish tank front glass (encouraged on the other surfaces for bacteria). This tank sits out of direct sunlight but enough glare gets through for the glass to need cleaning every week. I tend to use the corner of a the rough half of a four inch algae magnet on the glass while I'm doing a water change (Python syphon). I keep a hand pressed to the outside of the glass to avoid breaking the tank!

I've no photosythetic orgs in my LR 'reef' but the Yelloe Tail Blue damsel mostly seems to feed off of the algae (and microfauna) growing there. Not massively interested in frozen food but there are quite a lot of copeopods and the like around (set up is four years old if you include various tank moves).

Then there is my pond - different story! Need new UV bulb!