Aquarium Algae Prevention

Everyone wants their aquariums to be crystal-clear and blue. That’s why it can be terribly demoralizing when no matter how often you clean your fish tank it gets overgrown with algae. When I worked in a pet store (many eons ago) I remember some aquarium owners saying that they cleaned their tanks once or twice a week (rather than the recommended once-a-month) and they still couldn’t keep the algae at bay! There is no reason anyone should have to work that hard to keep their aquarium clean. As you’ll see, there are some easy things you can do to greatly minimize the spread of algae so you can spend more time enjoying your aquarium and less time slaving over it!

5 Simple Algae Prevention Tips

	Get it out of the sunlight. Keeping aquariums near windows can be problematic, and not just because of the draft! Algae will thrive in sunlight.
	Turn off the light. Leaving an aquarium light on 24 hours a day can turn your fish tank into a swamp. Limit the hours you leave it on to about 8 hours per day and always make sure it’s turned off before you go to bed. If you have trouble remembering to turn it off, consider using a timer.
	Add an algae eater. Or more, depending on the size of your aquarium. Siamese algae eaters, otocinclus, plecos, whiptail cats (to name a few) think that algae are super yummy. These little guys can help prevent algae from running amok as well as adding to the liveliness and beauty of the aquarium.
	Add live plants to your aquarium. This helps control algae because they absorb the nutrients in the water that algae would need to grow.
	Don’t overfeed. Give the fish 5 minutes to eat and then remove the excess food with a fine mesh net.

Although it can be a bit unsightly, algae is a natural thing and in small amounts is generally okay.

Also, if you find that you’ve just done a major aquarium cleaning, or just set up a new one, and it seems to be quickly turning green (or brown or whatever color the algae is that you have been getting) do NOT run for the siphon just yet! You may find that in a couple of weeks the algae reduces on it’s own as the tank gets its equilibrium back.