Aquarium question

[Emily's mom]

My last fish just died, the tank had lots of green sheets of algae that I could not clear up. I'm cleaning it out and would like to get new fish at some point. My question is what can I safely clean it out with to kill the algae...bleach?

Any help would be appreciated, thanks...

 

[LowriseMinis]

Avoid using bleach or any other chemical if at all possible. Even highly diluted bleach will kill fish, and I'm always paranoid that even if I rinse the tank 1000 times...

If you can get an algae scrubber or scraper that might work best. Keeping the lights off and the tank out of direct sunlight (or partially covered) will also help kill off the algae. As a last resort there are fish-safe chemicals you can buy at the pet store to kill algae.

 

[runamuk]

If your going to wait a while to get fish again, you could use a tablespoon of bleach per 10 gallons, scrape the sides, keep the lights off and run the filter. After a week do a 50% water change and treat with de-chlorinator and water enhancer (usually good bacteria and other stuff). If after another week you still have alot of algae scrape the sides and do another 50% water change again adding de-chlor and good stuff then maybe get 1 algae eater or small pleco. Depending on the size and type of tank (coldwater or tropical or salt or bracken) will determine how many and which types and sizes of fish. It is safest to add fish one at a time and space it as far as possible to let the tank acclimate, I like to do no more than two fish at a time and a week between any new additions. Make sure the tank isn't near a window or getting alot of sun.

 

[h2t99]

If you have a fresh water tank get a rubber nose algae eater, they can be a little pricey but you will never have algae!! I have a 45 gal. tank and he keeps it so clean I never have to clean the sides or rocks!!! :bgrin Well worth the price!!! Bonus they are actually neat to watch and are not as shy as some of the other algae eaters!!

:

 

[Steph_D]

I've always read that you can use bleach to clean it out, as long as you use a lot of dechlorinator afterwards.

As far as the algae goes, if you have enough lighting, live plants will out compete the plants. I don't have any algae eaters in my 29 gallon tank and I don't have any algae because I have a lot of plants and not many fish. Regular water changes will also help with algae. The algae feeds off of nitrates, which is the end result of the nitrogen cycle. The only way to get rid of the nitrates is with live plants or water changes. In my freshwater tanks, I rarely do water changes because I have so many plants.

Steph

 

[Sterling]

When I had my indoor tanks I used to scrub them occasionally with salt...the kind you find at the pet store. An algae scraper and a little bit of salt....then rinse. For my outdoor ponds to keep algae at bay I use Algae Stop which they also sell at places like Pet Smart for indoor aquariums too. Keeping on top of the algae before it gets a chance to grown and establish will save you tons of work later on. Once a week is usually a good rule of thumb to get in there and put drops and condition the water.

 

[shortymisty]

Or your could srub it as much as you can and buy some snails. I have four and though it's not an instant thing, they are getting the algae. Plus interesting little creatures to watch as well. The black snails are cheaper than the gold here, don't know why, maybe not as common. And you usually need some algae in a tank. Good luck

 

[HGFarm]

I never recommend using chemicals of any kind in a tank!

I must ask a few things- how big is your tank and what kind of filtration system do you have?? Also what temperature are you keeping your water at?

I also recommend an algae eater... there are kinds that do not get a huge size but sure work at keeping the algae away.

 

[Emily's mom]

HGFarm, it is a small 10 gallon tank.

We had some really hot humid weather and the temp of the water was quite warm.

I did have algea eaters but they didn't last longer than a week.

When the last fish died I took the tank down and scrubbed it with a small amount of baking soda, I moved the tank to a wall that will not get any direct sunlight.

I'll wait a couple of weeks and get some goldfish.

Thanks for all the help!!

 

[LowriseMinis]

If I may:

Comet and common 'feeder' goldfish will eventually grow to be roughly a foot long, and while most fancy varieties are shorter, they can still get to be orange-grapefruit size. In addition they produce a lot of waste, and you'll likely need to double the filtration in whatever tank they're in.

Personally I wouldn't keep a fancy goldfish in any tank smaller than a 30 gallon, with an additional 10-20 gallons for each additional fish.

If you're open, tell me about what you're looking for and I'd gladly make some suggestions for you ten gallon!

 

[runamuk]

What type of filter do you have? A ten gallon is a small tank so if you do gold fish I would not do more than 2 and maybe 1 pleco but that is pushing it. Goldfish are total slobs and get big.....mind you I love them but in a 10 it is a balancing act.

:

You might have better success with a few guppies, or bettas (females don't fight and you could keep one male just for his flashy looks :bgrin

otherwise get a small heater and go tropical for more options...neons, cory's, barbs, etc.......

 

[LowriseMinis]

Common plecos will generally push the one foot mark, too...also a bad idea for such a small tank, IMO.

 

[Steph_D]

Common plecos will generally push the one foot mark, too...also a bad idea for such a small tank, IMO.

Yep, I had some friends that kept a common pleco in a 10 gallon tank. Eventually, it got so big that it couldn't even turn around. They found it on the floor one morning after it had jumped out and died :no:

My suggestions for a 10 gallon tank would be some guppies (only males if you don't want to have hundreds of babies). You could also get a few dwarf cories, like panda, for bottom feeders. If you don't want guppies, then a small school of neons or harlequin raspboras (sp?) would look really neat as well. Getting a heater will open up a whole new world of possibilities, and the tropical freshwater fish aren't hard to take care of at all. As an example, in my 10 gallon tank, I have 2 guppies, 3 african dwarf frogs, 2 cories, and some cherry red algae eating shrimp.

Good luck.