The 7 Best Ways To Stop Algae In Your Aquarium!

[@retro6652]

Me: "Oh cool, algae prevention tips." Aquapros: "Reduce the amount of wood you use." Me: "NEVER! YOU'RE DEAD TO ME."

[@HappyOne2017]

Yep he lost me there too... I want my fish healthy so I think we actually need to add more wood!!! 😊😊😊

[@UnderPresser]

When i first put wood in my tank, it turned the water brown. So i took it out, dried it for four days in the sun, then gave it three heavy coats of clear acrylic spray paint, washed it thoroughly two days later with soap and water, and then tested it in a pail of water, which it did not turn brown. Put the wood in the tank and no more problems, no decaying wood messing up the water params.

[@dallasbrat81]

​@@UnderPresseroh boy your wood was leeching tannins which are not bad just not attractive . There are filters that will help reduce tannins in water .

[@FatherFish]

Algae isa the most important marker of a healthy tank.

[@bababoy8845]

Some people do want a aesthetically pleasing tank

[@robocem256]

It is, but why would you want a mossy pond

[@hkk3656]

I have absolutely no algae. I use house plants growing outside of the aquarium with the roots dangling in. They use up all the nutrients that algae need. This tank gets direct sunlight on the side, and NO algae is growing. Ammonia is zero. The plant I use is Hawaiin Umbrella. There are many others and good videos showing how. Fish and plants are happy! (BTW I've been feeding Tetra Min).

[@Zingo89]

Great tips! I'v had a tank up and running for ~6 years now with great success and I think my biggest reason to close to 0 algae is that I act as if I got algae even when I dont, what i mean by this is that I clean the glass, i brush the rocks, i gently wave over the plants etc when I do maintenence even when theres nothing there, Im my mind im removing algae spores that are too small to see with the eye, but maybe theres nothing there :P anyways it has worked great for me!

[@slavihinkov1836]

Being in the hobby with planted tanks for the past 7-8 years and following your channel and others as well I can confirm everything you said is correct. People need to stop forcing plants that just don't work, because of your water, co2 demand and so on, to mess everything else that is established. I too did a lot of water changes, because I kept a lot of premium/rare plants and fishes and as the time goes by I learned this style is just a "job" and not hobby. Now I stick with most common fishes and plants in my area and everything is fine and I'm not a slave anymore

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks for the feedback!

[@michaellarson3697]

I'm starting to learn this lesson, Slavi, after being in the hobby for 3-4 years. Thanks for your insightful comment.

[@barebottomaquariums1419]

Your most informative and might I say best video in a while. We see the resurgence. Looks good on you. Now about BBA?

[@AQUAPROS]

Hey thanks for the kind words! BBA is def a different battle. Most of the time requires chemical intervention aka h2o2 or the big B 😳

[@cut419ram]

Man, the first one hit the nail on the head for the issue I have I think. This one smaller tank I have has a large piece of wood that the algae prolifrates on. I have other tanks with wood but not anything near the amount of wood to water ratio like this one I have with a big green hair algae issue. Thanks for the tip! I must say thought that the amano shrimp I got for the tank love it! There's baby shrimp in there too now.

[@clayp7682]

I don't know why people in the hobby are so terrified of bladder snails/MTS. They literally will keep your tank spotless and it looks so cool, giving your tank that ecosystem feel.

[@____________838]

I know when I first started with aquariums, I saw bladder snails “eating” my plants. I didn’t realize at the time that my plants were in fact already dying, and the snails were eating the decaying parts…

[@hermionefinnigan]

Hmm … bladder snails do eat live healthy plants too - especially their teeny tiny babies. True.

[@EuroGupper]

​@@hermionefinniganI have never seen that 😮

[@arkgaming5344]

I had agale in my 3 gallon, i added 1 snail and he cleaned my tank so good i see no algae for months lol plus my army of shrimp

[@FusionDeveloper]

I love snails and slugs... I love prolific species (that are not parasites or feed on [the stuff leeches/mosquitos/deer-flies eat]). The way I see if, the more prolific a species, the less effort it should take to breed them. I feel good about raising a species that reproduces and feel bad about keeping a species that doesn't reproduce. (How I feel is not right versus wrong, it's just what works for me in my situation, so don't feel bad for being different) I've raised bladder snails (still do technically). I intentionally raise Ramshorn snails (I love them. My favorite aquatic snail so far). I am getting started with MTS soon. I have a culture in 1 aquarium that I will be moving to mine. - Bladder snails pros are also their cons. Bladder snails are small and fast and very adventurous. They go everywhere possible. The benefit, is that they will go to all the hard to reach places. The downside, is that they will often climb out of the water and estivate, they will climb through siphon/filter hoses and everything. If your tank is only a no filter or sponge filter, then this isn't really an issue. Out of the 2 species, bladder and ramshorn, the bladder snails are the only ones that end up in my aquarium pump. - Ramshorn snails are bigger, slower and not adventurous. The benefit is that they rarely climb out of the aquarium and don't seem to have interest in crawling into potential risky areas. The downside and upside is that they will likely not enter/clean siphon hoses and pumps. They also will munch on Water Sprite plant, but that plant can out-compete them in speed and I think it is not their favored food source anyway. - MTS is a new one for me. It is cool that they are Live-bearers (unlike egg laying bladder and ramshorn). It is crazy that they can have up to 70 babies at a time, whereas bladder and ramshorn snails seem to lay eggs in a group of 10-20 (estimating from guessing). The cool thing is that they have a trap-door like a Apple Snail (the fearsome plant eater that gets really big). Their body is also shaped different, similar to a Rabbit Snail, where they look like a snail with an elephant trunk. They also occasionally move more like a plaster bagworm at times, where they reach out, grab and then pull their body to where they grabbed. I hear the downside is that their shells can be unusually strong and clog/break aquarium pumps and can burrow into filter material. That sounds bad and I hope it won't be an issue for me with my setup. The upside I hear is that they dig down into soil/gravel/etc and mix things up, to prevent pockets of oxygen-free areas (anaerobic). I'm willing to give them a try.

[@garrisonsmith2684]

So cool you are making food now! Just put in for the free sample thanks so much I know my fish will love it will probably place a LEGIT order soon!

[@aTurney03]

I like the "2 F's" with live plants to lower nitrates to stop algae. Floaters and Ferns. Didn't know you're the legit fish food, discovered that brand yesterday from a Facebook ad.

[@keithsextonakathebluerose]

I added lots of plastic plants for shaded places and as a baby fish or shrimp nursery, Mystery snails and a wall of live plants and limiting the light to an average of 10 to 12 ours of variable lights. After 5 months together, my 60 gallon tank still looks clear with 30 cherry shrimp and 20 neon tetras and 16 white clouds and four snails.

[@stephenbrown2054]

I’m doing every one of them, including a ton of Java fern (which are struggling with brown spots) and my duckweed died off. and still am dealing with BBA. Someone else suggested the problem may be that I’m out of balance with too little nutrients. Thoughts?

[@judgesfiveeight]

Other than a seriously out of control bloom, I don't get too terribly worked up over even a moderate amount of algae anymore, it's a natural part of any balanced ecosystem you're trying to establish and I've grown to appreciate the aesthetic. I look at is as a "test strip" in and of itself... out of control algae is just an indicator that your lighting duration or intensity is off. Overfeeding is the other major catalyst. It also goes without saying that you should have some sort of well established cleanup/algae-eating crew, be it fish or invertebrates.

[@susyclau7433]

You did promise more videos, man! You're delivering, great topic 👌🏼👌🏼👌🏼

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks Susy! 😁😉

[@susyclau7433]

@@AQUAPROS the charcoal tip blew my mind 😂

[@MissChelle]

I’d add temperature to the list. My cold water tank has way less algae, even tho it is under a skylight. My warm water tanks are always a struggle to keep balanced. 🇦🇺❤️

[@AQUAPROS]

True! Good tip :)

[@rajoos.2861]

Agreed. Local pond conected to river has algae bloom during hot season and clearer water with lesser algae during colder season.

[@katicasey4610]

Scuds also love algae. They’re little crustaceans and they’ll also munch on any fungus, dead leaves, leftover fish food, plant clippings, even dead fish. They’re great if you don’t have shrimp and don’t mind your other fish helping themselves to a snack every now and then

[@Roman_Terrariums]

can they go together with shrimps?

[@FusionDeveloper]

Lots of youtubers with videos on algae are getting videos from me. I need to grow algae, but the way my tank is setup, I can't, and I can trying to find a solution.

[@stevegee8010]

I'm planning on setting up a 29 gallon Walstad tank with White Clouds and Cherry Shrimp but I still have no idea about stocking levels.

[@FunWithHOScaleStuff]

Very informative. Thanks. I have very healthy fish in my tank, great growth and color. However I wanted to have a planted tank but can't achieve that. I tried repeatedly with numerous plants and all but a single plant died. I always considered anacharis a weed plant but all of that promptly died. I had hair algae and the bottom matted over with regular algae and Cyanobacteria that turned a menacing black. I reduced the light and food and that eliminated the hair and Cyanobacteria but not the algae. It thrives. Some plants are expensive and having them continuously die off turned me off to even trying. Also, I used a thick substrate comprised of gravel at the bottom and sand on top of that. The sand gets stirred up and clogs the filter motor. I'd not recommend that to anyone. Thanks again for your video. I'll consider your advice carefully.

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks John, its always a battle but you can do it!

[@marcl.1346]

If you boil driftwood with certain additives you preserve it and doesn't decompose.

[@andrewgoldfish]

Very helpful guide. Thanks.

[@gertinewoord1887]

I think in general it would be good to use less light and less food and less fish...more plants and more fine sand to cap the soil that your plants grow on.do not try to alter your water but choose fish and plants that go with your waterparameters. Dont use ciclids in a dirted tank.do use schrimp en floating plants .if you do all of this the chance off getting algea is very slim.

[@carolallain6130]

What about natural sunlight? My apartment get tons of sunlight and I try to hide my tank from it but it affects it.

[@segdoh]

I'm anxious to hear your ideas concerning getting rid of various algae.

[@itzame2127]

how did you find the ideas after the vid?

[@Kyddoemiko13]

Setting up a new tank, I boil my wood in salt water and vinegar, then I rinse in cold water then bake it for 3 hours at 200 degrees in the oven. Since then nothing has attached itself to it 🤞🏼. If you could do a video on how to keep your floaters alive that would be helpful. Selvinia, water lettuce 🥬, and red root . I have never killed a plant as fast in my life as I do with them. 😑

[@pfdavidz]

Thanks for the video!

[@AQUAPROS]

Any time david 😀😎

[@sherryp8967]

Excellent tutorial!

[@shamimdawood51]

What do you use to pull algae from equarium

[@cathyhendrix7552]

Thanks for this topic. I've been fighting regular algae and black beard algae. UGH 😩. I got some amano shrimp and they made quick work of the regular algae but wouldn't touch the BBA. I had put 2 pieces of wood in my tank and after a couple of months, that's when it started. I didn't realize that wood would contribute to algae. 🤦 But I did get rid of the wood, but only because of the BBA that was on it. It got all over my plants and it's still on the smaller rocks but not on the gravel substrate.🤔. I had gotten rid of my floating watersprite when I put the wood in. I didn't want a huge chunk of watersprite blocking my wood. Boy was that a wrong choice, uh? LOL. Anyways, thank you very much for the video. It answered several of my questions.

[@AQUAPROS]

Glad to hear it helped, BBA is the hardest to get rid of cause its one of the most resilient algaes... Most of the time you gotta scrap the infected stuff or try H2O2 or harsher chems 😵🤦‍♂️

[@cathyhendrix7552]

@@AQUAPROS I would rather not use chemicals in my tank if I can avoid it. Someone suggested that I cover it up with sand. IDK if that would work or not. But I'm going to just scrap it all and start over again. I really don't want to do that, but..........

[@CrazyAquariumGuy]

Easy Life- Easy Carbo is my trick combined with plants. Always worked for me for 10 years.

[@dean6880]

How much and how often do you dose, thanks

[@CrazyAquariumGuy]

@@dean6880 max dose, every day for 2 weeks.

[@CrazyAquariumGuy]

@dean6880 If that doesn't help. Set your aquarium light for 6,5h by timer. And important that the easy carbon goes in when the light turns on! If that doest help, I would buy cheap fast growing plants. Hydrophilic, Guppy grass etcetera and let it take over. Trust me, it will. And of course 50% waterchange every 7 days. Good Luck.

[@TheAworley1978]

So informative thank you!!!

[@dannybonsai7102]

I have a dark powdery algae that grows almost exclusively on the leaves of my plants, ive been trying to get the plants to outcompete the algae but they haven't achieved this yet on account of their leaves being directly attacked. Im fertilising the plants with root tabs, can I tip the scales in favour of the plants if I up the frequency of water changes?

[@Gloucester128]

Unrelated to algae but.....I'm having trouble keeping plants alive. I've learned not all nitrates are equal. The nitrates from fish waste and unconsumed food do not make plants grow. Would you agree with that? My source says bring down levels to 25ppm with a water change and then add quality ferts to bring no higher than 50ppm. Would you agree with that? I've thrown so much money at dying plants. I need a solution. Thanks.

[@patty3979]

I've heard many fish keeper's say they fast their fish periodically. They say it's fine, "because that's what fish deal with in the wild." I'm totally missing the logic behind that statement. Most hobbyists do not have wild caught fish, they have tank raised fish. Fish that have never had to fend for themselves out in the wild. So, I don't see how a wild fish (lack of finding food some days) is at all relevant to my fish who has lived in his aquarium his entire life and has gotten fed every day?? (Granted, your fish probably won't die if they're not fed for a couple of days. I just think purposely letting him go hungry is cruel and unnecessary)

[@rgorji]

Very nice video. Thanks. I ordered a sample of your food.

[@AQUAPROS]

Thanks Reza, shippin out tomorrow! 😎

[@dADAquaHobby]

1st thing, if there is no flow agitation of water inside tank, then there is a possibility of algae, 2nd. co2 is less, 3rd, if you trim and replant, then the dirt form from substrate sets on the leaves, 4. adding access amount of iron with out CO2. 5th, bright light with out CO2.

[@JTCT371]

I dont mind algae. Ive got "invasive" snails which make short work of it (so far)....I also have a built in ecosystem, my phosphates are 0, driftwood is clean....one thing I notice which I need more time to prove it to myself.....when my tank was cleaned by them initially, their numbers dropped....with my most recent algae accumulating on the glass, the numbers of snails have risen....will be observing to see if the numbers fall when the food sources deplete. Thats what should happen in theory. I also have a 24/7 light cycle so while the aquarium is lit all day into the evening, the light intensity is only high a small handful of hours per day. Its working so far.. will make adjustments as I feel are needed.

[@NiX_aKi]

Awesome topic! Lovin this 60 FPS..nice camera 💕

[@AQUAPROS]

🥰🥰🥰

[@churchlj8055]

Anyone have thoughts on putting tint on led light in aquarium light that is not removable or adjustable

[@wcdeich4]

I always had trouble with with white slime clogging filters and killing aquatic plants. I wish I had green algae.

[@AZTEC_ARTS2023]

Question : Would you have a few recommendations for "out of tank" plants that i could setup just over my tank ? With their roots that dip in the water ** Thanks !

[@hkk3656]

@AZTEC ARTS absolutely do it. It's working wonders for me. There are a lot of videos showing how. I use Hawaiin Umbrella plant, but there are many others too.

[@matthewmercier-dp6ji]

I have a 30 gallon tank it has one autocat 4 Cory cats two snails with some pest snails a few guppies ( females ready to give birth) and one batta fish the tank has been set up for just about 2 months the first month no algae the with in the last two weeks it is everywhere string algae green spot algae I went to work and came home and it was everywhere I work 4 days on 4 days off I just don’t know what to do

[@quantumtechcrypto7080]

You can over clean your water with activated carbon. It makes your water crystal clear even makes it sparkle more in rhe sun in my opinion. But it also makes it seem sterile?? This was in a small above ground pond.

[@galejohnson8086]

Interesting! In the 1960s when a kid, a fish keeper had me keep a box filter of carbon, and we never had visible algae

[@alantizzinfandel6473]

Hey. Great video. I hope you can see this comment or anyone in chat. I am a little confused. I just got a sort of algae outbreak, l dont think is too serious but still looks bad. My substrate is completely covered in mini leaf grass. The grass looks good and healthy. I just introduced a small anubias and a java fern. By the way my tank is just a small 3 gallon. I have 2 neon tetras, 3 amanos and a snail. I just dont know what l am doing wrong. Feed them 1 time a day. I would apreciate some good tips. Thanx

[@Kat-hs2ij]

Just got shrimps ! They'll go crazy and in a few weeks no more algae, you would even want some

[@thomasbridges6775]

Good job!

[@roadlimoster]

What about the U2 concert? 12:55

[@naegwut]

Great audio

[@emukiller1985]

My newest issue is staghorn algae

[@anselmmartin1085]

Great 👌!

[@markdecker2724]

Quick question about activated charcoal. Does it not take the fertz out of your water?

[@WhatIsMisophonia]

it removes metals as well as poc (particulate organic carbon) and doc (dissolved organic carbon). It won't removed nitrates or most other ferts: It just removes organic particulates that break down and eventually convert to fertilizer. Also, it removes tannins from wood. I use a product from Seachem called Purigen, which acts similar to activated carbon, but can be recharged by soaking it in a bleach solution.

[@EvanLudo]

Balance is key

[@TheFreshWaterStudios]

what light do you use

[@homegeographic5351]

is that razor blade on the magnet twords the fish? i mean, not flat on the crystal. they dont cut themselves?

[@AQUAPROS]

Its not sharp enough to cut!

[@ill-fatedgamer]

aww can't buy the food in Canada :(

[@LindaMcFall-d3b]

Where did you get the shelving unit?

[@AQUAPROS]

Wayfair i think?

[@CrazyAquariumGuy]

Yeah, like do not buy 95% of the brand Tropical! Sh.t, ingrediens in almost all of them. They do have those 5% that are awesome though.

[@hectorskmetija3015]

I want algae in my 200L goldfish tank for my BN pleco and 2 snails. I grow some plants in a separate tank to cake in algae, which i then tranfer to my goldfish tank, so everyone can have a good munch.

[@MarijkeWillemsen990]

I keep the algae out with fast growing floating plants that I “harvest” every week. They grow like crazy and use the excess of nutrients.

[@bnato8209]

Dont use test strips. They are not accurate and deadly. My test strip was showing 6.2 PH but my API Master Kit is showing 7.4. I was going to add a PH upper with the test strip. Glad I didnt.

[@Honda_Hooligan]

Lots of live plants and plenty of CO2 pumped in = no algae problems. 😁

[@carolallain6130]

Can you speak about getting rid of those annoying little brown snails, please and thank you🐠

[@AQUAPROS]

Pea puffers if you have little to no other tank mates that would cause problems. Or a loach like a clown loach with eat em up!

[@carolallain6130]

@@AQUAPROS thank you so much for your response-not sure what a pea puffer is but will look it up🦀

[@thomashaapalainen4108]

@@AQUAPROS heck I have a tank devoted to breeding bladder snails just to feed my small shoal of peapuffers.

[@jonny_mazerati9410]

We need a quick clip in the next video of you riding that skate board sitting in the corner 🛹

[@AQUAPROS]

kickflip clip? :)

[@jonny_mazerati9410]

@@AQUAPROS yes ! That would be awesome 👏

[@johannenslin4136]

Many many shrimps also

[@Blu3ni0000]

Would amano shrimp be a good tank mate with zebra loaches?

[@maggiepie8810]

Algae eaters! Plecos are super cute.

[@hendriyahya7995]

Siamese Algae Eater fish can eat BBA all of them..

[@Pesticide7G]

No it cant

[@booshveg]

the most effective way for me is to decrease the intensity of my light

[@gertinewoord1887]

The fish do not produce nitrates.its what you feed them so feed less.

[@namelessone5968]

fasting is really a good practice, it helps in reducing maintenance, keeps the fish healthy, and reduces the chance of an algae and snail explosion.

[@dallasbrat81]

I jave hungry snails that help make my tank spotless they eat the alge on my plants so they look spotless. Win win

[@devinspaugh1922]

You completely confused me on the lighting situation. Made zero sense to me. You said “people are using low tech and not cranking the high light” and then right after it you said you should “dial the lights down and reduce the amount of light going into the tank” ……..how does that make sense? 🧐

[@HappyOne2017]

So you want me to take out the wood in my tanks that are helping my fish be healthy?

[@PrincessTS01]

I have algae eaters for that!!!

[@AQUAPROS]

Nice! Its a great way to do it!

[@dnealuk]

Stopped watching. You lost all credibility with your first point - reduce the amount of wood. That's not even an option. It's like saying 'reduce the amount of glass'.

[@shrimpwerks2343]

Jesus Christ mike what you gonna do next get a big shallow? 😂😂

[@billm2412]

Nice content mate. Do not miss out - P r o m o S M !!!