# How to get rid of algae



## AlphaBetta1 (Nov 3, 2012)

I've got a pretty bad algae problem in my 10 gallon community, I have a scrubber but sometimes it doesn't get all the algae, particularly the algae that grows in the corners of the tank, not to mention on the filter and plants and such. Do any of the chemicals available work, what would you reccomend?


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## mart (Dec 18, 2013)

UV Sterilizer.


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## amphirion (Jan 15, 2014)

uv sterilizer only works for green water algae (im assuming you're talking about one that sucks water through it)

algae exists because there is a surplus of nutrients within the water that allows them to persist. whether it be a nitrogen source from too much feeding, potassium from your water pipes, or too much light, something is setting it off. your best luck would be to identify the type of algae found in your aquarium (different algae species have different optimal conditions), google it's optimum growth conditions and do everything possible to limit these. multiple water changes will help the initial round as they will remove excess nutrients from the water column. best of luck.


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## mart (Dec 18, 2013)

amphirion said:


> uv sterilizer only works for green water algae (im assuming you're talking about one that sucks water through it)
> 
> algae exists because there is a surplus of nutrients within the water that allows them to persist. whether it be a nitrogen source from too much feeding, potassium from your water pipes, or too much light, something is setting it off. your best luck would be to identify the type of algae found in your aquarium (different algae species have different optimal conditions), google it's optimum growth conditions and do everything possible to limit these. multiple water changes will help the initial round as they will remove excess nutrients from the water column. best of luck.


But, they didn't say which type of algae it was.


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## amphirion (Jan 15, 2014)

mart said:


> But, they didn't say which type of algae it was.


yep. so alphabetta needs to let us know which type. we know that it's not green water algae because he mentions using a scrubber.


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## shellieca (Jul 12, 2012)

Does your tank have lights & if so how long are they on each day? I have found that I cannot keep my tank lights on longer than 8-9 hrs per day, this applied to the green slimey algae as well as the brown. The maturity of the tank also seemed to play a small role in the brown algae.


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## happypappy (Apr 5, 2012)

i have tried seachem excel for algae in my 75 gal and 30 gal. it works great but has to be dosed at least every other day. It has controlled both hair and black algae ---


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