Algae wall...

[MichelleMichelle]

Has anyone heard of an algea wall?  Anyone done it?

[KaitieG]

I think that @Irene has done one--mentioned in a video somewhere.

Edited April 15, 2021 by KaitieG

[MichelleMichelle]

I'll check it out. Thanks!

[Yanni]

Algae walls are commonly used for shrimp tanks since it's a good place for them to graze on. I have seen lots of shrimp breeders grow algae on their tank walls just for shrimp. 

[gardenman]

I typically only clean the front and sides of algae and let it grow on the back wall. That said, since adding ramshorn snails to my tanks, algae is losing the fight to survive. I bought twelve ramshorn snails (six red and six blue) off of eBay in the fall and popped them in my ten gallon quarantine tank. The tank has needed no algae removal since they hit the tank. In early January I got a plant order from the Coop that included one larger red ramshorn snail that I popped into my larger breeder box. That one snail is now about fifty and that breeder box sparkles. It looks cleaner than it did when brand new. Additional smaller ramshorn snails/eggs were apparently on/in the plants as there's a giant school of them in my twenty high where many of the plants landed and once again, no algae issues. I've moved a few to my thirty high and I haven't had to clean the glass on that even though there are relatively few snails there. (So far anyway, there will be more in the very near future based on how quickly they reproduce.)

If you want algae in a tank, don't add ramshorn snails to the tank. They're remarkably effective at eliminating it. I've had nerites, mystery snails, bladder/pond snails, and none have been as effective at removing algae as the ramshorns. I don't know if I've just gotten magical ramshorns or what, but they've been the best algae eaters I've ever seen. 

[Irene]

Yes, I grew mine by a) not scraping down the back wall, b) putting my light closer to the back of the tank, and c) not having any snails. Nature takes care of the rest. 🙂

[MichelleMichelle]

7 hours ago, Irene said:

Yes, I grew mine by a) not scraping down the back wall, b) putting my light closer to the back of the tank, and c) not having any snails. Nature takes care of the rest. 🙂

Is there a video on it?  I know it's weird but I like seeing a carpet of hair algea and I thought if I could get it to grow on the back of the tank it would add pretty movement to the aquarium.

[Streetwise]

Shrimp love an algae wall. Hair algae can look gorgeous on wood, like a 1980’s hair band.

[MichelleMichelle]

Ok so I'm not crazy.  My little 10 gal has long hair algea on the big rocks and I love it. I also noticed the water is so clear and I think it's partially due to the algea.