Started a Community Tank at my work, and always have an algae problem.

[OlsonAquatics]

So a fellow co-worker and I setup a community tank at work, it's been going beautifully honestly, with one exception, we always have an algae problem.

We get rid of one algae, then a week goes by, and a different kind of algae springs up. We do regular water changes, the light is timed and it doesn't stay on long, and we clean the tank regularly. We even have shrimp, snails and algae eating fish in there to handle it and yet there still always seems to be some sort of algae problem.

In your opinion, what's the best way we can fix this and make the work tank look better?

[nabokovfan87]

On 7/17/2022 at 7:32 PM, OlsonAquatics said:

We get rid of one algae, then a week goes by, and a different kind of algae springs up. We do regular water changes, the light is timed and it doesn't stay on long, and we clean the tank regularly. We even have shrimp, snails and algae eating fish in there to handle it and yet there still always seems to be some sort of algae problem.

In your opinion, what's the best way we can fix this and make the work tank look better?

We need a few things answered before we dive into how to fix it!

Please post a tank shot as well as a photo of any algae that you see (might be a few different colors) close up so that we can try to see what it is.

What is your cleaning schedule and how do you clean it?  What volume of water are you changing?  Are you testing the tank at all?  What is your dosing schedule, if any?  What is your lighting schedule and light that you are using?  What plants are in the tank, how long have they been in the tank?  What is the substrate?  Do you have root tabs in the tank as well?

*exhale*

I understand that's a lot of questions.  The first step towards fixing the algae is to answer them, but also to understand why and what kind of things cause some types of algae so you know what to look for and how to adapt things when you do see some pop up.  Here's a few articles to help offer some advice.

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/blogs/aquarium/aquarium-algae

https://www.aquariumcoop.com/pages/algae-identification-guide-1

[anitstuk]

@OlsonAquatics gonna need a reply mate