Algae "Outbreak" - Fresh Water - 16 Gal

[Caio]

Greetings -

Our Fresh water tank is having a bit of an algae outbreak. We thought we were able to clean it and swap out about 1 Gal of water three days ago, but since then the algae growth has accelerated.

My wife and I are very new to aquarium management, so we would appreciate any advice anyone would be willing to provide.

Specifically we're looking fo guidance on additional fish/others we can add to help with algae management, as well as guidance about what type of cleaning we should in the short term to manage the algae.

16 Gallon Fresh water tank (Fluval Spec V 16). 

Current residents are:

• Six Guppies
• Three Tetras

They seem happy and active, and even peck at the algae at times. We are anticipating adding more, but planned to wait a little while to ensure we can select the right things.

Here are our last three measurements:

• pH
  • 27-Nov : 6.8
  • 8-Dec : 7.6
  • 11-Dec : 7.6
• Ammonia
  • 27-Nov : 0ppm
  • 8-Dec : 2ppm
  • 11-Dec : 2ppm
• Nitrate
  • 27-Nov : 0ppm
  • 8-Dec : 0ppm
  • 11-Dec : 2ppm
• Nitrite
  • 27-Nov : 0ppm
  • 8-Dec : 2ppm
  • 11-Dec : 2ppm

We swapped out about 1 gallon of new water on 8-Dec. We use Seachem Prime & Stability on any new water.

Light is on about 12 hours per day. The tank is next to a window so it does get some outside light.

Heater is set for 79° and confirmed the temp with a separate thermometer.

Thank you 

[lefty o]

likely being next to a window is going to be your biggest challenge. direct sunlight likes to grow green stuff. i would also cut back on how long the tank light is on. 8 to 10 hours is usually plenty, without being by a window. green stuff grows with too much nutrients, and too much light. i would likely double or triple your water change size also.

[Caio]

Thanks @lefty o. I've just reduced my overhead light timer to about 8 hours.

We'll also look for a new home for the tank farther from a window.

Any suggestions from anyone as far as additional fish to add to this tank? We've been told that there is room for more but are not quite sure what would pair well with the fish we already have.

[lefty o]

a bristlenose pleco, or a pandagarra or two . they both tend to reside on the bottom, and will nibble on the algae as a bonus.