Algae control can be difficult because there are literally thousands of different algae species out there. And you can only imagine that fighting algae can be a very frustrating process, especially because it is a war the algae generally ALWAYS wins. Algae is a problem for most fish keepers, and there isn’t a single person in the hobby who has had a run-in with it. The issue is that most people try to eliminate it from their aquariums completely. Which just isn’t possible, I get constant questions from people new to the hobby about brown or green algae in the aquarium. “How do I stop all these different algae from growing?” the simple answer to this is you don’t! Algae form on the glass, rocks, wood, and plants of every single aquarium without exception. You will just need to clean off the front glass once every two weeks or so, it is part and parcel of being in the hobby.
The number one best way to fight algae in your aquarium is to keep nitrates low by doing regular water changes and by not overfeeding your fish, keep your lights on for no more than 8 hours per day. And keeping up with your general maintenance. Another great way to control algae is to have live plants in your aquarium, by having live plants they outcompete algae for nutrients, which slows down the growth and new formation of algae. While this won’t remove the algae from your aquarium and won’t stop it from growing, someone who does regular water changes and maintenance will have much less of it and not have it out of control. Also, most algae aren’t harmful to your aquarium, and some are even beneficial in some cases. Like providing food for young fry, shrimp, snails, and algae eaters. Algae are also typically filled with little invisible organisms which like the mentioned critters just love to eat.
Having said that, algae is just a healthy part of the ecosystem of a tank that has been running for a couple of months, the problem comes in when it spins out of control affecting your plants and livestock. By keeping nitrates low by doing regular water changes and by not overfeeding your fish, keep your lights on for no more than 8 hours per day. But you can even do more by adding algae eaters like Bristlenose catfish, Otocinclus, Flying foxes, Silver Flying Fox, Nerite Snails, and shrimp just to mention a few. I am a big advocate for controlling algae the natural way. So I generally would not recommend chemicals to treat algae with unless it is completely out of control, as it has the habit of throwing off the balance of your aquarium, causing more issues than it solves. But if you are still looking to chemically control your algae if my above advice did not work, just have a look on My Tanklife you will easily find what you are looking for.
