Frequent Aquarium Questions

• What's the best choice for a garden pond?
  
  
• My saltwater tank is 29 gal and about a month old and all of a sudden there is a brown film over the crushed coral and the live rocks look brownish and almost dirty and reddish on the plastic plant it all appeared almost overnight... whats going on? and how do I fix it? (i have a couple blue legged hermit crabs)
  
  
• I have a 90 gallon aquarium. For several years I have had not one problem with algae. Then the aquaruim developed green water.Could this occur because of the type of fish I have? I must add that the fish that are in it have been there over a year before the problem occured. Which is a Gold Sevrum, Oscar and Red Hook Silver Dollar. 2 cats and 2 algae eaters. I have tried everything you have suggested to get rid of it and still it's there. Can you help?
  
  
• What is the easiest way to remove green algae from rocks in the aquarium?
  
  
• My 10 gallon aquarium water turned green. This I assume is algae. I changed 1/2 the tank and added an algae remover. However, this has not worked. I have turned the light off and will probably keep it off until the tank has cleared. What else can I do?
  
  
• I was wondering if it would hurt guppies if they ate goldfish food?
  
  
• I recently set up a saltwater tank. Brown algae has started to appear. Is it bad aglae?
  
  
• Hey, I have a few aquariums and the aquarium shop near where I live sells large dark yellow snails. They lay eggs all the time but I cant get them to hatch. The reason I want them to hatch is that they will buy them back off me. Can you help at all?
  
  
• Black spots started developing on the leaves of my plant and they start to yellow. i cant find a way to get rid of them, the black spots are spreading to other plants. what do i do?
  
  
• I have hair algae growing in my freshwater planted tank. My phospates have always been very high, and I cannot get them down. Is this what is contributing to the algae?
  
  

• What's the best choice for a garden pond?
  
  I would recommend purchasing a unit made specifically to hold water. This is accomplished by either molding a tub into various shapes or creating one with a pond liner and bracing it with stones or the actual ground. There is no way to avoid green algae. The amount is dictated by stocking levels, partial sun coverage, and feeding habits. You will also notice that ponds are usually black which inhibits algae growth.
  
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• My saltwater tank is 29 gal and about a month old and all of a sudden there is a brown film over the crushed coral and the live rocks look brownish and almost dirty and reddish on the plastic plant it all appeared almost overnight... whats going on? and how do I fix it? (i have a couple blue legged hermit crabs)
  
  Brown algae is common with tanks that are still cycling which is what you are going through. Make sure your lightbulbs are current since expired lamps will encourage brown algae growth. This should dissipate to some degree as the tank matures.
  
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• I have a 90 gallon aquarium. For several years I have had not one problem with algae. Then the aquaruim developed green water.Could this occur because of the type of fish I have? I must add that the fish that are in it have been there over a year before the problem occured. Which is a Gold Sevrum, Oscar and Red Hook Silver Dollar. 2 cats and 2 algae eaters. I have tried everything you have suggested to get rid of it and still it's there. Can you help?
  
  A ultraviolet sterilizer would help in this situation, but not solve the problem. As fish get larger the organic load that they put in the tank increases. The entire dynamics of the ecology changes. Because of this, you will either have to scrub algae more frequently, perform larger water changes, or perform full services more frequently. Also, don't overfeed your fish.
  
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• What is the easiest way to remove green algae from rocks in the aquarium?
  
  You can take out the rocks and bleach them in a bucket with 3 parts to 1 solution of bleach. After you have rinsed the rocks, you will need to dechlorinate the rocks in a solution of water and any safe product with sodium thiosulfate, i.e. Stress Coat.
  
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• My 10 gallon aquarium water turned green. This I assume is algae. I changed 1/2 the tank and added an algae remover. However, this has not worked. I have turned the light off and will probably keep it off until the tank has cleared. What else can I do?
  
  You also need to make sure the tank is not exposed to direct sunlight which will make algae grow faster than artificial lighting. Please try not to overfeed and change your filter media.
  
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• I was wondering if it would hurt guppies if they ate goldfish food?
  
  Your guppies can ingest food made specifically for goldfish if it is in flake form. The pelletized food is too hard and large for guppies.
  
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• I recently set up a saltwater tank. Brown algae has started to appear. Is it bad aglae?
  
  No. Brown algae typical growth in a new tank.
  
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• Hey, I have a few aquariums and the aquarium shop near where I live sells large dark yellow snails. They lay eggs all the time but I cant get them to hatch. The reason I want them to hatch is that they will buy them back off me. Can you help at all?
  
  To adequetly breed and hatch snails the specific species must be known in order to know of the animals specific requirements for breeding.
  
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• Black spots started developing on the leaves of my plant and they start to yellow. i cant find a way to get rid of them, the black spots are spreading to other plants. what do i do?
  
  When dealing with live plants and problem algae there is somewhat of a balancing act to maintain. For example many live plants will require the addition of CO2 alongside with adequete lighting. If the species of plant you are attempting to maintain requires CO2 to be added to the water and it does not acquire this problematic algaes will be given the opportunity to flourish while the plant is operating at a lower biological level.
  
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• I have hair algae growing in my freshwater planted tank. My phospates have always been very high, and I cannot get them down. Is this what is contributing to the algae?
  
  Yes. If the plants don't have to work at eliminating the phosphates out of your tap water, they can just concentrate on what is introduced naturally into the system. Since you don't have this occurring in your tank, you are seeing an outbreak of hair algae.
  
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