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What is the best way to keep scum from building on the bottom of a fish tank2007-11-24 23:41:04

If you have an excess of algae you may have too much light getting to the tank, as algae is alive and grows rapidly in light, if its near a window, move it to a darker position and only have the tank light on in daylight hours, this may slow the growth of the algae.

Good luck.

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Sounds like you're overfeeding.

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Add an under gravel filter, and rinse all the rocks and plants in VERY hot water. The filter will pull the small debris through to the filter and the hot water should help kill off any bacteria or fungus that is living in the rocks. Had a 55 gallon tank that I had to keep at 78 degrees with 2 under gravel filters and a top filter just to keep the gunk on the bottom cleared to a manageable level for the algae eaters I had. Good luck!

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Probably just a different type of algae, that your algae eaters don't eat. Try reducing the light in the tank to no more than 8 hours if it's longer than that. Also, are you using a gravel vac/siphon when you clean the tank/do your water changes? When you do the water changes, fill up a bucket with the tank water, remove the plants/rocks and clean them with a new-never used tooth brush in the bucket of tank water. Don't want to use regular tap water from the sink, the chlorine will kill off any beneficial bacteria that may be growing on the decoration. I don't recommend an undergravel filter, IMO they cause more problems. Algae isn't bad, it bothers people more than the fish..

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Too much light and overfeeding are the two most prevalent problems. Florescent lighting is best. Incandescent heats up water and direct sun can cause problems with green algae. Blue algae is lethal. If you have too much light (natural or mechanical), too much green algae will form.