# black stuff growing in tank



## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

I am a total newbie with aquariums. I changed the water in my aquarium just like I have before and all of my fish died one by one, I had them for a couple of years. I took all of the dead fish out about a month ago now I have this black stuff growing in my tank and do not know what it is. I took some pictures hoping that someone could identify the stuff. I do not want to buy new fish yet until I know they have some kind of chance of surviving. Any help will be great.


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## willow (Sep 9, 2006)

hello and welcome.
you have algae in your tank that's growing all over.
you can remove the plants and give them a scrub in plain old hot water,the
algae growing on the back you should be able to remove with either an algae magnet,
or a non soap scrubber.
has everything died in there  do you have a test kit and dechlorinator for the water.
sorry you've lost your fish.


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## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

The algae won’t come off of the plants or gravel. I can scrub it off the glass though. I want to start from new but do not want the algae to ruin my plants and gravel again. I have well water don’t know if that had anything to do with it. I don’t know anything about testing the water because I had never needed to until now. I am sure I can find all the water testing info searching on the forums. Thanks for your reply.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I had that same algae in my tank once. I'm assuming the plants are real and not plastic? What type of lighting do you have on the tank and
how many hours do you keep them on??

PS. Welcome to the forum!


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## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

The plants are plastic, fluorescent lights are on 24/7.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

The lighting duration is the problem. 24/7 is a perfect environment for algae to thrive. Did you keep the lights on 24/7 when you had fish in the tank?


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## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

aunt kymmie said:


> The lighting duration is the problem. 24/7 is a perfect environment for algae to thrive. Did you keep the lights on 24/7 when you had fish in the tank?


yes, I have never shut them off even with the fish in there. Dont ask me why I still have them on without any fish in it, but I am going to shut them off right now.


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## Krinedawg (Aug 5, 2009)

One of the problems is lights on 24/7. I have and I'm sure allot of us do, put our lights on timers. Unless it stays daylight 24/7 where the fish come from, they need light cycle too.
Is the aquarium near a window? Algae loves sunlight/ light.

I have a ton of snails that love to eat the stuff which help keeps it down, but I also use the magnet as suggested above. Water/filter changes, and regular cleaning will help reduce it as well. I've never had a real bad outbreak of algae, but I'm watching to see what some of the answers are here. 

Good luck with your tank, I hope you get it settled.


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## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

My tank is not near a window. I will be sure to put the lights on a timer. I have one laying around that i use for my xmas lights. It will also save a little on my electricity bill.


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## Herky (Apr 23, 2009)

Having your lights on continuously probably also contributed to you losing your fish.


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## Little-Fizz (Aug 19, 2007)

What wattage of light do you have? I mean obviously having the lights on 24/7 created this problem but if you have high wattage lights then it could be a problem as well. This looks a bit like black hairy algae and you say it's hard to get off so sounds like it as well. I've been battling this stuff for months now, the only way is to start co2 injections. That helps keep it under control, it's also incredibly hard to find fish that will eat the stuff. What size is the tank? I've heard american flag fish will munch on it but I've never seen them in my lfs so I can't say for sure if it's true.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

CO2 is said to help battle/prevent this brush algae, but that is expensive and then you have different water parameters and other issues. Unless CO2 is required for the plants, I wuldn't go down that road. A better option is to dose the tank with Seachem's Excel a couple of times. Several members have commented that this got rid of brush algae, and on their website Seachem comment that it is not a guaranteed algae remover (whihc suggests it does do it). Excel is a liquid carbon supplement intended for tanks without CO2 that need some extra carbon for plants, but it does not have the same effect on water parameters (relating to pH and hardness, carbonate and general) so it is a better (and less expensive) quick-fix solution.

Once its gone, the best way to keep it away is regular maintainance (weekly partial water changes reduce nitrates that algae feds on) and keeping the bioload balanced (no excess food or nutrients). Some brush algae is common in most aquaria, I have it in mine on the wood which is OK with me; I just make sure it doesn't start increasing on the live plants. It can be kept in check usually in a well maintained tank.

Byron.


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## aunt kymmie (Jun 2, 2008)

I agree with everything Byron has stated. Dosing with Excel & changing my lighting schedule cleared up the problem for me. I now also keep Siamese Algae Eaters (Crossocheilus siamensis). They DO eat brush algae but due to their adult size they are not recommended for smaller tanks.
As little-fizz stated knowing wattage is also important.


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## Unrulyevil (Jan 10, 2007)

cousinles said:


> The plants are plastic, fluorescent lights are on 24/7.



How would you feel if there was no night time? constant day... :evil:

you effectively torchered poor fishes.. you tank was something like Guantanamo bay.


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## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

I have a 15 watt light and a 35 gallon tank. The light has been on 24/7 for two years straight and the fish did not die until I changed the water. When I changed the water I emptied the whole tank and added two more fish from Wal-Mart and read later not to do that (drain hole tank or buy fish from Wal-Mart), like I said I am a total newbie but want to learn the hobby. When my fish died they died one a day until all 8 fish died. They had like a white cloud over their eyes as they were dying. Then as soon as the fish died my algae problem got really bad. I discarded all my plants, changed my filter, put the light on a timer, and cleaned the glass. This weekend I would like to buy new plants and a couple of new fish and hope they live. Thanks everyone for your input I really appreciate it.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

cousinles said:


> I have a 15 watt light and a 35 gallon tank. The light has been on 24/7 for two years straight and the fish did not die until I changed the water. When I changed the water I emptied the whole tank and added two more fish from Wal-Mart and read later not to do that (drain hole tank or buy fish from Wal-Mart), like I said I am a total newbie but want to learn the hobby. When my fish died they died one a day until all 8 fish died. They had like a white cloud over their eyes as they were dying. Then as soon as the fish died my algae problem got really bad. I discarded all my plants, changed my filter, put the light on a timer, and cleaned the glass. This weekend I would like to buy new plants and a couple of new fish and hope they live. Thanks everyone for your input I really appreciate it.


We all learn from our mistakes, and many of us have gone through such problems.

Be aware that you now have what amounts to a new tank, and it has to be cycled to establish the bacteria cycle or the new fish will be stressed and may well die. I can't see anywhere in this thread the size of your tank, but one or two fish that are hardy will cycle it with some help from you. When you buy your fish, get a bottle of Stability which is a biological bacteria supplement that will cycle the tank with one or two fish in it and prevent losing the fish. It is made by Seachem. If they don't have Stability, "Cycle" by Nutrafin will also work. Follow the instructions on the label and use it when you put the fish in. As long as you only have one or two fish, you should be OK.


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## cousinles (Aug 9, 2009)

Byron said:


> I can't see anywhere in this thread the size of your tank.


I have a 35 gallon tank.


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## Byron (Mar 7, 2009)

cousinles said:


> I have a 35 gallon tank.


Thanks, what I said about cycling previous post will work fine in a 35 with two fish to start; once it is cycled for them (when you have ammonia and nitrite readings of "0" for consecutive days) you can add another couple of fish, wait, and so on. With "Stability" you will not have problems, I can assure you. Good luck.


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## Krinedawg (Aug 5, 2009)

Awesome input Byron, everyone!

Good luck on your "new" tank, and Thank You, for asking before doing!


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