algae covered gravel

[mikeman]

anyone have same problem as me? i have white gravel, freshwater tank 75 gallon moderately planted. t5ho lights on 8 hrs per day. the gravel is becoming covered in green algae, looks terrible. any suggestions on a type of gravel that wouldnt do this? but i still like the look of the light colored gravels. any suggestions would really help. thanks

[twotone12valve]

I don't think you'll ever find a gravel that algae won't grow on, try and figure out why you have so much algae. Also how often do you "vacuum" the substrate? You might try taking a long stick or something to stir the gravel. The old saying "A rolling stone gathers now moss" well its true Haha.

[Crazygar]

Water changes, reduced photoperiod, adding nutrient absorbing plants such as Water Sprite, less feeding will help combat this. Remember algae is like a plant, it needs light and nutrients to grow, limit that to higher plants and you'll win the war, but it will be a bit of shoulder grease on your part as well.

I would drop your lighting period down to 8hrs a day to start. Start doing 20% water changes each day, add some nutrient absorbing plants (Water Sprite, most of your common Hygrophila species) and keep up with good cleaning and eventually it will disappear.

I am not a firm believer in adding biological control for a biological problem. Though depending on the fish and inhabitants of the tank, throw in a whole bunch of Cherry Shrimp to help "eat" some of it.

Gary

[ScottFish]

If the algae keeps appearing quickly --in sheets, it could be Blue-Green Algae (Cyanobacteria). If so, keep with the water changes and increase the circulation. If its not BGA, do everything Gary says.