Qt tank algae

[Twodogsnnc]

My QT tank is getting a ton of algae. What can I do to help reduce it. I am fine with some, but this is getting a bit ridiculous. The photo below was 4 days or so after cleaning it all and doing a water change. Thoughts? Thanks.

 

[ScottR]

Do you have any lighting on it? Cut lights or shade it and algae will start to recede.

 

[Twodogsnnc]

Do you have any lighting on it? Cut lights or shade it and algae will start to recede.

I do have lights on it. I will run no lights for a while.

 

[ScottR]

If nothing is in there - looks empty - you don’t need lights at all.

 

[Twodogsnnc]

I have fish in the qt right now. Is there anything else beyond not running the lights.

 

[ScottR]

I have fish in the qt right now. Is there anything else beyond not running the lights.

Nutrients and light is all algae needs. Don’t overfeed and keep lighting minimal. Algae is impossible to avoid. As long as it’s not out of control, it’s not a big issue. QT tanks are much easier to clean and control.

 

[ScottR]

I took a closer look and can see your fish now. Missed that the first time around. But, don’t worry about the algae too much. Your fish won’t live there for too long anyway right?

 

[saltyhog]

LOL, that's not bad at all. I try to fatten up my fish in QT to prepare them to be competitive in the DT when they're ready. By the end of the QT period the tank has quite a bit more algae than that!

Love the dartfish!

 

[Marco S]

Nutrients and light is all algae needs. Don’t overfeed and keep lighting minimal. Algae is impossible to avoid. As long as it’s not out of control, it’s not a big issue. QT tanks are much easier to clean and control.

I would not recommend reducing the feeding in QT. Overfeed them like crazy because you want them nice and fat in case they stop eating any time during medicating them. Also it's better to get them fat before introducing them to the DT where they will have to compete for food and might not get any for a few days while they get acclimated to it. You can minimize the lights to only a few hours a day if you want, but don't change the feeding. I dealt with algae in my QT tanks until I started collecting my Tangs and they took care of it for me.

 

[Crustaceon]

There’s pretty much no reason to run lighting over your QT aside from getting your fish to be a little more active during feeding time. Other than that, ambient light in the room is enough and you’ll have less algae too.

 

[ReeferReefer]

Leave the lights off unless you are observing the fish.

More water changes will help too.