Algae issues

[Bwidner]

So I set up a tank for my neices as their christmas present(they always want to come over to visit Nemo, not me)and there is a lot of algae build up going on, I dont know if it is normal or not(havent done freshwater in like 15 years)and just wanted to get some advice here.

Stock list
3 neon tetra's
1 Dwarf Blue gourmi
2 Mystery Snails
1 Moss ball(close to double the size of a golf ball)
1 Decent sized Amazon Sword
2 other plants that I cant remember the name of

Water is all Ro/Di that is from MCF so nothing coming from the water
Light is a PC fixture(some generic thing that was surprisingly cheap at old orchard)
It is a 10 gallon tank, so I guess two questions

1. Do freshwater tanks experience alagae blooms that are all natural and over time will stop?

2. What could be added to help with the algae cleanup(I dont want to condemn any livestock as a short term fix)

 

[Bwidner]

bump

 

[Wildisme]

Typically u don't want to use RODI on freshwater. You want to condition tap water.

Not enough filtration
Bad bulbs
Too long of a light cycle
Over feeding
Not gravel vacuuming

These are all things that can cause algae in the tank.

Simple solutions are:
Shorten light cycle
Make sure filter is rated around 5x turnover rate
Uv Steralizer
2 day black out.

 

[Bwidner]

Typically u don't want to use RODI on freshwater. You want to condition tap water.

Not enough filtration
Bad bulbs
Too long of a light cycle
Over feeding
Not gravel vacuuming

These are all things that can cause algae in the tank.

Simple solutions are:
Shorten light cycle
Make sure filter is rated around 5x turnover rate
Uv Steralizer
2 day black out.

Filter is rated at 75gph, currently on a 8 hour light cycle. Now I am curious about the tap water thing, is there a specific reason to doing this? The light fixture is brand new, so the things I come too are the gravel vaccuming and over feeding.

Does freshwater typically have a natural algae bloom as the tank matures?

 

[Herbie]

I'm curious on the "no RODI" too. I am using it in my FW and everyone seems much happier than they have in 15 years.

 

[Loki047]

In SW tanks the salt thats added to RODI usually bring its close to balance (with minerals and trace elements),

Since we're not adding that to FW the thought is its better to keep the minerals and trace elements that already existing in the water and just use a dechlorinator. Plus stripping all the minerals out can be a real pain to keep a balanced pH.

The water can pull minerals from your animals so be careful.

 

[Wildisme]

In SW tanks the salt thats added to RODI usually bring its close to balance (with minerals and trace elements),

Since we're not adding that to FW the thought is its better to keep the minerals and trace elements that already existing in the water and just use a dechlorinator. Plus stripping all the minerals out can be a real pain to keep a balanced pH.

The water can pull minerals from your animals so be careful.

+1

RODI losses a lot of its buffering compared to tap.

 

[Herbie]

Thanks folks. Very interesting

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