Anybody that has had an aquarium understands that algae cannot be avoided and it is simply a thing that fish owners, whether salt or freshwater, need to deal with on a regular basis. There’s four major types of algae – green, brown, red-brush, and blue green.

Green algae is the type that many people are familiar with and lives within any aquarium that gets an abundance of light. The two more frequently seen green algae within fish tanks are the hair algae and hard “green dot algae”. Hair algae are long thin strings of algae which are simply cleaned from the tank, and the green-dot algae looks like green dots of algae attached to the side of the aquarium and it is very hard plus time consuming to get rid of.

Brown algae appears very often in new aquariums within the first few days. If it can be seen in tanks that have been in use for a while already, it is necessary to check if the water contains enough phosphate and nitrate. Brown algae is usually likely to appear if not enough light reaches the aquarium. Cleaning the tank and assuring that it is lit well enough usually solves the problem.

Red-brush algae is a form of algae that loves aquariums that have a high PH, however it’s incredibly difficult to manually remove red-brush algae from aquariums.

If you have something that looks like a slime in your tank, it indicates the appearance of blue-green algae, which actually is a cynobacteria. This is not only going to be dangerous for the plants in your aquarium, but is also likely to cause harm to the fish.

One of the simplest methods to limit the amount of algae within the saltwater tank is to reduce your lighting utilizing the smallest wattage possible. Leaving the lights of the aquarium engaged for fewer than nine hours a day will reduce the time algae has for photosynthesis.

Utilize distilled water as you clean the saltwater aquarium or swap out the water because altering your water every two to three weeks will limit the amount of time algae may thrive within the tank. As you swap out the water ensure you vacuum the rocks and keep utilization of additives as low as possible, changing the pre-filter pad every week. Stock the tank full of algae consuming fish. With saltwater aquariums that would be – Hard Star Fish, Yellow Tang Fish, Blennies, Turbo Snails, Angel Fish, and small Hermit Crabs.

Using an algae magnet when cleaning your tank can also prove to be very helpful. If you make use of it during each cleaning, your aquarium has a high chance of remaining algae free. For the extra stubborn spots you will probably have to resort to using a razor blade. Fortunately, if you do manage to apply all of the above tips, chances are you will not have to worry about algae ever again.