Easy Ways to Prevent Algae Growth in Your Fish Tank

Preventing algae growth in your fish tank is essential to keeping your tank looking sharp and your fish healthy. No one wants to look at a tank full of murky water, and algae can deplete the oxygen in the water, making it difficult for your fish to thrive. Fortunately, there are ways to keep algae at bay without spending a lot of time and money.

What Is Algae and What Causes It?

Algae is a broad term that refers to a variety of marine organisms that thrive in areas with lots of light, water that isn't moving and nutrients. Algae appears on your aquarium walls and other features as a brownish, greenish or dark reddish film.

Ways to Keep Algae from Blossoming

Some of the easy ways to keep algae at bay include controlling the things that cause algae to thrive. This includes reducing light sources. In addition to turning off the aquarium lights when you're out of the room (and asleep or at work), make sure that you place your aquarium away from natural light sources. In addition, overfeeding your fish, where fish food is allowed to remain in the water for extended periods, offers nutrients to form algae and should be avoided.

Good water maintenance is also necessary for preventing algae from blooming. Make sure that you change 10 to 20% of the water in your fish tank every week, depending on the tank's size and how many fish you have living in it.