Filed under “never seen that before” it looks like green spot algae (GSA) is in retreat in the Shrimphaus. The conventional wisdom (and my previous experience) is that algae colonies, once established, never spontaneous regress. You can remove damaged leaves to allow for new growth, and you can spot-treat hardscape and you can prevent new […]
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TL;DR: Problems with algae? Turn down lighting intensity Sometimes there is wisdom online if you know where to find it and then actually listen to it. Clive at UKAPS for example advises against the “photon cannon” approach of blasting your aquarium with too much light. Too much light causes problematic algae. Lately I haven’t been […]
Read more →Some collected wisdom from experiences with the downfall and subsequent rebuild of the low-tech open-topped Shrimphaus aquarium… Open topped tanks should be made from glass, not acrylic Open topped tanks will experience water evaporation. As that happens, mineral deposits will be left behind at the receding waterline. These mineral deposits can be easily scraped off […]
Read more →The Shrimphaus recently spontaneously developed a relatively solid whitish layer on the top surface of the water. I’m convinced this layer was a biofilm, a macroscopic colony of microscopic organisms holding themselves together. Although not usually considered dangerous to plants or animals, biofilms don’t look very nice, and can potentially inhibit beneficial gas exchange between […]
Read more →These two views are from the early days of the Fireplace Aquarium where the algae had been let to grow out of control and unmolested for a while. It’s definitely unsightly, but it isn’t actually dangerous to the fish who are perfectly happy. The nerite snails are likewise unbothered. Nerite snails can eat some types […]
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