Control Algae Without Adding More Fish
Many people add a Plecostomus to a tank because their convinced it needs algae control. This is not a good idea. Firstly, plecos grow HUGE. A foot long or longer. A fish that size needs a massive tank, especially a pleco. You could add a school of ottos, but if you have another fish you just love you may not want to commit some tank space to them. There IS an alternative.
Adding straw to ponds and lakes has been widely used to stop excessive algae growth in ponds and streams. It works by releasing lignins into the water, which then decay into humic acids and other humic substances. Sunlight then changes these into peroxides, which stop the reproduction of algae. This can save a tank from an algae bloom, which could rapidly deoxygenate the water. It also keeps the tank quite a bit more attractive.
Application is very simple. Just drop of few small stalks of barely into the tank and let them decay. A little under an inch of stalk per gallon is a good guideline. Allow this to decay in the tank and it will start to inhibit algae growth in under a month. It only needs to be re-applied every few months, up to 6 if a lot is used. When algae starts to re-grow in large amounts, it's time to add more.
Alternatives to barley are wheat, linseed, oil seed rape, lavender stalks and maize. These aren't as effective, and more should be added to the tank than barley would.
By Eric Smith
