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Forum > The Goldfish Topics > Goldfish Tanks > Water problems? Questions about water quality?
hawk121
Hey everyone! I just want to say that I'm new here, but this seems like a great community, and I can't wait to start getting to know everyone here!

Anyway, I'm a first-time fish owner, and right now, I have my first 10-gallon tank with 2 fish. One is a koi, but I'm planning to give it to my uncle around Christmas, and one is a golden fantail. The koi is about 3 and a half in. long, and the fantail is 3 in. long, not sure how wide though. Anyway, I have a 5-15 gal. Whisper Filter that came with the tank, and one tank ornament and a fake plant. I went to the pet store and bought this solution that's supposed to make any bacteria floating in the tank that's too microscopic for the filter to pick up (since i originally suspected that there was bacteria in the tank). That worked... for a while. Now, the problem is, the water seems a little bit cloudy when I turn on the light, and some rocks, particularly those toward the back of the tank that the fish don't move around much, have this brownish stuff growing on it. Some of the rocks even have a slight green fuzz on them that waves around like grass... it's kind of gross... and there's also brown stuff coming up the sides of the tank and the back. I do weekly water changes, and I don't overfeed. Also, the light is off for most of the day, it's on maybe 5-6 hours at the most. And I'm afraid to get any plecos because I heard they attack the goldfish sometimes... and no snails either, because they reproduce too quickly, and also, I don't have any live plants for them. Any suggestions?

Thanks!
Kingyo
You have a brown algae problem which is related with low light and high nutrients. Koko has pinned very nice info on this issue. There will always be bacteria inside your tank, don't worry 'cause they are beneficial. I suggest you get an oto catfish or a CHinese algae eater, they will eat up the algae and won't grow large like a pleco.

If not, get hold of nitrate and phosphate adsorbing media. and put a bag of it inside your filter or in a corner inside the tank. Works wonders... don't use them if you have live plants!
valkyrie
Don't worry about snails reproducing, your fish will eat all the snail eggs!
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