how do i get it to grow in my freshwater tank??? my tank is not planted... the reason i want this type of algae, is cuz i want some nice natural look to my aquarium and some extra food for my snails... lol... what type of algae can i grow that looks hairy and will grow on glass...i so far have brown algae but thats just flat and ugly lol

Most fishkeepers consider it a nuisance and look for advise on how to get rid of it. You are the first that seeks the opposite... To grow hair algae you just need plenty of light and nutrients (nitrogen and phosphorus) in your water. The nutrients part is easy because they are there already! 10-12 hours of light per day will do the rest!

hehe well i love it and so do my snails lol.... so just extra lighting.... is it hard to maintain and does it mess up water params???... i would expect algae to be good cuz it feeds off of the waste in the water...its doin somethin right atleast lol...

lol i just noticed something i turn on the lights at 7am and turn them off at 9pm... so 14 hrs and im still getting no algae:(

How many watts per gallon of water do you have? Brown algae is a sign of poor lighting.

my tank seems like it has perfect lighting its an aquaglow for a ten gallon tank...its suppose to enhance fish colours ( i am soon getting a 30 yayyy:D)

THen you have 1.5 watts per gallon which is considered low lighting in the plant world. Since you will be upgrading soon, your best bet is to move your tank where it can get indirect sunlight. If it cannot be moved try keeping the hood glass under the lamp ultra clean to allow more light in.

When you get your 30g tank consider getting a power compact light fixture insted of a flourescent.

to ensure safety for your fish, consider using used tank water to soak some rock and place it under the sun.. Used tank water consist all the required nutrients (nitrAte actually) to grow algae.. placing it under the sun and providing extra lights will boost growth.. place the algae stone into tank to feed your snail and replace when necessary.. remember to rinse the stone before placing it into the tank though..

this way, you dun have to infest your tank with algae.. and dun have to keep dirty water to allow algae growth..

when i do that... do i just leave the rock outside of water under the sun??? or do i submerse it in a bowl of water?? thanks

I have a compact flourescent lights on my tanks (55 watts on 20 gal and 110 watts on 50 gal) and I have plenty of algae. Hair algae especially likes to grow on my filter out-takes. If you really want algae, getting a compact flourescent will give you lots of light and you should have no trouble getting algae to grow!