Algae GOOD or BAD?

[kev]

I was curious to know if algae is acctually good or bad for the aquarium, do not take into account its looks... just what it does as to improve or not improve the water quality. I like the look it gives my tank, i let it grow on purpose on the back of the glass only...

 

[k.lee]

In short algae kills corals, makes tangs live.

 

[kev]

I dont have any corals in my tank... but i do have a tang. What about the "diatoms" they are also growing on the back glass along with the several differant types of algae.... is this ok? because i really like the natural look it gives

 

[fshhub]

there are many types of algae, and some are good, some are bad, which ones are you tqlking about?? the green hair algae, coraline, or some other type of algae??
all your macro and coraline is a good thing, hair, is nothing less than a nuicanse(sp)

 

[kev]

im not sure which types of algae are growing in the tank as of now... but does the algae in the water hurt the fish at all? any type of algae? or affect water conditions?...

 

[fshhub]

what does it look like(detailed description), , and what are your water parameters??
and how old is the tank

 

[reefnjeff]

your algae aids in the removal of nitrates and phosphates.

 

[kev]

The back of my tank has mostly brown algae with red starting to take over it... but is it ok to leave really any of the algae's in my tank do they do anything to mess up the water quality or anything?

 

[twoods71]

If your tank starts to get seriously covered in algae it can start to be a health problem for the fish. But this can easily be corrected just by cleaning the algae every now and then and having a filter in use to clean it up.
Here is some info I wrote about nuisance algae. Take a look if you like.
<a href="https://www.saltwaterfish.com/cgi-bin/ultimatebb.cgi?ubb=get_topic&f=12&t=009964" target="_blank">Nuisance algae</a>