Question regarding my tank

[nicolabradshaw]

I have had my tank for about 9-10 months but in the last few days my water in there has started to look very green, could this be due to the light in there? The documentation advised to change it after 12 months as the spectrum of light will change which will affect the algae growth.

Also when changing the water earlier, I found 3 fry which I think are balloon molly, there are 2 white and 1 black so I presume it would be from my balloon molly (Black, black and white, white and orange) as they were only bought about 1-2 weeks ago.

Is there any way of telling if they have been recently been born or were born a few days back and the others have been eaten? Cant believe I havent noticed them but they were hiding in my plastic plants and one was in the filtration sections (cant see any more but my last fry were found in there for about 2 months)

[Gourami Swami]

Sounds like an algea bloom to me. What is your water change schedule, what size tank is it, and what is it stocked with?

[nicolabradshaw]

it is a 38l tank with 2 baby platy, 2 guppy, a plec 3 tetra and 4 balloon molly.
Water change is approx once per week but has been daily for past 2 days. The top half of the water is a lot clearer than the bottom half but it could just be the light shining through that section. (I currently have the light on as ive been trying to get photos of the females to see compare them to pics of pregnant ones)

[Gourami Swami]

It seems the problem may be an excess in nitrates causing an algea bloom because your tank is overstocked. That is a bit much for a 10g, and the pleco cant stay in that tank. They get huge and produce a LOT of waste.

[nicolabradshaw]

the plan is to get a bigger tank, my last readings were
nitrate 5-10ppm
nitrite 0ppm
ammonia 0ppm

The booklet that comes with the kit (api freshwater master test kit) states that "a nitrate level of 40ppm or less is recommended for freshwater aquariums"

Last reading was night before last, dont see much point in a reading now as I've done daily water changes since, or do you recommend a current reading?

[pullins125]

the water changes help but it would not hurt to try a solution to help reduce the algue. i wood also put the fry in anouther tank just so there no chance of them being eaten. i wood also use the light only just at certain times. it will help to decrease the algue. most people have the same problem but once it gets fixd it normally good for a while. hopefully this advice helps