Inducing Algae

[edacsac]

I know it's easy to grow algae when you don't want it, but now I want to to grow it in a tank that doesn't have it yet!

I setup a 10 gallon tank just for cherry shrimp, and when I clean and trim my display tank, I drop the clippings with algae into the shrimp tank. The shrimp love the algae clippings way more than any other food I give them.

The shrimp tank has a 15 watt cheapo plant bulb in a cheapo plastic hood, no co2 and a submerged filter/pump.

Any ideas on how to GROW algae in a very low-tech setup?

***Edit

I have a small amount of jmoss, and a large mass of a floating plant that takes up about 35-40% of the 10gal tanks volume. I thought it was ancharis, but I was told it is not. It is an almost translucent like green colored floater, that growns long with little leaves popping out like cabomba, but tighter and the leaves aren't all feathery like cabomba.

 

[ceg4048]

Hi,
You might try zapping the tank with about 5 WPG, or lacking extra equipment, place the tank in a location near full sunlight plus (optional) a tiny smidgen of ammonia (less than toxic level of course).

It appears that the floating mass blocks light entry into the water from the hood. If the tank is placed near a south window say, you'd be getting light entry from other angles for a large part of the day.


EDIT: Don't know much about shrimp but wouldn't it be easier to just feed them algae flakes?

Cheers,