CichlidFish.com - Fish That Think.

I'm confused!!! I've had different kinds of fish, including Oscars, &  Pirahna, & different sizes of aquariums for 13 years. Even had a; 5, 10, 15, 55, & a 100 gallon all set up @ once & i've NEVER had this kinda problem that i've been haveing now. I've got a 10 gallon tank w/6 Jail Like Cichlid, & 2 Algae Eaters in there & when I clean my tank out, 1 week after, my water is all green & grimy looking. This last time I even put in 1/2 tap water & 1/2 bottled water in there & yet the water still comes back looking ALL yucky & lemme tell you, my fish aren't happy @ ALL. I have a Bad Back & can't keep cleaning my tank out every other week. I hope somebody helps me or i'm just going to get rid of them & get a Betta Fish, WAY less work & much cleaner. 

What are you feeding?? I mean what kind of FOOD are U using?? Flakes are a no no in the water conditions of what you are using.. Tap/RO water.. as most bottled water is RO, reverse Osmosis to remove most hardness and makes the pH really low.. IF you Know about tanks, then test the bottled water and see where it is.. STOP using the bottled water and switch foods to a pellet form and get the size for the fish you have.. I understand about a bad back..  ALSO do you have this tank by a WINDOW??  this alone, even just the brightness of a cloudy day can get the algae to bloom up fast.. AS you say you have to clean the tank every other week completely, then it is having to cycle again and that will make more problems.. High NITRATES in a tank are from NOT vacuumin the gravel WEEKLY and changing out 2 to 3 gal of water at the same time. THIS alone wil insure that the NITRATES stay down and not feed your Algae. CLEAN the filter BOX!! you would be surprised at the ppl who NEVER touch the filter, this is a breeding ground for algae too, it just gets recirculated back into the tank.

LIGHT plays a big part here too so make sure you have blinds CLOSED and not shining on the tank.. .. JUST doing the 2 or 3 gal water out and back in should help U a lot..  Two plecos do not eat the green algae OUT OF THE WATER!! they also get really BIG like 12" and they wil out grown this tank fast, like in months.. This may be why you are having algae problems.  6 jail like cichlids?? convicts maybe?? THAT is way to many fish for this tank.. ONE is two many..  10 gal tanks can not surport this fish load.. YOU are lucky that they are stil alive with so many TOTAL tank  water changes.. Convicts are CALLED the toilit fish, as they are happy as long as their is water... so I can see why they are still hanging in their.. tuff cichlids indeed... Keep the  tank light off most of the time is a big plus to combat algae.. Pellets foods help here and only feed them ONCE A DAY!! fish are natural beggers and they see you as FOOD.. so resist the temptation to feed them more than ONCE A DAY!!