I have two goldfish in a 10 gal tank. The hood on the tank is set up for incandescent bulbs but I found some compact flourescent bulbs for aquariums and decided to give them a try. The last few months I've had a real problem w/ algae. It seems like I replaced the bulbs a few months before the algae problem started but I could be mistaken. Could the bulbs be causing the algae? I very paranoid when it comes to my fish. It seems like any little change kills them. What should I use to get rid of the algae but not kill my fish?

It seems like that would be a good possibility since florescent lights give off alot of heat probably keeping the tank warmer than the other lights which enables the algae to grow faster.....This is all just a guess,I dont have a fish tank.

I tried an all natural algae remedy and it helped but not as much as I would like. I've decided to go back to incandescent bulbs as soon as I can find them.

actually incandescent lights give off more heat than flourescent lights. It's part of the reason that flourescent lights are prefered in aquariums, because it's easier to maintain a constant temperature than with incandescent lights, which tend to create 'hot spots' and actually increase the chances for aquatic bacteria to form.

Ironically part of the reason you're seeing more algae in the tank with flourescent lights is that they light very well and much better than Incandescent bulbs do. And algae thrives in bright light.

A few things you can do to help out.... If you add some cold water loving live plants like Elodea (you should be able to find it at your local fish store, just google to see what it looks like, it's very distinctive in appearance), the aquatic live plants will naturally compete with the algae and they will win. You can turn the lights off in the tank for a longer period of the day, perhaps 12 hours with light, and 12 hours with them off.

You can also try to find a small algae eater fish that does ok in cold water tanks. YOu have two goldfish, are they actually in an aquarium, and does the aquarium have a heater? What water temp do you usually keep it at?

I have two fancy goldfish in a 10 gal aquarium with no heater. I always thought that since goldfish are coldwater fish they didn't really need a heater or thermometer. I guess it wouldn't be a big deal to get a thermometer. How helpful would it be for me to know the temp. though? How could I lower the temp of my aquarium? The only thing I could think of would be to add cold water, which makes me nervous. I don't like to mess with them too much, b/c I'm afraid it will kill them. I tried an "all natural algae remedy" and it didn't help that much. I looked at the labels on algae rememdies at Petsmart earlier this week and they all seemed kind of harsh. I would love any advice you can offer. Have you had any success with a particular remedy or should I avoid them? I will look for the plant you suggested.

Do NOT get a heater for goldfish.

Algae... It's a plant, so like all plants it needs light and nutrients. Cutting back on one or both will cut back the amount of algae. The advice to get live plants is good. BUT then you need to make sure you leave the light on for the live plants.
Or... do without live plants, and only turn on the light to see the fish.

Actually, algae is not a bad thing. It's a sign of a healthy tank. It won't hurt the fish, it's just unsightly.
You'll never be rid of it. Managing it is the best you can do.
Get a tank scraper. (High tech tool here, razor blade on a stick.) Scrape the glass. Works great!

I hope your doing regular 25% water changes anyway, stir the gravel first. That will not only stir up the dirt, but it rolls the gravel over and the algae covered bits get flipped. Once out of the light algae will die so next time it is flipped the stone is clean again.
This works with decorations too. I would use natural rocks and just flip them all over. Looks like new.

Don't bother with any of the algae killing junk on the market. I worked for six years as a fish department manager in a LARGE pet shop. I got to test all of it on 96 tanks. NONE of it works.
All it will do is kill suspended algae, which then decompose and feed new growth. Not at all what you want.

Also... adding algae eating fish? Great for tropical tanks. But NOT for goldfish!
All the common algae eaters, (japenese algae eater, plecostomus cats, otto cats,) ALL are tropical. Not only that, some of these love to suck the slime off of goldfish.

You can add a snail or two. (Mystery snails.) They do eat algae but will not "clean" your tank.
So get them because you like them. Not as vacuum cleaners.

Finally, you do know a 10 gal tank is REALLY dinky for goldfish? Better than a bowl, but only slightly! I won't go into a chemestry class here, but over crowding is the number one cause of problems with goldfish. IT also means algae has plenty of food in the water.
bigger tank, good filtration, lots of live plants, and your algae problem will be minimal.