Rust

[Cypherman]

Hi,

I was wondering what is the best way to control the brown coating type algae (or diatoms?) that is real hard to get off. Its growing all over my rocks and gravel. I know less light and nutrients is the key to algae removal but I have a planted setup and I dont want to lose my plants as well. The tank is a 75 gallon with 12 1'' cardinal tetras, 8 1'' blue emperors, 8 1'' celebes rainbowfish, 8 1/2'' bumblebee gobies, 2 3'' red tailed zebra loaches, and 10 ghost shrimp. I have 3 hygrophila polysperma 'sunset,' one Madagascar lace plant, one rotala indica, 1 java fern 'windelov,' 1 Anubias frazeri, and some dwarf sagitaria. It isnt very well planted or stocked just yet, but thats because I'm still setting it up.

[OrionGirl]

Diatoms are not hard to remove--they wipe off easily. Sounds like you have something else.


What is your cleaning routine, fert schedule, lighting, filtation? How did you cycle the tank?

[valerie]

brown algae acually lives in low light, increasing it will make it go away(usually) but that incurages other green algae to grow.

what typ of lighting do yo uhave? Also is your tank new? brown algae usually grows in newly set up tanks, that are not too established. if you are looking for an algae eater to fix it get a couple otocinclus(otos) as they are the best at ridding it.

[ChilDawg]

Valerie, those are diatoms, though. If the stuff doesn't easily wipe off, he's got something for which Otos aren't the first answer...how much iron is there in your tank?

[djlen]

Clean the affected areas out(scrub). You can use a solution of 19:1 bleach/water on the plants for a minute or two dip to remove. 50/50 for the inanimate objects followed by rinsing thoroughly 2 times and then a dip in water treated with tap water conditioner.
Water changes will help.
What is your lighting(watts/type)?
Sounds like you need more plants in that big tank.
Are you fertilizing and if so, what?
If you can, send us the specifics of your water table: pH,kH,nitrates. How long has the tank been up and running?
Len

[Cypherman]

Thanks for all of your support. The tank was already established for about four months, but did not have plants (was a cichlid setup) or the extra lighting before. Its been about two weeks and the rust is just now becoming significantly noticeable on the gravel and glass near the bottom. The green kind is growing on my rocks as well. Here are my tank specs:

Lighting: 1.6 WPG: Two 48'' Full Spectrum bulbs + Two 24'' Ocean Blue Spectrum bulbs.
Photoperiod ~ 14 hrs

pH 7.2
ammonia, nitrites 0 ppm
13 dGH
4 dKH

Dont have an iron or nitrate test kit, unfortunately. I'm not keeping particuarly difficult plants, so I didnt think they would be necessary. Fertilizer-wise, I'm doing it every other week or so (been two weeks so its only been fertilized once with Tetra FloraPride) and was gonna up it once I acquired my last plants planned. Also, the anubias is rotting (leaves have large holes like caterpillar tracks ringed in yellow) and the java fern has slight light tips to its frills that I dont think were there before...I can get pics if it would help the diagnosis a bit.

[Cypherman]

Another forum mentioned that the silicate level has to be high to support diatom growth...Could this be the GH at work?

[OrionGirl]

Well, nothing stands out as being a big problem--the photo period might be a tad on the long side, but that should be causing a serious problem, since your ferts seem inline with plants.

I would recommend scrubbing as much of it off as you can, and seeing if it returns. The diatoms are associated with silicates, but really, they brush off quite easily. You can usually just siphon them up, no scrubbing involved.

[Cypherman]

Yea, I didnt make a distinction between the brown and the green. The brown does come off easy, but the green is the pain kind heh. I guess I'll have to wah my gravel. Thanks OrionGirl.

[djlen]

Check out this article by Tom Barr. I think it may help.
Balancing nutrients and water changes with plants is a key to dealing with algae problems.
http://www.sfbaaps.com/reference/barr_02_01.shtml
Len