Brown algee?

BloodThirsty28 · Oct 28, 2006

Hey everyone. Got a quick question here. I'm having a bit of what seems to be brown algee growing on my fake tank plants like crazy. I just took all the plants out this past week and cleaned them for the first time since this new tank has been set up(been up and running, fully cycled since May). The thing is since it's been running I had no problems with it, now just after a week of cleaning the plants the algee is back again and also on some driftwood.

Water params are all fine, water temp is 78. The tank is never in direct sunlight and I turn on the tank lights at about 5:30pm every day and off at 11pm.

Any thoughts? I do have a bristlenose in the tank but he hides non stop except for at night. It's a 120G tank by the way. I normally scrub the glass with an algee scrapper during every weekly water change no matter if I see algee on the glass or not. Any suggestions?

Star_Rider · Oct 28, 2006

brown algae/diatoms are usually a result of silicates and or phophates in the tank.

if the tank is fairly new and it's glass..this is pretty common. they have also been reportedly been linked high light and can sometimes be controlled with black outs.

you can attepmt to clean(i'm sure you have found out how futile this can be at times) or you can look for otocinclus cats..they love brown algae. you can put a large crew if them in a 120 oto's are small and do well in schools.

BloodThirsty28 · Oct 28, 2006

hmmm ok. I do have a double bulb light over it. The tank length is 48" long and 24" deep. Could the lighting be overkill? I do like the bright lighting but I've wondered if it was too much.

I know nothing about otos. How big do they get and would they eventually become lunch for my Chocolate or GT when they get bigger?

fballguy · Oct 28, 2006

The lighting is not overkill. Brown algae is can grow with no light, so blackouts will do nothing. Brow algae is a diatom and will easily rub off of whatever it is growing on. It will dissapear when all silicates are used up, either in time or by excess water changes. It won't harm anything so just rub it off before you do a water change and eventually it will all go away.

Ottos, do a great job eating it, but they must be fed as well. Veggies work the best.Link for otto info.

BloodThirsty28 · Oct 28, 2006

fballguy said:
The lighting is not overkill. Brown algae is can grow with no light, so blackouts will do nothing. Brow algae is a diatom and will easily rub off of whatever it is growing on. It will dissapear when all silicates are used up, either in time or by excess water changes. It won't harm anything so just rub it off before you do a water change and eventually it will all go away.

Sounds good. It sure is unsightly but this sounds like the easiest solution. Although I guess the Otos could always become a snack in about a year when it's gone anyway. lol

Star_Rider · Oct 29, 2006

fballguy said:
The lighting is not overkill. Brown algae is can grow with no light, so blackouts will do nothing. Brow algae is a diatom and will easily rub off of whatever it is growing on. It will dissapear when all silicates are used up, either in time or by excess water changes. It won't harm anything so just rub it off before you do a water change and eventually it will all go away.

Ottos, do a great job eating it, but they must be fed as well. Veggies work the best.Link for otto info.

I thought this too..I have a 10 growout tank. I quit using light and I had no diatoms for 4 months. I readded the lights
and guess what ..diatoms came back.

once established tho..changing lights has had little effect on the diatoms.
I am curious what effect a 3 day black out may have ..I'll let you know if it has any effect.

I added oto's back and scrape the tank. yes diatom algae is relatively harmless to fish but can be devastating to plants in a planted tank.

btw otocinclus only get to me about 2"

fballguy · Oct 29, 2006

star_rider said:
I am curious what effect a 3 day black out may have ..I'll let you know if it has any effect.

I'm curious now too, keep us posted, I was told on another forum it does not need light to grow.

BloodThirsty28 · Oct 29, 2006

Would the Otos be lunch in my tank or not?

plah831 · Oct 29, 2006

I think the otos would definitely become snacks once the cichlids get bigger. Besides, I would recommend against getting algae eaters for brown diatoms. They're very easily removed manually, and will go away once the silicates are removed through water changes and utilized by the algae. Brown algae like that is VERY common in newer tanks, and should be gone within a few months, has been my experience.

But I hear ya, it is definitely unsightly.


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