Brown Algae...
- Thread starter MeAirlinePilot
- Start date
Hey everyone, thanks so much for all the help. I have been the oto route and I always end up with dead otos within a week because of the convicts. What about purchasing 1-2 2" plecos and then returning them to the LFS after all algae is gone? My water is very hard with a lot of minerals and calcium. I don't see why it could be the nitrates because I change 20% of the water twice a week. There is not a lot of fish in there in the first place to produce that much waste so the nitrates aren't very high. Anyways, thanks a lot for the help. I appreciate it. One final question: So that's a no go for algae-removing liquid?
Maybe you have to be satisfied with cleaning the front glass with the double magnet cleaners, and letting the diatoms just develop naturally on the rocks and gravel. More intense light in a shorter photoperiod (<10 hours) may help.
And there's nothing like a floating carpet of duckweed, regularly harvested, to suck up those extra nutrients.
And there's nothing like a floating carpet of duckweed, regularly harvested, to suck up those extra nutrients.
do you have sand (silica) as substrate? if you do, these is probably the cause of the brown algae, l read a lot of success stories with sand as substrate if they have lots of plant in the tank, too much nutrients in the water and too much light creates brown algae outbreak, but if you have plenty of plants to suck up the nutrients in the tank, it should control the algae outbreak
No I don't have sand as substrate, I just have small and medium sized gravel. I'm thinking about getting live plants but I don't want any that take a lot of care and lighting requirements. My lighting is off more of the day than it is on, (on approximately 5 hours per day), and I want something that's easy to take care of and doesn't have any special requirements (something VERY hardy). What is duckweed, btw? What about Java Fern or Amazon Sword? Are these good plants that will be good for me? Thanks a lot for the help.
Duckweed is basically a weed that will take over the entire surface of the water if you let it. In order to have it use up excess nutrients, just put some in there and use a net to scoop extra out at the end of the week.
Some fish LOVE to eat duckweed and will keep it in check naturally. Goldfish will completely eradicate duckweed in an aquarium in less than a couple of days. If you have fish that like to eat duckweed, you can use the extra as supplemental food.
Congo tetras like duckweed, and my bala sharks have eaten it from time to time.
Some fish LOVE to eat duckweed and will keep it in check naturally. Goldfish will completely eradicate duckweed in an aquarium in less than a couple of days. If you have fish that like to eat duckweed, you can use the extra as supplemental food.
Congo tetras like duckweed, and my bala sharks have eaten it from time to time.
