please help with brown algae

BadRoma1

BadRoma1

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Nov 29, 2005
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i just updated my lights and because i don't have that many plants, i run only two 32W bulbs in my 55, because more seem to cause more green algae. but now i got brown algae that comes off fearly easy too just like the green. i feed my plants and also have eco-complete. i used to feed less, but my plants didn't look good, so i feed more. my plants are really taking off, thanks to everybody here. but i need your help again. i just busted green algae problem very hard by shutting my lights off for few days, which killed two plants of unknown origin, and cleaned everything off manualy. nitrates are 10
 
I don't know what causes brown alage, but, Nerite snails will wipe it out and they don't breed in fresh water.

Oto cats (otocinclus) will do the job too.
 
How long has your tank been setup and running?

The reason I ask is it is normal to get the "Brown Algae" in a tank that is under 6 months old or so. I would not suggest getting any type of algae eater unless you want it for other then just an algae problem.
 
i had my tank for some time now, years. but i upgraded my lights not long ago, and also changed substrate, i guess 2 month now or so.
 
Brown algae is usually from low light and too much phosphate in a new tank.
It usually goes away as the tank balances out and if you increase light.
Bristlenose and rubberlip/bullnose both love it and will eat other algae later and stay small, at about 4-5 inches.

Kath
 
brown algae may not be an algae at all but a diatom (tiny critter)

they are usually associated wit relatively new tanks (under 1 year old). it is thought that these diatoms flourish in a phosphate/silicate environment.

low light- highlight they seem to be unaffected by the amount of light. in an experiment I did a black out of a tank and it had little to no effect on the diatoms.

they will and usually reproduce rapidly..usually within days of cleaning your tank.
out of frustration I resorted to adding a few oto's..within 2 days thay had the diatom under control.
 
star_rider said:
brown algae may not be an algae at all but a diatom (tiny critter)

they are usually associated wit relatively new tanks (under 1 year old). it is thought that these diatoms flourish in a phosphate/silicate environment.

low light- highlight they seem to be unaffected by the amount of light. in an experiment I did a black out of a tank and it had little to no effect on the diatoms.

they will and usually reproduce rapidly..usually within days of cleaning your tank.
out of frustration I resorted to adding a few oto's..within 2 days thay had the diatom under control.
Click to expand...

Yes it is a diatom, and blacking out a tank won't do anything to it, because it flourishes in nolight/low light.
I too got frustrated and put in my bullnose/rubberlips and they took care of it in a day or two. I didn't use otos because I heard that later they will stop eating algae when they discover flake, but the others won't.

Kath
 
actually my oto's won't eat anything but algae..which worries me since they run low. I added zuccini and they will eat it but do not prefer it. they will not touch flake.

I'm going to try cukes too.
 
i can't keep algae cleaners, because i have discus. they say that bristle nose plecos don't touch them, but mine did. i'm very relactant to put anything like that in. i was blacking out the light for green algae problem that didn't only made my water green, but also was covering everything like carpets. also i have another kind of algae that is very hard to srape off. the blackout helped alot but i didn't keep up with it completely fix the problem. i have chinese high fin shark, but i need another one because it's too much work for one. i will get some nerite snails too. don't worry, i will give the sharks away to someone with the large tank once they will get too big for my tank. actualy, since the blackout my water is finelly clear, i also added some biospira. i feed potassium, trace, and Flourish just like on the bottle is stated now, but i used to use it not as often.
 
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