brown algae

[jere1558]

55 gallon tank, live and plastic plants, 1 medium drift wood, 6 glo fish, 3 buenes aires tetras, 5 neon rainbows, 2 platys, 1 catfish, 2 twelve inch bubble wands, 1 bubble wheel, fluval 305 filter. tank is 6 weeks old. cycled using filter media from an older tank with replaced foam filter and some of the old gravel. the "old" tank had to be taken down due to serious fish illness. plants and fish are from same source, a HIGHLY reputable fish store in PA.
i have brown algea. very unsightly. it is on all plants, both live and plastic. on the plastic plants it is primarily at the tops near water's top. live plants have it on nearly all leaves. other decorations appear to be free of brown algae. since the catfish doesn't seem to be eating it, how do i rid my tank of this ugly stuff?

[Jay]

Hi jere1558 and welcome to our forum!

Sounds like diatoms, not really algae, but little critters that excrete a really hard shell. They are very common in new tanks even with good water quality.

They will eventually go away as the tank matures...could be weeks and most folk do not care to wait that long.

There are a number of solutions...

1. A handful of Otocinclus sucker mouth catfish. These little guys love diatoms and algae also. I keep about eight in my 75. They will go after it fairly aggressively.

2. Decorations can be removed and soaked in a mild bleach solution, scrubbed, and returned to the tank.

3. Scraping the sides of the tank and then doing a water change will help.

4. Infected leaves can be pruned.

There are some other more aggressive methods to clean off the plants, but I would try cleaning and disinfecting everything and pruning the plants before we get into that.

Regards,
Jay

[jere1558]

Ok. thanks for the info. I didn't have any of this with my old tank. Could this have been introduced with the live plants? The leaves of the live plants have lots of this yuck on them. If I let this ride, any idea on how long to go away? I really don't want to introduce chems if I don't have to. I already have to treat my water for significant hardness (tap water is at 8 pH). I have been replacing evap with spring water. Also, will the drift wood help to lower the pH as I was told? Thanks again for the help!

[Jay]

Drift wood or Bog wood? Can have some effect on lowering pH

Yes the diatoms or diatoms and algae spores could have come in with the plants. That really has nothing to do with the reputation of the store. They would have no way to control or prevent that.

The diatoms should start to diminish in a few weeks, however, they will be replaced by soft green algae. If your problem is that bad, then you are going to have to start an anti algae program.

Getting rid of algae and keeping it away requires some initial work and effort, and then a routine program of maintenance to remain algae free.

In any event you need to jump on it or it will continue to get worse. I gave you several ways to begin to attack it.



In order to help with an algae prevention routine we will need a complete set of

Tank parameters. pH GH KH Nitrate Nitrite Ammonia Phosphate
Tap water parameters.
Feeding schedule
Light in watts per gallon and duration of lights on.
Do you add any chemicals and if so what?

Let us hear back

Regards,
Jay

[2leftfins]

I was looking in my tank the other day and noticed what I thought was Brown Algae. After doing a search here I think I am looking at Diatoms. Knowing that I am going to end up with an ugle Algae problem is not very comforting.

I started a 55 gallon tank on December 7th and I believe it may be cycled already.

I will put in my parameters and ask for any help you can give me.

In order to help with an algae prevention routine we will need a complete set of

Tank parameters.

pH - 8.0
GH - 200
KH - 110
Nitrate - 7
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
Phosphate (no test for that yet)

Tap water parameters.

pH - 8.2
GH - 80
KH - 120
Nitrate - 0
Nitrite - 0
Ammonia - 0
Phosphate - (not test)

Feeding schedule

Fish are fed daily in morning. They feed aggressively until all visible food is gone. Roughtly three minutes. At times I feed them a 'snack' in the evenings. They get flake food only.

Light in watts per gallon and duration of lights on.

No idea on lights. They came with starter kit. I can only read 'Eclipse' on them. They are on from about 7am to about 9pm.

Do you add any chemicals and if so what?

I use chemicals from the LFS.
Step 1 is a dechlorinator
Step 2 is a Bacteria
Step 3 is an 'Algae Remover'

When doing water changes I add these to the 5 gallon bucket before adding to the tank. I basically change 2 to 4 buckets per week.

The only thing I added was some pH down to the water. I want to get my pH to about 7.6 but so far cannot get much below 8.0.

I will post a pic ASAP.

[Tommy Gun]

I would stop using the algea remover chemical and I would almost say to use no chemicals, including bacteria (if the tank is cycled) other than a dechlor conditioner. This is because I like to err on the side of caution and keep things more 'natural'. The problem with products like Ph down is that you may not be there to notice when the additive wears off and fish can suffer when Ph starts to swing up and/or down. In my opinion, it is much better to attempt to keep the Ph level constant, regardless of what it is at compared to what fish you want, and just acclimate new fish to the Ph level very slowly. There are better ways to lower Ph that are more permanant and long lasting.

Jay can help you out a lot with the diatoms or brown algea. I wonder though...does it seem as if the brown stuff is in a thin layer on your glass, or is it much like green algea but only brown in color? Pictures would certainly help a lot I think.

[2leftfins]

[2leftfins]

Your comment on the pH chemical makes sense to me. I read that Tetras like a pH in and around 7.5 so wanted to try and get it there. You mention better ways to get there that are more permanent. Can you elaborate?

I would stop using the algea remover chemical and I would almost say to use no chemicals, including bacteria (if the tank is cycled) other than a dechlor conditioner

I am a noob, so bear with me. When I add the bacteria I assume I am replacing what is taken out during the water change. I would think that adding this would be necessary.

As for the Algae chemical. It says impossible to overdose. It is an 'Algae and Waste Remover'. Without that, how do I kill the Algae?

The water in my tank is very clear and I do not look forward to the Algae bloom.....

[2leftfins]

[Tommy Gun]

I am a noob, so bear with me. When I add the bacteria I assume I am replacing what is taken out during the water change

Don't worry about being new...a lot of information within this hobby is not spread often at an LFS because they would like you to spend money at their stores.

I understand why this seems logical, but in reality the bacteria is not free-swimming in the water, but rather attached to substrate, decor, and filter media so it is not neccessary to keep adding bacteria on a constant basis. That should save you some money and maybe the chance of adding things that you want to aviod like a bunch of nitrates if the bottle or batch of bacteria you buy is not good or has been stored improperly.

As for the Algae chemical. It says impossible to overdose. It is an 'Algae and Waste Remover'. Without that, how do I kill the Algae?

Algea is very much a fact of life for fish tanks and it really does not need to be avoided at all costs or anything. Depending on the type of algea and how abundant it is, you can get yourself some fish or snails that would like to eat it and if you have room in your tank for a new addition. (If this is something you would like to look into, don't limit yourself to buying only a plecostomus, there are other options).

Algea can also be limited quite a bit by making sure that your tank is not getting direct sunlight constantly and that your tank lights are not on for an immense amount of time. You can also keep things more healthy by not over feeding and keeping your tank stocked reasonably since if you dont, you could be promoting algea growth by filling your tank with nutrients that algea needs to survive.

You mention better ways to get there that are more permanent. Can you elaborate?

Sure, while it is somewhat easier, in my opinion, to find methods for raising Ph, there are other ways to lower Ph quite a bit without the use of chemicals. One would be to use some peat in your filter media, or substrate, depending on the type (I am not really familiar with this since I never had to use it myself). Another method would be to use some types of wood that would lower Ph just by being in the tank (not very familiar with that either). The one I am most familiar with is dilluting your tap water a bit with either distilled or RO water. Depending on the size of your tank, you might be able to get away with adding only one or two gallons of distilled or RO water to your tank to lower Ph.

I read that Tetras like a pH in and around 7.5 so wanted to try and get it there

In my opinion, even though the fish has a natural water type that it would be found in the wild living in, most of what we are buying in the freshwater world are aquacultured fish and Ph is probrably not the highest concern....especially at the LFS. Freshwater fish, unlike saltwater fish, have evolved to have the ability to acclimate themselves to a varying Ph, however they normally cannot handle a big, rapid change in Ph. In all of my tanks, I do nothing to buffer or change the Ph that comes out of my tap water. I just acclimate new fish well to my water and they always do fine. I have also been able to breed my cichlids in water with a Ph of 7.4 to 7.2 when they would naturally be found in water with a Ph in the lower to mid 8's. I feel that there are only a few species of fish that would be really dependant on a spacific Ph level, and even still, breeding would be the largest issue for those fish needing that Ph. Otherwise, they can adjust and live better in a constant Ph rather than one that changes a lot.