Brown Slime or Brown Algae

[skiltrip]

I have been posting from time to time about Brown Algae that I assume I have. Now, I have posted once again to discuss whether it could be something different. It's really slimy, and grows on my gravel, and on the upper side of my plastic plant leaves. Also appears spottily on the glass. and of course it loves growing on the piece of driftwood i have. It makes the tank look really nasty, and seems to kinda absorb all the light, i guess do to it's orangey/brown colour, and makes the tank look really dim.

Could it be that it's not Brown Algae? is there another kind of thing that happens that's a brown slimy substance? Or does this definitely sound like brown algae. I do not think it has anything to do with my water parameters, as I have two tanks, with identical parameters, brown slime/algae in one, and none in the other.

It has been said that brown algae grows as a result of a lack of light. But this stuff grows on the top of my plant leaves, not on the bottom, and the ones at the top of the plant, closer to the light, have way more brown slime/algae on them then at the bottom.

It also grows on the back tank glass, again, high up and closer to the light. None on the front glass, except right on the gravel line.

I am really perplexed here. I am willing to entertain the fact that it might not be brown algae, and could be something else. I've never seen brown algae before, so i really don't know. Any insight would be graciously welcomed.

- Kip

 

[skiltrip]

anyone with any victory stories?

(victory over this brown nasty sludge)

 

[pondfreak4365]

Wish I could help, Skiltrip

 

[sucky fish are cool]

I think this is brown algae.

I have heard, that you will either get brown or green algae in your tank but it is nothing to be concerned about, just looks nasty. You may be able to get some algae rid solution from a pet shop though. That may help, but I would check it out and make sure it is safe for all your species of fish. Haven't used it personally so can't give you any idea of how well it works

 

[Braddah]

did it happen "overnight" maybe with the accompianment of some cloudy water??? Cause my tank is doing the same....also my snails in that tank are acting wierd...i dont see them move much nemore or even stick there heads out.....let me know if you figure nething out I would stay away from that algea rid stuff...anything that kills plantswhats it gonna do to my fish?

 

[skiltrip]

Everyone I ask, online, or in my LFS, keeps saying, increase the lighting and it will go away. This definitely doesn't seem to be the cure, cause when the lights are on, it grows likes wildfire, when i leave the light off for the day, there is no increase.

I have been told that algae treatments don't work, cause it's made for green algae and usually has no effect on the brown algae and other types.

Also, It's been called "gravel algae" by some, cause it's main coverage seems to be on the gravel, but it's also on my artificial plants.

Some information on the web indicates that Plecos will eat it. But some other sources I have found say they definitely won't eat it. Does anyone have any ideas on this?

- Kip

 

[AquaNut]

You said you've been fighting this problem for a while now. Is it in your biggest tank? I don't know anything about firemouth cichlids, but if you can put a pleco in with one, I'd try it. Maybe he won't eat the stuff, but it's worth the ten dollar gamble if he does.

Do you have any live plants in your tank? I highly recommend that you get some. Whether it be light or fish waste, that brown slime is feeding off of something in your tank, and live plants would compete for those nutrients and win. Depending on where you live and your water parameters, there are different plants that are fast growing and heartier than others. Get the 'weediest' plants you can find until the slime is gone.

Good luck!

Kirsten

 

[lordmoose]

I have been told that algae treatments don't work, cause it's made for green algae and usually has no effect on the brown algae and other types.

Using an algecide may well work. Most carry warnings to remove live plants, as they will kill all plants. I used one made by Waterlife IME it worked fairly well, but didnt kill all my green algae.

 

[Liz05]

I have the same thing, also on my gravel and tops of my plants, both short and tall ones. I have a pleco and he definitely does not eat it. I also have a twig catfish who doesn't seem to eat it either... I'd love to hear about a solution, too! I also don't want to use an algae killer, my pleco and twig cat need it to survive!

 

[Alien Anna]

Hi - I have problems with Hair Algae (also known as Red Algae or Brush Algae) which looks brown most of the time, particularly if the light is down.

Re: light. I know you say you have plenty of light, but the spectrum of that light is also important. When did you last change your light bulbs? Fluorescent tubes don't die, they just fade away and become less and less useful to plants. Some brands are worse than others for doing this.

Re: Nitrates. Have you checked the nitrate level in your tank? If it's high, check the level in your tap water - you may get a nasty surprise. Live plants are the best thing I know to use this up, but again, they need good quality light. They also require other nutrients, including iron. Don't add an iron-based fertiliser until you're confident you have the best lights for plants.

If you don't have plants, I suggest you get some or buy some expensive Nitrazorb.

Re: Algaecides. I find eSHa Anti-Algae Treatment reasonably effective for ordinary green algae, and harmless to plants so it might work for brown algae. However, snails can't tolerate it.

Re: Algae eating fish. Not always an option unless you have space, but many fish try to con owners that they're algae eaters when in fact they couldn't give it the time of day. I even have an SAE that prefers flake to algae! As for my plec, forget it. Mollies love brown algae but may not be compatible. Snails definitely love brown algae, but couldn't give the time of day to the green stuff.

Good luck!

 

[skiltrip]

We currently have 3 tanks.. the brown algae is in two of them... i'll break down the specifics to each one..

37 gallon, has brown algae. it's completely cycled, and has been running about 2 months. standard flourescent bulb, the one that came with the striplight.

15H gallon, has brown algae. still cycling. Nitrites are currenly 1.6 or so, and ammonia has dropped to close to 0. standard flourescent bulb that came with striplight.

10 Gallon, does NOT have brown algae. Has a dual bulb incandescent striplight, but i'm only using one of the bulbs. as you can imagine, it's VERY dim in that tank. And no sign of brown algae at all.

I'd assume if it were nitrates in my tap water, the brown algae would definitely be growing like crazy in that 10 gallon tank with the ultra dim light.

this whole thing is quite confusing.

- Kip

 

[AquaNut]

Okay, I know I'm going to get slammed for this, but.... You don't need to do anything special to add live plants. Well.. not here in western Canada, anyway. I really don't know how different my tap water (comes from clean mountain lakes in a temperate rain forest region) is from tap water in the UK (probably significantly different). Anyway.. I grow plants under single flourescent strips and even under incandescant lights in 10 gallon tanks. I have regular gravel in the bottoms of my tanks. I do not add fertilizer of any sort. I do not add CO2. I haven't changed the light in my 33 gallon tank since I got it, three years ago. I'm not saying these are ideal conditions. I do not doubt for one minute that a different substrate and better lighting would help my plants. However, as part of my weekly maintenance, I prune and pull out plants. I recently set up a 45 gallon tank and planted it entirely from clippings from my other tanks. My point is that if you wanted to try some live plants to see how they affect your algae problem, you shouldn't feel intimidated by the idea that you have to go out and get a bunch of stuff in order to do so. I should also add that when I started with aquariums several years ago, I didn't know anything about aquascaping. If I were to start with a bare tank now, I would do it differently. However, even my 'horrible' set-up produces fantastic and beautiful live plants. At any rate, adding some live plants will not hurt your tank, provided you remove any decaying leaves as necessary.

 

[Alien Anna]

Aquanut - re. your plants. I think the expression round here is "Jammy" (Definition: experiencing unwarranted good fortune to the annoyance and irritation of less fortunate people around you!)

 

[smb]

Everyone I ask, online, or in my LFS, keeps saying, increase the lighting and it will go away.

Never saw this thread til just now.

There are 2 types of different Brown algae. "regular" brown algea and slime brown algea. Both are caused by excess nutrients in the aquarium. Not lighting.

Brown Slime Algae, (or you might even know it as Dinoflagellates), is a symbiotic algea, but only if you have a reef tank. It's not actually giving anything back if you have a freshwater tank.

Brown Algae can cover a tank in a week. These are diatoms. Just like when you see a white film on the glass, these are what they are.

It's either excess nutrients (which is 99% of the time the cause), substrate leeching and even if your tapwater has silicic acids in it, this will cause it also.

Feed less, clean more and if that doesn't help then it's your tapwater your using to refill it more than likely.

 

[skiltrip]

My confusion comes from the following...

One of my tanks (the 10 gallon) has no trace of brown algae, nor has it ever. I obviously fill it with the same tap water as the other tanks when i do water changes. Also, I've cleaned the 10 gallon tank with no brown algae much less than any of the other tanks, and done less water changes.

If it is in fact my tap water that's causing the trouble, how would I test it to find out, and what exactly am I testing for. And finally, what can be done to correct my water quality?

- kip