Hair grass with brown algae

[matty111]

Hi guys im getting this brown algae on some of my plants any ideas on what it could be and how i can stop it would be great thank you

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[SnailPocalypse]

no worries.Just a diatom outbreak.Goes away with time.

 

[matty111]

Oh brilliant thank you [emoji16]

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[Byron]

I would look into this further, as it may not be diatoms but more serious.

"Brown algae" can refer to more than just diatoms as some red algae can be brown, dark green, or black in colour. And I think from the best I can see in the photos, what you are calling brown may not be diatoms.

Daitoms will very easily rub off using your fingertip, from plant leaves for example. Brush algae (which is a red algae that has more than one form and can be dark brown, black, dark grayish-green or reddish-brown) will not rub off. This is the easiest way to tell the difference.

Another thing is the presence of the green algae on the rock, which would tend to discount diatoms as bee more likely to indicate brush algae, as these are due to an imbalance of light/nutrients and most usually an excess of light (too bright, or too long in duration).

 

[matty111]

Ahh i see well i have the lights on a 10 hour timer is that too much do you think

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[Byron]

Ahh i see well i have the lights on a 10 hour timer is that too much do you think

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That depends upon the intensity of the light, the number and species of plants, and other nutrient availability. If the light is too bright to balance the rest, reducing the duration will have no real effect. In my tanks for example, I reduced the light one hour at a time until I got to the point where algae stopped increasing, and in my case it was 8 hours. My 70g though is on for 7 hours because being a shallower tank, the light is slightly more intense. I also discovered that the longer and stronger daylight during summer, coming in the windows, was sufficient to increase algae; blocking the windows in summer (my tanks are in a fish room so this is practical to do) solved that aspect. But it only shows how sensitive the balance of light/nutrients is.

Does this "brown" algae wipe off easily? You didn't answer that. It is not worth trying to resolve something until we know what it is we are trying to resolve.

 

[matty111]

Oh sorry i forgot yer it wipes off realy easy so that is a good sign

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[Byron]

Oh sorry i forgot yer it wipes off realy easy so that is a good sign

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More-so, yes. If it is algae it seems likely to be diatoms. Diatoms are common in new tanks, during the first 3 months or so, because the chemistry is still adjusting itself to what it will be when established, and like most algae, diatoms can take advantage of such situations. So can the others of course.

Is this the tank with the otos? They will readily devour this very rapidly; a couple of otos can eliminate diatoms in a sizeable tank within days.

If this is an established tank, more than a few months, diatoms wold suggest something else, which usually involves low light and/or silicates in the source water.

 

[matty111]

Yer its quite a new tank with otos and galaxy rasboras and i am amazed at how much they keep the white background and glass clean amazing fish thank you for your help much appreciated but i will deffo keep a close eye on it tho

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