Algae growing on the leaf and gravel??

[FlareBettaGuy]

I'm asking this question here only because this is the only place where you can post pictures. It would give a better description of my problem.

Through the last few days, i've seen some red stuff growing on my plant's leaves. It got worse day by day, and it grew more and more. It also is starting to grow on my gravel. Plus now, it's sticking to the glass of the tank, too. It looks like little red dots, and there are so many now, that instead of dots, it looks like a blob. Is this algae? Here's a pic.

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

Here's another picture on the leaf. How do I get rid of it? Besides using chemicals?

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

No, that was the picture of the stuff on the gravel. I posted the wrong picture. That was the stuff on the gravel. Notice the red stuff in it. Will this kill of the beneficial bacteria?

Not THIS is the other leaf pic. See the red stuff on it?

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

Another pic of the stuff in the gravel...

 

[Sinuhe]

It looks like the so-called brown algae, altho it's not actually algae, but diatoms. It's harmless, but unsightly, and often caused by too little lighting, but it's also common in new tanks at some point regardless of the amount of light, I think. It's easy to scrub off from the glass and some plant leaves, but the gravel is harder. Otos are known for eating brown algae, so you might want to try them for a long term solution.

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

Not enough lighting, eh? So increasing the lighting would get rid of them? I put the tank by the window and rely on sunlight to light the tank, so I guess that's why. They won't kill the plants, will they? They won't harm the fish or the bacteria, as you said, but it seems to be eating away at the leaves. I have a cory in there, too.

 

[Sinuhe]

As far as I know, diatoms should not harm the plants, fish, or bacteria. What is the size of your tank? I don't think generally having sunlight on your tank is a good idea. The best would be to move the tank away from the sunlight and get an "artificial" light source, like a fluorescent tube.

 

[david27]

I had brown algae for a bit but it went when I increased lighting levels, I've also read somewhere that blue light encourages growth, don't know if that is right though.

David

 

[FlareBettaGuy]

EEK! It's giving off a smell now! Well I put a lamp over it. It does seem lighter than before, but not so much. I guess it's because it's already light right now. But it'll make a difference at night. Here's a pic of the whole setup...

 

[knutty]

if this is a fairly mature tank, maybe you would want to consider upping the amount of regular water changes you do. nitrate, although sem-harmless to fish, encourages algae growth. on the same token, your plants feed on nitrates. what u might cnosider is upping the regular water changes and adding a plant food/fertilizer (liquid) that contains NO PHOSPHATES. phosphates will create an algeal bloom like no other. on the flip side, algae is a part of pretty much every aquatic setting in nature. maybe just get some algae eaters.