Brown Algae...cloudy Water....

[MrsM]

hi, it seems i had a few brown patches of algae..easily removed with the 25% weekly WC, but it seems when i got my new gravel cleaner and had a good(proper vac, wasnt doing it correctly before)the water went cloudy, and has stayed cloudy after each PWC the brown patches have got worse and there are more of them....

i added poly wool to the filter thinking it was excess "muck" in the water, it hasnt cleared it.....so i went to google to see if the brown patches of algae had anything to do with the cloudy water.....seems it does..

with the new gravel cleaner disturbing the gravel and adding new fish, i have added ammonia to the tank to feed this brown algae, ive had a 25% WC this evening and it has cleared the cloudyness somewhat, so my questions are........

once my tank is fully stocked(im still stocking my recently fully cycled tank) and i have been having a gravel clean once a week for a while...ill no longer be adding ammonia to the tank right?...so.... will the brown algae/cloudy water subside?.....or is this a problem that will be ongoing?and needs immediate treatment?

how do i keep on top of the cloudy water and brown algae?...at the moment i clean all the patches at WC. i have a 25% WC weekly and a small WC(8%) just before adding a new fish(to keep ontop of the cloudy water)...

ive read about purigen....will this help? what is it? does it go in the filter...

water testing just before WC tonight were...ammonia 0 nitrite 0 nitrate 50(ish)
i have no plants i have 3 cory and 5 rummy nose tetra.
tank is 80L

 

[Tuxyu3]

If this is a fairly new tank it may be diatoms as a pose to algae, if so they will subside with time.

 

[MrsM]

how do i know the difference? diatoms to algae....

i thought it was the same thing just diff names for it?

 

[Tuxyu3]

I believe diatoms reproduce differently and have an outer shell composed of silicone and that is the difference, i think. Google it and look at the images, you should be able to judge from that.

 

[Ps3Steveo]

Its Diatoms yes, the way to keep on top of it is stop adding ammonia, do water changes every other day till its clears and the brown stuff on the glass just give it a wipe off before the WC. Purigen is awesome and it goes in a bag in the filter and gets rid of ammonia very quickly but I don't think you'll need it if you keep up the water changes till it subsides.

 

[MrsM]

thanks for the reply...i was hoping you would comment as ive looked over older threads and saw you knew what you were talking about..

...

so before i add more new fish(ammonia) i need to get this diatoms situation under control?
how big WC should i do every other day? do i do a gravel vac while i do the WC or save that for just once a week?
will it harm the fish, one of my rummynoses still has a bright red nose but he is away from the shoal sulking in a corner sometimes ive noticed today...

thanks again

I believe diatoms reproduce differently and have an outer shell composed of silicone and that is the difference, i think. Google it and look at the images, you should be able to judge from that.

thanks

 

[Ps3Steveo]

If I were you I'd stop gravel vacuuming as the filter is designed to deal with the ammonia which as the waste breaks down will cause this but not be released on as large a scale as when you dig up the gravel when vacuuming so keeping on vacuuming will give you a spike every time you do it. While the waste is in the gravel its released slow enough for the filter to deal with. I'd do 40% water changes every other day for a week till its under control if its possible. After that just weekly WC's and see how you get on as some tetra wont produce much waste at all.

 

[MrsM]

thanks i did a 25% WC last night so ill leave it today and do another 40% every other day starting tomorrow

ive also got 3 cory in the tank and i want to add another 3....once the diatoms are in check will it be safe to add new fish again straight away?

and when the tank is fully stocked should i gravel vac once a week?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

I'd leave the vacuuming, it'll cause spikes.

 

[MrsM]

ok ill be leaving the vac for a bit then also is it right that ammonia "hangs" at the bottom of the water rather than near the surface?

 

[Ps3Steveo]

It depends where the breakdown of waste happens, I'd grab yourself a few low tech plants to help with waste management.

 

[PrairieSunflower]

Not heard someone say not to vacuum before. Do you mean only in her particular situation or ever? I thought everyone vacuumed the muck from the bottom of their tanks...

 

[MrsM]

Ok.....vacuum or not.....i wont vac as often......but once this diatoms is in check i will vac once a week........

 

[Ps3Steveo]

You can give it a try but I'd suggest some low tech plants in there to keep whats in the gravel in check a little. I have to say you might have to start over each time if vucuuming gives a spike each time.

P.S. Most planted folk dont vacuum at all as plants take care of most of it.

 

[MrsM]

may have to research this a bit more but ill deffo be getting real plants so if they help the diatoms problem then thats a bonus

Disturbing your gravel is dangerous??
OK, this one is partially true. If you never disturb your gravel, then your gravel will develop anaerobic pockets can will likely produce toxic gases. If this happens, then disturbing these anaerobic pockets can have disastrous results for your aquarium as the toxins are released into the tank at large. However, the development of these anaerobic pockets is actually an indication of poor aquarium care in the first place. The gravel should be stirred regularly to ensure that these anaerobic pockets never develop, because if these dangerous anaerobic pockets do develop, they do not necessarily need to have the gravel disturbed to release their toxins. For this reason, among others, vacuuming part of the gravel should be a part of your regular weekly 10-15% water change in every aquarium.