Brown algae

[Misterfish]

Has anyone encountered brown algae, mostly on plants. It's in a 70litre tank about 5 weeks old with ten small fish in. Many of the plants have this brown growth which is becoming quite unpleasant. The LFS guys said it would disappear in a couple of weeks.

 

[zig]

Its very common on new planted setups, what you are experiencing is a diatom bloom, and your lfs owner is correct it usually will clear itself within a couple of weeks.

Otocinclus will also eat it but it should clear by itself as the tank becomes a bit more established, you could also remove it manually each day an old toothbrush is quite effective for this but it should clear eventually.

 

[triliaeris]

Has anyone encountered brown algae, mostly on plants. It's in a 70litre tank about 5 weeks old with ten small fish in. Many of the plants have this brown growth which is becoming quite unpleasant. The LFS guys said it would disappear in a couple of weeks.

[snapback]919579[/snapback]​

http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=104464

We had the same problem. We finally got it fixed by going to walmart and buying RO bottled water. We changed about 8 gallons twice a week to once a week for a bit. It finally started clearing up. We are going to continue this probably permanently.

They had to tinker with our water pipes and probably added something extra to the water. This caused the bloom. Once we stopped using city water, the problem is pretty much fixed.

If nothing else works, try this. (no one told us this, they told us keep changing the water, or wait until it clears up...it typically doesn't clear up if it's your water...it only gets worse)

 

[cyprinut]

The cell walls of diatoms are made of silica. Hard, mineral laden water will enhance their growth.