Brown Algae

[gaz gun man]

Hey all

How can I stop brown algae growing?

I know its common in new tanks, and mine has been set up for 3 months now and its still growing.

I have tried everything I can think of, apart from getting an algae eater (do they eat brown algae?)

I clean the gravel and glass atleast once a week, I have added real plants, and for the past 2 weeks I have done about 40-50% water changes. (normally only 20% is changed)

How much longer before it will start to die off?

Have I even got room for an algae eater in my tank? Its 125L with 8 danio's, 10 rasboras, 6 cories, 2 gourami's.

 

[Athena]

Hiya - looks like we've both got the same prob at the moment. One of my tanks has developed the brown algae stuff on the glass and the gravel is looking discoloured. I've done a bit of reading up on it today as I wanted to know how to combat it. Apparently, if your tank has enough live plants that are thriving then you shouldn't have any algae problems. Lighting also plays a part. Too much natural light can cause an algae bloom, so check the positioning of your tank in the room. If it is facing a window, you might want to either re-locate it or have net curtains to filter the light, or blinds that are not fully open etc.

My tank isn't positioned directly in view of the window so I don't think that's causing it for mine.

I do have quite a few plants in there - although to be honest, I really don't have a clue about maintaining plants. I just bury the roots in the gravel and that's it!! I'm sure I'm supposed to do something else but I've only just got my head around the other aspects of fishkeeping and haven't got onto the plant-keeping yet.

One thing I have noticed is that the tips of some plants look yellow. Do you have that same problem?

Anyway, I've done all the water checks (as I'm sure you have too) and they are all showing as normal - so I'm just as baffled as you are as to why the algae is there. Oh yes, it seems that since I added all the plants, my tank water has a greenish hue to it - what's that all about? Is yours like that? I do regular water changes of 25% but it's still the same. My other tanks are not like this but they do not have as many live plants in them.

Don't ask me the names of the plants in my tank as I have no idea - they are not even labelled in my LFS. I have a lot of this really long, grass-like plant in that tank, along with a few other smaller plants.

Ah well - for now I shall keep using the magnetic glass cleaner to remove the horrible brown patches. Will check back on here tomorrow to see if anyone has come up with the answer.

Cheers - Athena

 

[dpcamp]

I have the same problem in my 5 month old tank, my decorations keep building up with brown algae. I've read that you can scrub them but don't completely wash them and that too little light can actually make the brown algae grow even more. (anyone?)

edit: i just found this post in a similar topic posted a couple months ago

Yep, "brown algae" are actually little diatoms, creatures that form a silicate shell. Just about every new tank gets an outbreak of them because of silicates leeching out of the glass. Supposedly they do especially well in low light tanks (which many new set-ups tend to be). If the tank is not new, "brown algae" can also be a symptom of silicates and phosphates in your tap water.

Generally brown algae comes off very easily...new and unused toothbrushes are great for cleaning the stuff of ornaments and filter intakes...while a flat plastic card (like a credit card you don't plan to use) will quickly scrap it off the glass. It should eventually go away on it's own (may take a few months), so just be patient and don't resort to the chems. Another option are fish called Oto.'s which feed on green and brown algae, but I don't recommend purchasing them until doing adequate research on how to properly care for them...they are not the easiest fish to provide for at times.

 

[gaz gun man]

hey Athena, I think the brown algae is caused by the silica used in the aquarium, and it is not dependant on light (I cut my light right down before I added the plants), research seemed to confirm it does not need light to flourish.

none of my plants look yellow, nor do they colour my water. I did read that it takes a while for them to establish themselves in the aquarium though so its normal to see some looking alittle wilted before they start to grow. I dont know if thats true or accurate though, its just what I read somewhere.

I have never had any green algae or anthing, just this horrible brown algae.


I got my plants (theres only 10 in there at the moment) from the internet and they werent labelled either, but I think I have the same long grass like one that you do, give me 5 minutes and i'll try and I.D it again.

 

[gaz gun man]

Athena, google Vallisneria americana (natans). I think thats what we have in our tanks

 

[fishncan]

otocinclus do a fantastic job on brown algae. As long as your fish are on the small side, get yourself some of these algae eaters.... bonus... they do not get very big

 

[shortymet55]

My 3 Otos have gone to town on brown algae. Theyve really cleaned my tank (10 Gallon one) out alot (in only 2 days). Now quite done, but extremely noticeable difference.

 

[purpleflower]

the only time i have ever found brown algae is in my cold water tank with my black moor. he is only in a 60 liter right now, moving him to a 240 liter in a couple of weeks. I have heard that light can get rid of brown algae , .

so this one web site says the causes are Excess silicates & nitrates, Inadequate light (my tank is beside a window), Low oxygen levels.
well being a goldfish and in a small thank the excess water and low oxygen cause makes sense.
the cure apparently is , Wipe off surfaces & vacuum gravel well, Use silicate adsorbing resin in the filter, Increase the lighting.

 

[Athena]

Athena, google Vallisneria americana (natans). I think thats what we have in our tanks

Ah, yes - that's exactly the plant I have in my tank! Great looking plants, I think. Actually, the one in the third picture along looks a bit yellowish so maybe that's how it's supposed to look.

Ok, looks like I've got myself in a pickle over the algae - must have been reading the info for green algae I reckon - and there's me thinking too much light is making it worse but, in fact, it needs light to get rid of it. Arrgh, no wonder it's bloomin' well blooming LOL!

Have noticed a few people saying to get an Oto - don't know what an Oto is - is that their full name as I can't find them when Googling.

Athena

 

[minxfishy]

An oto is an Otocinclus - From Wiki: http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otocinclus

 

[Athena]

An oto is an Otocinclus - From Wiki: [URL="http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otocinclus"]http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otocinclus[/URL]

Many thanks! Just had a read up and I think I ought to get myself a couple (it says to keep them in groups but I don't think I could fit more than two in my tank set-up as I always prefer to keep tank stock on the low side).

The problematic tank is a 71 litre tank with 2 sailfin mollies, 3 guppies, 2 ADFs, 1 dwarf gourami and 4 neon tetras. Oh and a few molly fry which probably won't last long in there!

- GAZ - maybe you should get a couple of Oto's for your tank also and see if that helps solve your algae problem. I'm going to give it a try, even though they are not the most attractive of fish - but I hate seeing a dirty-looking tank.

Athena

 

[gaz gun man]

An oto is an Otocinclus - From Wiki: <a href="http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otocinclus" target="_blank">http/en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Otocinclus</a>

Many thanks! Just had a read up and I think I ought to get myself a couple (it says to keep them in groups but I don't think I could fit more than two in my tank set-up as I always prefer to keep tank stock on the low side).

The problematic tank is a 71 litre tank with 2 sailfin mollies, 3 guppies, 2 ADFs, 1 dwarf gourami and 4 neon tetras. Oh and a few molly fry which probably won't last long in there!

- GAZ - maybe you should get a couple of Oto's for your tank also and see if that helps solve your algae problem. I'm going to give it a try, even though they are not the most attractive of fish - but I hate seeing a dirty-looking tank.

Athena

I would like an Oto, dont know if I have room in my tank though

 

[ALW]

What stock do you have, Otos should fit!

Try http/www.thinkfish.co.uk/ and use the community creator, its quite good!

 

[Athena]

Gaz - just been trying to work out if your tank is over-stocked or not.

I'm not familiar with all the fish you have in yours - but Googling I've got a rough idea of their adult sizes. I take it you have a 4ft tank? Roughly 27 UK gallons? So, if you work on the old premise of 1" of fish per gallon of water, I think it shows you may have too many fish in your tank. But I know that it also depends on the type of fish and their waste output, so only you can tell if they are producing more waste than your filter can handle. I mean, if everything is ok re tank stats and the fish are looking healthy and not over-crowded then it should be ok.

But one thing you could do would be to return a few of your present fish to your LFS in exchange for a couple of Oto's. So instead of having 10 Rasboras and 8 Danios, you could have 8 Rasboras and 6 Danios, plus two Oto's.

Just an idea...

 

[gaz gun man]

yeah personally I dont think I have any room for any more fish, I suppose I could exchange some of them for oto's

My tank stats have always been 0ppm ammonia, 0ppm nitrite, 40ppm nitrate.

All the fish look healthy, the sterbai take up the bottom, the rasboras the middle, and the danio's the top, with the gourami's mooching around the whole tank.


The rasboras were sold to me as 2inch max tetras, but I have since identified them as rasboras.