Brown Algae

[OoHeatheroO]

I have a long 33watt bulb over my 55 gallon and I continue to have brown algae show up on the glass and fake plants (not a huge amount) but I scrub it off when im doing a gravel cleaning/water change. How do i keep this from growing back? Do i get a more powerful light? I remember reading brown algae comes from not enough light and green algae comes from too much.

Help

 

[glolite]

Not sure about not enough light causing algae, I always thought too much light causes most. Too much feeding, excess fish waste and not enough plants are other causes. Have you any algae eating fish? Bristlenoses are good for this.

 

[OoHeatheroO]

Yes I have corys and a chocolate pleco

 

[jrd77]

I just had a similar issue. My thing was that I had BOTH brown and green, which I thought could not be possible. After talking to some LFS people and doing some research, it is not the amount of light (or lack there of) that causes brown algae, but the spectrum of light emmitted from older bulbs. It might be that your bulb is emmitting a spectrum of light that is more condusive to brown algae growth. I would try getting a new bulb to see if that works. If you have any green algae, that's when you might limit the number of hours your lights stay on. I hope this helps!

 

[rdd1952]

Yes I have corys and a chocolate pleco

Corys are scavengers. They won't eat algae unless they are really starved. I have also heard that brown algae grows with lack of light but mine seems to grow more when the lights are on that when they aren't. I am now in the midst of an experiment to see if extra light time will get rid of it.

 

[OoHeatheroO]

I just had a similar issue. My thing was that I had BOTH brown and green, which I thought could not be possible. After talking to some LFS people and doing some research, it is not the amount of light (or lack there of) that causes brown algae, but the spectrum of light emmitted from older bulbs. It might be that your bulb is emmitting a spectrum of light that is more condusive to brown algae growth. I would try getting a new bulb to see if that works. If you have any green algae, that's when you might limit the number of hours your lights stay on. I hope this helps!

That sounds about right. Normally I turn on my tank around 6:15am and turn it off at 9:30pm. I work from 8:30am to 5:30. Maybe I should just have my tank light on during that time period. The bulb is old i would imagine. What bulb would you reccomend?

 

[webcat5]

The bulb is old i would imagine. What bulb would you reccomend?

I would recommend an AQUA-GLO it has the best light spectrum for both fish and plants.

 

[OoHeatheroO]

The bulb is old i would imagine. What bulb would you reccomend?

I would recommend an AQUA-GLO it has the best light spectrum for both fish and plants.

what wattage?

 

[webcat5]

The bulb is old i would imagine. What bulb would you reccomend?

I would recommend an AQUA-GLO it has the best light spectrum for both fish and plants.

what wattage?

Usually the wattage is standard for the length, example 18"=15w.
The longer bulbs have more wattage.

 

[jflowers]

Usually the wattage is standard for the length, example 18"=15w.
The longer bulbs have more wattage.

Yep, wattage for T8 lighting (standard florescent tubes) is determined by length, you can't change the wattage without changing the length unless you upgrade to the newer T5, but that would require new fittings and ballast too.

I would try a ciesta (sp?), get a timer and have the lights go off for 2-3 hours mid day, worth a try.

I also had a big problem with this in my 200l tank, but with regular weekly water changes (20%) and cutting down on feeding (now once a day, all they can eat in 3 mins, some reccomend less), it has died off and now I dont have a problem with any type of algae in that tank.

Jon

 

[OoHeatheroO]

I just went out and got the aquaglow 40 watt bulb. It has a REALLY nice looking glow on the tank. It's not much brighter but its a lot more natural looking and made my tank look clearer. I also bought 4 algae eats

 

[jrd77]

What kind of algae eaters are best (and don't grow too big)?

 

[alienwater]

Hi,
Its hair algae, I was plagued with it and nothing short of scaping it would get rid of it. But i got some anti hair algae water treatment and it sorted it out. It didnt get rid of what was there so I gradually replaced my fake plants, scaped it off the glass and it hasnt come back. Good stuff.

 

[alienwater]

Just one more thing, plecos and other algae eaters wont eat hair algae Just remove whats there and treat the water.