How do I get rid of brown algae?

[Jen21]

Whats the best way? I was thinking about getting some plants with snails. Any suggestions?

 

[mlee0332]

Here;s how I got rid of mine...

I had a fish that had a fungus on his side, so I got some Fungus Clear tablets from walmart. They are in tablet form for 10gs of water each. So any way, I treated the tank for the fungus and within 24hrs all the brown algae was gone.

There are a few down sides: Colors the wter a DEEP green and also could possiblely stain the sealant (silicon) green. Also, you can increase the amount of light on the tank for 2 weeks, and that should do it!

HTH!

 

[tttnjfttt]

Taken from http/www.fishforums.net/index.php?showtopic=95077

Brown algae AKA Diatoms
Description
This type of algae is actually a diatom. Diatoms often form a soft brown clump and are often seen in new, immature, set ups. Diatoms are usually a result of lack of light or an excess of silicates (which they need to multiply).

Possible cure
Increasing the light levels, by adding more light of keeping existing light on for longer, will usually make it disappear. Diatoms can be easily removed by wiping the glass or decorations. I have heard that in America there is a silicate absorbing filter media available, but I have not seen it anywhere on the net.

Even though the fungus meds work for this, I would try the ligth first. If you use meds when they aren't needed, the fish can develop a tollerance to the meds, and they won't work when needed. Also, a good general rule is to try not to put anything in your water besides dechlorinator. Extra stuff can cause unneeded stress on the fish and lead to more problems down the road.

 

[Bignose]

If you have a lot of brown algae, killing it off could be disasterous. Lots of dead algae decomposing releases chemicals from the decomposition process. That, and the bacteria that do the decomposing also take up oxygen, possibly leaving none for the fish.

In many tanks, brown algae only occurs when the tank is relatively new. One of the best natural ways is to out-compete the algae for resources with live plants. If you get some fast growing plants like hornwort or duckweed, they can take up almost all the resources (phospate, nitrate, ammonia, silica, iron, etc.) before algae has a chance to use them. Look at most natural bodies of water -- relatively algae free since the aquatic plants outcompete it. Some of the best would be plants that stick their shoots above the water -- then the plant willl have enough CO2 from the air and enough fertilizer from the water and will grow very quickly.

 

[Synirr]

My 80 gallon is only a few months old and is plagued by brown algae. I just did a huge 3 hour cleanup on it that involved picking algae-covered leaves off the few plants that can withstand the attacks of my oscar and midas, scrubbing all the rocks and driftwood, and scraping the walls until my arms hurt. I'll buy another light hood next time I go to a bigger city with a Petsmart or other large petstore like that, but basically, I've always just manually cleaned the algae off until the tank matures and it disappears on its own.