Rusty Looking Rocks...is It Algae?

[netpox]

This week i started noticing brownish/yellowish rust looking things appear on my rocks and shells. Is this algae? I have a 125 gal tank with african cichlids. What should i do?

 

[kelly528]

Most likely... this is a toughie because

a) Obviously you're not planting it if its a cichlid tank
b) Your cichlids will eat almost anything that will eat brown algae!

Normally I would suggest a few ottos, higher lighting and plants to soak up the nutrients, but I know lighting is pretty expensive for the sole purpose of killing algae... If I were you I would ask on some cichlid forums about how people manage their brown algae in their cichlid tanks. Good luck!

 

[netpox]

Most likely... this is a toughie because

a) Obviously you're not planting it if its a cichlid tank
b) Your cichlids will eat almost anything that will eat brown algae!

Normally I would suggest a few ottos, higher lighting and plants to soak up the nutrients, but I know lighting is pretty expensive for the sole purpose of killing algae... If I were you I would ask on some cichlid forums about how people manage their brown algae in their cichlid tanks. Good luck!

Today i started seeing green spots on the rocks. I did a 20% water change last week, i'm about to do one again today...what else should i do?

 

[Truck]

DO NOT ADD OTTOS! do not add them unless its a planted tank, there will never be enough algae to sustain them.

brown algae is caused by ammonia, and poor flow. increasing circulation would mean that your water is better filtered so the baseline level of ammonia will be lower, thus starving the algae.

adding more light will make the problem worse

 

[netpox]

DO NOT ADD OTTOS! do not add them unless its a planted tank, there will never be enough algae to sustain them.

brown algae is caused by ammonia, and poor flow. increasing circulation would mean that your water is better filtered so the baseline level of ammonia will be lower, thus starving the algae.

adding more light will make the problem worse

Ok i have done a water change each week now for 3 weeks straight and still no improvement. Will it ever go away even though its already on most of my rocks?