Brown Algae?

[Blackhawker]

Hi guys, what's the best solution to a brown algae outbreak in an already established tank? I've installed new t5 bulbs and have had them run for 8 hours a day the past 2 days, seeing slight improvement, but not 100% improvement yet. All I've read is new lights, or doing a 3 day blackout with a blanket over the tank.

[Shane]

Algae need light and food to survive, so are best controlled by changing one, or both, of these factors.

Light: There are several ways to change the light. You can change the intensity (watts), duration (amount of time they are on in any 24 hours period), spectrum, and/or amount of ambient light the tank receives. Ambient light may also be seasonal, so is more likely to cause problems in the summer months.

Food: You can change how much goes in (by altering how much and/or how often you feed) and how much goes out (frequency and volume of water changes). Filtration and live plants can also help remove food to a smaller extent.

A "blackout" treatment may lessen the amount of algae for a time, but will not solve the root cause. Eventually the algae will just return.

Without knowing more about your lighting (intensity, duration, and ambient light) and your aquarium maintenance schedule (frequency/volume of water changes, filtration, and plants) it is hard to give specific advice.

Tanks without plants generally only need a few hours of artificial light a day and the wattage can be quite low (about 1 watt per gallon) since it is only for viewing purposes. So for a tank with no (or only very low light) plants it is often easier to change the lighting parameters.

In heavily planted tanks the lighting is tougher to change as the plants need it. In these cases it is usually better to lessen the food (nutrients) available to algae through large and frequent water changes (about 40-50% weekly).

-Shane

[Blackhawker]

Well I wasn't using much light prior to the problem. I ononly have a few anubias plants. Since the problem, i bought two new t5 bulbs and have ran them during the day for roughly 8-10 hours. I'm also doing weekly water changes at 30%now. The tank is under stocked for its size@75 gal.

[2wheelsx2]

Well I wasn't using much light prior to the problem. I ononly have a few anubias plants. Since the problem, i bought two new t5 bulbs and have ran them during the day for roughly 8-10 hours. I'm also doing weekly water changes at 30%now. The tank is under stocked for its size@75 gal.

I think you answered your own question there. If you were not using T5HO's prior to this and you upgraded, and if the new lights have efficient reflectors, you may have quadrupled the light output from before. How many watts of lighting are you using now and how many and what type were you using before? As Shane said, you don't need much lights for fish, and for Anubias, you don't need much light either. I'm growing tons of Anubias with Marineland LED's (about 12 watts).

I'd really consider reducing the intensity and the photoperiod.

[apistomaster]

You might consider adding a few Farlowella. They are excellent algae eaters except for filamentous types. I like them because they are different from common Bushy Noses and their habits do not interfere with breeding cave spawning fishes like Apistogramma and Plecos. They are far more effective than a bunch of Otocinclus.
The brown "algae" may actually be a film of Diatoms since you were using such low intensity lighting where even algae often struggle to grow. Farlowella will eat a Diatom film also.

[Blackhawker]

You might consider adding a few Farlowella. They are excellent algae eaters except for filamentous types. I like them because they are different from common Bushy Noses and their habits do not interfere with breeding cave spawning fishes like Apistogramma and Plecos. They are far more effective than a bunch of Otocinclus.
The brown "algae" may actually be a film of Diatoms since you were using such low intensity lighting where even algae often struggle to grow. Farlowella will eat a Diatom film also.

This makes sense, since I wasn't paying much attention to keeping a regular "lights on" period during each day. I'll water change more frequently to get rid of these diatoms to see if that'll work.

[apistomaster]

The Diatoms are a primitive pioneering group in an under lighted tank. As you add light they tend to be replaced by the more complex algae.

[Shane]

You might consider adding a few Farlowella.

With all due respect to Larry, who is a very accomplished aquarist, I do not think that adding algae-eating fish is ever a solution to algae problems. Algae problems are a sign of a light/nutrient imbalance that will not be rectified by adding more fish.
-Shane

[apistomaster]

In principle, I agree with you Shane but it is a question of balance.
Some algae will grow in any tank with enough light for decent plant growth if there is nothing present to make a dent in it. Algae eating fish can greatly ameliorate any normal algae growth. I have never seen a well planted tank that did not also have some algae growing in it even if the tank is supplied with CO2 in just the right amounts. CO2 can discourage much algae if everything is in balance like fertilization, number and species of plants and proper stocking levels of fish. I don't believe all algae can be controlled by just having perfect parameters and indeed, I think a tank which is lighted will inevitably have some algal growth or something is wrong.
Farlowella do lack the durability of common Bushy nose but once they are well acclimated they live as long. They are increasingly finding more places in my tanks because they do not enter Pleco breeding caves or Apistogramma breeding caves as will Bushy Noses.

[Shane]

I don't believe all algae can be controlled by just having perfect parameters and indeed, I think a tank which is lighted will inevitably have some algal growth or something is wrong.

Larry I agree 100% that some algae growth in a tank is both natural and healthy, but look at the original posting. The poster has an algae "outbreak." This is something clearly caused by a light and/or nutrient imbalance. Adding more fish, even those that eat algae, is not a solution. I do not believe that adding a "scavenger" or "algae eater" catfish should ever be recommended as an alternative to conducting proper aquarium maintenance.
-Shane

[dw1305]

Hi all,
I think this is a light "problem" too and will go away with less light, you can reduce the light by adding some floating plants. These have a number of advantages:

They have access to aerial CO2, so their growth is not limited by low dissolved CO2 levels.

They will reduce nutrient levels as they grow, and when you remove any "spare" plants the nutrients go with them. They also preferentially use NH3 as their N source.

They give you an easy way of controlling the amount of PAR reaching the tank.

Most fish appreciate the cover they give.

I use Limnobium, Pistia, Salvinia and Lemna (Amazon Frogbit, Water Lettuce, Floating Fern and Duck-weed respectively). I allow them to cover up to 75% of the tank surface in summer and about 50% in the winter, when there is less ambient light.

You can still use these, even in tanks with lots of flow, by creating areas where the surface flow is less intense.

Cheers Darrel

[apistomaster]

Hi guys, what's the best solution to a brown algae outbreak in an already established tank? I've installed new t5 bulbs and have had them run for 8 hours a day the past 2 days, seeing slight improvement, but not 100% improvement yet. All I've read is new lights, or doing a 3 day blackout with a blanket over the tank.

Hi Shane,
We are making different assumptions.
You seem to think he has an over stocked or/or over fed tank with perhaps too much light.
I'm giving Blackhawker the benefit of the doubt and assuming he has a new tank which is just going through normal ecological succession and isn't over stocked and/or over fed.
So We don't really know if adding some effective algae eaters is wise or any other option is better.
If the tank is not over stocked and over fed and planted(3rd assumption) some Farlowella or other algae eating cat could reduce some routine glass cleaning.
I haven't had to clean the glass of my planted 125 gal tank since setting it up in March. The glass wasn't cleaned so it is water streaked. It has about 175 small tetras plus a three adult Peckoltia compta(L134), six Farlowella and 25 common Otocinclus(which don't do much of the algae eating work). I run 4 X 36 inch, 39 watt, HO T-5 lamps for 12 to 15 hours a day. The fish are too small to see well but the tank looks pretty clean to me and I my guess is you may think it is over crowded. Please don't tell the ten new Silver Hatchetfish I'm adding to the three already in there.
In addition to the above mentioned catfish I have 100 Green Neon Tetras, 25 Rummy Nose, 20 Nannostomus eques Pencilfish, 18 Ember Tetra, 8 Diamond Tetras, 10 Black Darter tetras and 6 Characidium cf. fasciatus Darter tetras

[Blackhawker]

My tank is established, and recently had the outbreak which I think was due to the lighting being BAD. I replaced my bulbs and things have gotten better. I added a couple of apple snails, and I had a small outbreak of malaysian trumpet snails, which appear to have also helped things.

[apistomaster]

The Apple Snails can eat a lot of algae and diatom film.
The MTS populations will explode but now this does sound more like there is an over feeding aspect to your problem. The MTS really multiply when they have an abundant food source.

[Blackhawker]

Reading about MTS, as long as there isnt overfeeding, they wont survive and break out. They're a good problem to have in my opinion. The diatoms have seemingly gone away for good, thank you for all the help guys.

[dw1305]

Hi all,

Reading about MTS, as long as there isnt overfeeding, they wont survive and break out. They're a good problem to have in my opinion

I like MTS as well, and I don't see any disadvantage to them. Complex tanks, with biofilm and MTS etc, tend to be more resilient and stable, and in my opinion stability is about the most desirable characterstic an aquarium can have.

cheers Darrel

[apistomaster]

I have a lot of MTS myself. I normally do not mind since most of my tanks only have about 1/4 inch of FloraBase substrate. Over the years their shells build up and start to be almost as much of the bottom as the real substrate plus all the living MTS. In my fry grow out tanks the snails mobilize and amass on the earth worm sticks to the point of getting in the way of the fry and the food.
I am talking about tanks that have been set up continuously for six or more years and I am about ready to drain a few tanks at a time and replace the thin layer of substrate because it does takes years for their hard shells to dissolve. It's about time for a make over.