HELP Brown algae taking over

huk chun chu · Post by **huk chun chu** » 16 Oct 2006, 14:01

I am having a big problem with brown algae.It started in my 35 gal.& has now completely covered all plants,glass,gravel & rock.I have to scrape the glass all the time just to see in.It is now starting to invade my 90 gal. How do I get rid of it?

MatsP · Post by **MatsP** » 16 Oct 2006, 14:30

Reduce feeding and/or lighting.

That will stop the algae growth.

Do more water changes, which will reduce the nitrate buildup, which is one of the nutrients that algae grows from.

--
Mats

worton[pl] · Post by **worton[pl]** » 16 Oct 2006, 18:00

Hey,

how long your tanks are running on the light you installed?

After some time sources of light are weaker than on the beginning and that usually cause a brown algae problem in established tanks.

If you didn't change anything in last few weeks in your tanks my bet is lighting.

Regards.

huk chun chu · Post by **huk chun chu** » 16 Oct 2006, 18:14

The lights are double florescents & they are on a timer for 11 hrs. a day.The 35gal. has only 5 fish & numerous plants.The 90gal. has a good # of fish a few plants & only 1 florescent bulb in the reflector(african cichlid tank)so this may be why the algae is not so bad in this tank.These bulbs have been running for about a yr.&1/2.The nitrate tests out very good & I do 25% to 35% water changes weekly.I also feed the plants weekly with florish. could this be part of the problem? Is my lighting OK or should I cut it back?

Post by **Barbie** » 16 Oct 2006, 18:19

If this is one of the tanks you moved a month or so ago, that brown algae is definitely a sign that the tanks "re cycled" and the brown will disappear in a matter of weeks to be replaced by green. The diatoms are utilizing the silicates present in the new water and will be dying off again soon. Don't panic, it's just a stage, but this definitely points me towards thinking your fish losses were from nothing more than ammonia or nitrite after the move, not an illness.

Barbie

huk chun chu · Post by **huk chun chu** » 18 Oct 2006, 16:58

I do hope that it was just the water perameters that caused the fish losses,not that anyone likes loosing fish.I think it might be a good idea to clean these tanks & start over just in case it was more than water conditions only.