PlanetCatfish.com

Hi there, I have done a pile of lookin around on the net for solutions to these types of algae. I'll explain what seems to be working for me in case anyone else is having these problems too.
The brown gunky looking algae that takes over anything in the tank it can rest on such as decorations, plants (live and fake), etc. It is supposedly Diatoms. I have a 30 or so gallon tank with ion exchange softener water in it. I started with an albino cory and a giant danio and some hermianthius cuba. also the usual, gravel, decorations, fake plants. and a single 24" old old old fluorescent. Plus a ton of snails from a friends tank. i like snails. 5 kg of black medium Fluorite.
In no time at all I had brown stuff growing on everything. the "cuba" died off after a few weeks. eventually got some more fish and a pea puffer and some plants. supposedly water sprite and saggitaria. ive spent hours lookin up the plants i now own and i think the water sprite is actually western milfoil and the other one i cant rememeber what it is. started with 5 stems of the milfoil and a mother and daughter plant of the other one. the milfoil grew a tiny bit over a few months and the only part that was ever green was the very top, the growing part. the rest was pale and brown/yellow and sickly looking.
I went from 5 milfoil stems to two half stems and three 1 inch pieces of broken off plant that got stuck in my fake plant. added 1 co2 reactor and it simply slowed down the death of the plants. so after a few months of the glass getting covered in green algae that needs many passes with a firm razor blade and the plants covered in brown. i went to canadian tire, bought a ballast, 2 different fluorescents and some other crap, i chopped the light hood apart and extended it to fit the two 3 foot fluorescents. 1 is a general 4100K 25W and the other is a fish store 4200K 30W i think. the original was a 12 or 15W. I also found a deal on another CO2 reactor and bubbler ladder. added that and am using a sugar and yeast solution instead of the packets.
Now the good part.
Didnt notice much at first but then slowly and then faster. the little 1 inch pieces started growing roots through the fake plant and into the gravel. the 2 half stems started showin green at the tops and growing. then like someone flipped a switch my 2 shot up to the top, i cut them in half and replanted the half pieces, those four started growing. Then the brown turned to yellow which then was only left on 1/10 of the plant. the rest was a much more vibrant green. so the other day i ripped the 1 inch pieces which are now about 7" out of the gravel and fake plant, they ahd about 7" of root in the gravel as well. replanted those and cut some of the others in half again. all seem to be doing very well.
Did a final glass scraping with the razor. no more green algae dots reappearing but the existing ones which ar eon some of the plastic filter pieces arent going away either, wont come off with fingernails or tooth brush, VERY tough algae. but at least its not growing any bigger.
One word of advice, FOr plant growers. Forget the CO2 reactor if you have ANY snails!! i mean ANY snails. or if you dont want to fiddle with new solution every few weeks. Just dig deep and get a CO2 bottle and regulator and solenoid. So much stress/hassle removed. I've given up being careful with the snails that crawled onto the bubbler ladder. i hack at them if i can reach them with the tank fork until they let go and fall away, only to climb back onto it and block the bubbles about 15 minutes later. I've even had them crawl intot he air line thats suppplying the CO2. freakin snails. but they do keep Pea puffers SUPER DUPER happy. and super fat as well.

i have since added another hermianthius "cuba" to my tank in hopes that it will take root andspread around a bit.
And a few more fish. 1 pearl danio, 2 zebra danios, 2 penguin tetras, 2 pea puffers, 1 oto, 1 albino cory, 1 electric yellow cichlid, some ramshorn and some pointy tubelike snails

Hi,
Sounds like you're having fun with this Thanks for the tips, they're always welcome.

How long are your lights on? A shorter period should lessen the chance of another algae break out. I saw an amazing pic of someone who had tied their milfoil to a root upside down and made it look like a tree - awesome, wish I had the picture to show you.

Another idea is to set an el-cheapo CanTire "light timer" that plugs right into the wall to set a bubbler/airstone to come on at night to keep the fish happy when the plants aren't producing oxygen.

Is your Pea Puffer nipping at your other fish yet or are they too big/fast? Cute little guys but very gutsy! Is your Cory still around? Corys seem to behave more naturally and more interestingly! in groups, might want to consider getting him/her a friend or four. The school seems to aquire their own rules and different ways of going about their business - very cool to see. Otos are the same - happy in a group. I have both and they're interesting little personalities

Have you seen the species pages for your Oto and Cory? Lots of great info there too!

Hey there Banana, hows kingston treatin ya?
With the puffers, I've got my original whos almost bigger around than he is long, and the new one who was super underfed, just a big head with a string for a neck and body, now in two weeks hes grown to half the size of the fatty puffer. but he will nip at the fatty puffer and thats the only one. if the fatty comes close, the little one slides toward him and either fatty darts away a few times or the small one lunges (teleports) over to nip the big guy, but the big guy gets away every time. the big guy doesnt nip at anyone and the small one is the only jackass doing anything aggressive. im hoping its cuz there are lots of snails, as i dont ever see them eat anything else.
The albino cory is still around, just still finless. no red, no slime, no cottony stuff, just no fins either. I like him a lot. very funny to watch, same with the oto, very active and just cant sit still.
That would be neat to hang some of the milfoil. but i tell you, it wasnt easy trying to figure out what it was. sold to me as saggitarius from big als. originally found something that looked like it and i think it was called an indian fern or something, but then i found stuff a month after that looked closer called the milfoil. maybe ill do some more looking and finally settle on one.
The "cuba" plant seems to be doing okay, it has a few short short shoots spreadin down from the plant and a few roots going into the gravel. im out of my really old plant fertilizer "chelated iron mix stuff" so im just seein what happens to the plants.
the brown algae isnt gone yet, my lights were on for about 12 or more hours a day. ive cut it back to 11 or so and im gonna cut it back to about 10 in a few days i think.
the cichlid is getting better at eating flake food, it hangs out near the bottom and sucks up the tiny pieces of flake as it passes by, spits it out, sucks it up, does that a few times and then eats it or leaves it. but he is pickin stuff out of the gravel, dont know what though. and off the wood in there too.
I'm gonna try a few more things with he plants and see if i can get the cory to feel better and if i cant change anything in a while, i'll either give the cory away or get it a friend or two.
Have a good day, take it eaze!