Question: Brownish algae in tank. I can't get rid of it!

Morrison · Jun 15, 2011

Okay, suddenly I started to notice some rusty colored dots on the glass of my tank. (Inside) and suddenly it became more and more and right now I have to brush off that nasty kind of algae from the glass every day or two. And not only the glass. Also the (fake) plants, ornaments etc. And when I think I got rid of it all... a day later it's there again.

It's not the green type of algae. This is brown. Looks like rust and it's annoying.

I don't know what kind of algae this is and if it's dangerous for axies (don't think so but you'll never know). And how to get rid of it.
All my other tanks are okay.

Water parameters are okay. Pretty much like always and I don't have lights but the tank stands close to a window. (Also the other tanks and they are okay). I sleep a lot (lol) so the curtains aren't open early so they don't have too much light.
Or is this a kind of algae that loves 'almost no light'?

And how do I get rid of it? I don't want to use chemicals and stuff if it's not neccesary.

(I can't find much about brown algae in tanks... But it looks a bit like this: http://www.reefland.com/ninong/Picture_0408.jpg )

Mandy6 · Jun 15, 2011

When I asked about algae at a fish store once I was told that brown algae grows with too little light and green algae with not enough light. That doesn't make sense to me because in my Goldfish tank I get green algae all over the glass and brown fluffy algae all over the ornaments

I haven't had an algae problem in my axolotl tank (and that is away from the window and has no lights) but with what I've been trying to get rid of it in my goldfish tank I've just been told you just have to keep cleaning it since there aren't any algae eaters that can live with axies. It's annoying though and I can't understand why it grows in some tanks and not others

Morrison · Jun 15, 2011

Yep, axies will eat snails and other fish, so that's not an option...
Hmm, do you think that the algae will disappear on its own someday?

yellowpebble · Jun 15, 2011

do a 100% water change and scrub everything till its totally clean of algie, and see if it forms in the new water

Mandy6 · Jun 15, 2011

Wouldn't you have to cycle the tank again if you did a 100% water change and scrubbed everything?

Morrison · Jun 16, 2011

yellowpebble said:
do a 100% water change and scrub everything till its totally clean of algie, and see if it forms in the new water

I did a few weeks ago and it's there again

But the tank still needs to cycle a bit before putting axies in there.
Maybe it grows faster in 'new-ish' tanks?

carsona246 · Jun 16, 2011

if it's a new tank it's just a side effect. It should go away after awhile.

MrsGimmik · Jun 17, 2011

When changing your water, try cleaning it under HOT water and let the fake plants and other decorations sit in the hot water for awhile and rinse off good, that should kill any kind of germ that might be creating that problem.
Hope this helps ! <3

bichogrilo · Jun 17, 2011

I have a large tropical fishtank that has had that algie for years in small amounts. It has never got into my axie or firebelly aquariums which only have natural light in bright but indirect light. Even with algie eaters it doesnt go away as a matter of fact i dont think the algie eaters like it.
I have in the past started the whole system from scratch, with scrubbing, peroxide, sunlight and drying and after restarting it has slowly come back for a while and then exploded until the tank had properly cycled. When the tank became properly aged the algie dropped back to a few small patches on some of the wood decorations. At its worst it was all over the plants, stones, glass, and other decorations. a wait and see approach turned out to be the best approach for me.

Morrison · Jun 17, 2011

Hmm, guess I'll have to wait too. I'll try the cleaning thing with hot water.

There's also some of the algae in the corners of the tank. Pretty hard to clean. But oh well...

iChris · Jun 18, 2011

check your water chemistry, algae, like aquatic plants, loves to eat nitrites and nitrates. no algae at all can be a sign of a improperly cycled tank. I get small patches of it here and there, but nothing major. I do however have a problem with green algae in my planted tank which is heavily lit and C02 injected.

Jennewt · Jun 18, 2011

yellowpebble said:
do a 100% water change and scrub everything till its totally clean of algie, and see if it forms in the new water

This is absolutely NOT what I would recommend. If you do this, you have to start over from scratch with cycling the tank, and that's much more hazardous than the algae. It's fine if you want to clean it off the ornaments and glass, but I wouldn't recommend a total cleanout.

In my experience, brown algae is part of the "growing pains" of a new tank setup. It booms like crazy during the first few months, then subsides. You just have to ride it out. Be sure the nutrient level (nitrate) in the tank is kept within reason (below 40 ppm). Other recommendations are here:
Caudata Culture Articles - Aquarium Invaders: Algae, Snails, Worms and Other Critters

helobed · Jun 18, 2011

I had a similar problem with my axie tanks with this algae and it just does not go away!
I ended up 'fixing' it by putting some of my pregnant cherry shrimp in the tank. there's about 50 + of them now and they keep it sparkly clean

. it's too cold for them to breed I'm pretty sure, but they fixed the problem for me.
Hope that helps,

Morrison · Jun 18, 2011

Ah, thanks.

Hmm the shrimp idea won't work I guess. The shrimps they sell over here are extremely expensive. Don't know why because I've been told that they are pretty cheap...? And If I buy those pricy ones my axies, someday, would eat all my money away.

I guess I'll have to wait till it's gone and wash the ornaments and plants every two to three days and use all different kind of swearwords when it's back etc.

carsona246 · Jun 19, 2011

I'd just let it sit for a couple weeks before trying anything. New tank's tend to get a lot of things like hazy water, algae and a bunch of other problems that are solved with just waiting and making sure there's no ammonia.

Robin · Jun 21, 2011

Does UV lights help with this?

Kaysie · Jun 21, 2011

UV light will most likely make it worse, and salamanders cannot tolerate heavy inundation of UV rays.

carsona246 · Jun 21, 2011

just out of curiosity why is having a uv filter bad for axolotls? I´m never going to have one in my tank, but most uv lights are completely covered so you can´t see the light at all.

Kaysie · Jun 21, 2011

I assumed the poster was talking about actual lighting, versus a UV filter.

I can't imagine a UV filter would be any more dangerous to axolotls than it would be to fish. I don't think they're good to use as they're indiscriminant against what they destroy. Good and bad microorganisms are removed.

carsona246 · Jun 22, 2011

totally agree, ive just read uv filters are bad for axolotls in the past and always wondered why

Question: Brownish algae in tank. I can't get rid of it!

Active member

New member

Active member

New member

New member

Active member

New member

New member

New member

Active member

New member

Administrator

New member

Active member

New member

New member

Site Contributor

New member

Site Contributor

New member