Brown algae problem.

[iceberg78]

I have had my tank setup for about 6 months, and I am having a serious brown algae problem. I know it's perfectly normal, but it has gotten out of hand. I do frequent partial water changes with filtered water, and I hand feed so there is no excess food, and I have been keeping the light on more (I have read the brown algae likes dark). Does anyone have any suggestions on how to get rid of it.

 

[chris_dishmon]

scrub it out.

 

[Jennewt]

Yeah, manually removing it is about the only thing you can do. Fortunately, brown algae doesn't stick very tightly, it rubs right off.

Some water sources (including mine) contain silica, and this is part of what the brown algae feed on. Be patient and keep doing what you are doing, and the problem will get better over time. In my experience, brown algae seems to be worst at around 3-6 months after starting a new setup.

 

[axolotlover]

is there any waste that is really old?

 

[iceberg78]

Not that I know of.

I have been srubbing the best I can, but I have a large piece of driftwood that it's hard to get it all off of.

 

[Kaysie]

Andy, don't feel too bad. You're not the only one with brown algae. I've got a bloom that just won't go away. But it's just unsightly, not dangerous.

 

[peterj]

Can you try pond snails or ramshorn snails?

 

[dane_zu]

I have this all over my tank. What I did was take everything thing out and I scraped the sides of the tank off with a razor blade and pulled out the junk and put everything back

 

[Jennewt]

I have a large piece of driftwood that it's hard to get it all off of.

Why bother to remove brown algae from brown driftwood? I would just leave it there, let it look natural. Remove it from the glass and the things that look ugly with it. If you leave SOME algae in the tank, it will absorb nutrients and discourage the growth of algae in the places were you really don't want it. Assuming that you don't have a huge amount of nutrients built up.

Is your algae just a flat film, or long and furry?

 

[Abrahm]

Can you try pond snails or ramshorn snails?

I just wanted to note that for most algae problems the adding of an animal to remove the algae is usually not going to help. There are many, many types of algae and some animals will not eat certain species. Once you have a bloom conditions are usually beyond the point where an animal can bring things back into balance and the root cause needs to be addressed. With algae preventative techniques are very important. Be consistent with your water changes, don't overfeed or leave detritus in the tank and be careful with light exposure.

I have periodic brown algae problems also. I just have one of those magnetic tank scrapers and that takes if off every time. I then do a water change and everything is perfect again.

 

[chris_dishmon]

agreed. i use a sponge with a scrubber to get the algae right before a water change. then i let it settle and use a turkey baster to suck it up.

 

[peterj]

I only suggested the snails because I have a couple of tanks in which pondsnails keep the brown algae under control and my axies like the taste of them from time to time.

 

[iceberg78]

I have one of those magnet scrubbers, and use it quite often. As far as getting the algae off the driftwood, it's a light colored piece that extends out of the water and it looks funny with the light to dark at the waterline.

 

[richierich]

If the algae is feeding on the silica does that mean it is a diatom?

 

[Abrahm]

Brown algae are indeed diatoms. They utilize the silica in the water for their tests (shells.)

 

[iceberg78]

I think I got this under controll. What I did was put my newts in a temproary tank, and hit the big tank with an algae chemical. I know this is not recommended, thats why I put them in a temporary tank. When the chemical did it's thing I drained almost all the water from the tank and took everything out and scrubbed it. Then refilled the tank and cycled it for a week with new filtration, before returning the newts. I figured out why it got out of hand. 1. I have a canister filter, which isn't oxygenating the water so I added an airstone. 2. I was using filtered tap water, now I'm using r/o water from the store.

 

[Ed]

snip "When the chemical did it's thing I drained almost all the water from the tank and took everything out and scrubbed it. Then refilled the tank and cycled it for a week with new filtration, before returning the newts"endsnip


This is not cycling the tank for the newts. This is simply a run in time to see if the equipment is working. You need to begin monitoring the water to see if there are spikes in ammonia, and/or nitrite.

If you haven't dealt with the nutrient source for the algae outbreak then there is a pretty good chance it will reoccur.

Ed

 

[Jennewt]

I was using filtered tap water, now I'm using r/o water from the store.

I do not recommend using pure r/o water. It is too pure, and has nothing to buffer it from dropping pH. Do you test the pH? I would recommend doing so ASAP.

At the very least, I would recommend adding a buffer (a product such as "bullseye", etc.). I don't have much experience with these, but it should be better than absolutely pure water, at least as far as the pH is concerned.

You are correct that diatoms are caused by tap water. My tap water is also silica-rich. But brown algae can be overcome in other ways, and once it "runs its course", it rarely returns.

 

[Zapher]

I have found success in using strong lighting to get rid of brown algae (which also helps with live aquatic plants if you use them). Now the downside to that is that you will then get some different types of algae in the tank but by using phosphate removers in my filters i have never had much of a problem with algae. I use either Phos-X or Algone. They both remove nitrate and nitrite too as an added bonus. On the other hand, in one of my tanks my driftwood is covered in hair algae, which doesnt seem to spread to anything else, and it looks great with my Chinese Firebellied Newts. Try getting enough light to have around 2-3 watts per gallon though and you shouldnt ever see brown algae again.