Brown Algae in tanks

[Cichlidsrule]

One of my tanks has a lot of brownish algae in it, and it won't go away. I've read that tanks with algae are usually dimly lit, so I've tried to increase the light, but it's still there...is there something else I can do or will it go away after a while on its own?

[fishbone]

Wow dude, it's as if you read my mind. I was *just* doing a search on this very topic. I have the same thing going on in my brackish tank. I think the source is uneaten food. It's only a 10g housing a little crab. I dump a small pea and piece of raw shrimp once every other day. It seems that once the algae has started growing, there's no end to it! I've got both green and brown.
A coworker of mine dropped off at my desk a little bag that looks identical to a tea bag. It's Green-X and made by Hagen. It's supposed to be a phospate, nitrite and nitrate trapper and lasts up to a month.
Anybody have any experience with such products? The algae wouldn't bother me if it didn't grow on the sides of the tank >_<

[Damon]

There is a post on various type of algae sticked here (probably in the aquatic plants section).
Causes: Poor waterflow, Cycling tank, Low light.

[fishbone]

Wait ... LOW light? And I thought a LOT of light caused it and I moved the tank to a darker spot in the room, with no direct sunlight.
I'll look for the topic. The thing is, this brown algae grows even on the rock that's directly under the waterpump wich happens to generate a bubble column all the way to the bottom. The water parameters have also been perfect for the last months.

[Damon]

Originally Posted by fishbone

The water parameters have also been perfect for the last months.

The parameters you have tested for are perfect There are many others out there that cause algae..........
High silicates can cause it. Have you tested for PO4? What is the GH of the water? Type of substrate?

[Kageshi17]

So I have live plants in my tank and have algae...thats the cause for that, right? I always thought if you had plants, you would have algae. But I just purchased a rubber nosed pleco and he hasnt moved from his rock in 3 days. Is he going to eat the algae anytime soon or not? Hahaha, thats why I dot him!

[fishbone]

Damon: unplanted tank, brackish water, sand substrate. I went from green algae to brown algae. I'll get some light and see what happens. I didn't mean to say that there aren't other parameters besides the ones I'm testing, but when reading the info on this stuff and seeing "bad water conditions" and "newly set-up tank", one things of the nitrogen cycle.

[Damon]

Your sand is silica based. Can be a huge factor in brown algae (which is silica based for the most part). Its not uncommon. It will normally go away on its own in time. Just remove what you can during waterchanges and it will eventually leave. It is totally harmless.

[Betta1]

Is it just me or is algae only a salt water/brackish thing? I've had three freshwater tanks without a spot of algae, now I've got my cichlid tank with cichlid salt and I've got brown algae everywhere. Personally I like the algae, only wish I had some hair algae that stuff looks sweet.

[swordtailbreedr]

its not a salt thing IME

[Cichlidsrule]

It's definitely not a saltwater thing-- my tank's a freshwater.
Here are the tank stats if that helps:
Ten gallon
2 plastic plants
~10 guppy fry
1 young ghost shrimp
Pebbled (not gravelled)
Regular light (i.e. the light from the 80 watt bulb in the ceiling of my room)

[Danh]

Brown algae can come from a lot of things. You can get a phosphate pad from the lfs and stick it in your filter. That could help. More frequent water changes can help. In general, live plants will help you to not have algae, as they will consume the nutrients that the algae would be using to live. They aren't going to completely take care of algae in all cases though. In small tanks you can get a algae eating loach from that most walmarts carry. I prefer semaprochilodus tanieru (I think spelled it right) for eating algae, They grow pretty slowly, will eat the aglae, green and brown, also eat flakes, pellets or frozen, look pretty good, and are fairly cheap when they're small. They are pretty hard to find most of the time though. They do get big though.. 10-12" or so.. They just take a long time to get there.

[MyraVan]

Originally Posted by Danh

In small tanks you can get a algae eating loach from that most walmarts carry. I prefer semaprochilodus tanieru (I think spelled it right) for eating algae, They grow pretty slowly, will eat the aglae, green and brown, also eat flakes, pellets or frozen, look pretty good, and are fairly cheap when they're small. They are pretty hard to find most of the time though. They do get big though.. 10-12" or so.. They just take a long time to get there.

An algea eating loach aka sucking loach aka Chinese algae eater is a bad choice for just about any tank, in the long run. They are fine when little, but they grow big and turn nasty. I am not familiar with the one you prefer, but it sound like a variation on a common pleco. It may take awhile to become big, but what are you going to do with it then? You'll be lucky if you can even give it away; almost no one wants a foot-long pleco (maybe someone wanting an algae eater for a pacu tank...)

There are quite a few algae eaters you can get that stay small. For really small tanks there's shrimp and snails (nerite snails are by far the best snails for eating algae). For 10g and up, there's otocinclus catfish, which top out at 1". For 30g and up, there are a few plecos that get to a max of 5" or so, like the rubbernose pleco or bristlenose. I've got a bristlenose (we call him Sebo, which is the make of our vacuum cleaner) and he's doing a great job in the 58g.

[Cichlidsrule]

Are there any really peaceful algae eaters out there? It would have to do all right with guppies....

[MyraVan]

Originally Posted by MyraVan

There are quite a few algae eaters you can get that stay small. For really small tanks there's shrimp and snails (nerite snails are by far the best snails for eating algae). For 10g and up, there's otocinclus catfish, which top out at 1". For 30g and up, there are a few plecos that get to a max of 5" or so, like the rubbernose pleco or bristlenose. I've got a bristlenose (we call him Sebo, which is the make of our vacuum cleaner) and he's doing a great job in the 58g.

Yes, all of these that I mentioned are very peaceful and would be fine with your guppies. Just choose the right one for your size of tank. I should have mentioned that otos are schooling fish and thus you must have at least three of them; six are better. The algae eating shrimps also do best in larger groups, so I have read (they look best in groups, so I always buy at least 5 of them).

[Kageshi17]

My rubber nose pleco is SOOOOO good with algae. The first three days he stayed in hiding...and now he cleaned the whole back wall of the tank and all the leaves of my plants. OMG...he's awesome. I would reccomend him to all of you. They get about 4 inches. He is the best!

[Danh]

A semaprochilodus tanieru isn't a variation on a pleco at all, nor is it a chinese loach, or loach at all. It's more of a tetra. They do get big, 10-12" I'd say, and are worth well over $100 a that size. They grow very slowly, and if you got one at 1" it would live in a 10g for years. They are very peaceful fish other than they sometimes try to suck the slime coat off of slower moving fish.

[Danh]

[MyraVan]

OK, I take it back. Your Semaprochilodus taeniurus sounds quite cool, if you've got a big enough tank!

Here's more info:

http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/Fishindx/semaproc.htm

[Danh]

I had a very small one that died when I tried to feed it a green grape. I bought two larger ones that you see in the pictures together. I traded one and the other took a leap out of the tank.. It died a few days later. The larger one with that is very orange tried to eat some algae out of an overflow and got stuck.. and I just got another one the other day. They are fairly active, look pretty good and can really eat some algae, as well as other prepared foods. I love the things.