Brown algae BIG Problem

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king_puma9

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Mar 5, 2007
35
0
0
New Mexico
I am currently having a front line battle with Brown Algae in my tank, and for my sanity, I could really use some help in the matter please. Here are the specifics on the tank.

125 gallon-setup for over a year now
Filtration-FX5, and 405
Cleaning- 2 water changes a week approx, 50-70%, all water parameters are where they should be. I am a control freak about this.
Fish-2 Oscars largest about 11inches, 7 clown loaches, biggest 3in.
Substrate-pool filter sand mixed with small pea gravel.
Lighting-182 watts @ 6700k

I have read on many sites that brown algae usually occurs in newly setup tanks, or from sparse lighting, or excess waste/nutrients in the water, and the last excess silicates in the water.

Can someone please give me a hand here?
 
Get a prochilodus. lol. I would try to vary the lighting. Either time on/off or the light itself. I have had it come and go through a few tanks.
 
I guess I should add that I have 3 bristlenose plecos, and I am not attempting to add anymore fish into my tank.

In addition, the algae is brown in color and almost looks fuzzy to wavy. No new items, or fish had been added prior to the outbreak.
 
Brown hair algae? You could change the lighting to a different temp and grow a different color algae.

If it is fuzzy or hairy, you have too many nutrients AND phosphates in the water. You can either find a way to remove the nutrients/phosphates from the water or put a different algae or plant in there that can out compete if for the food.

Silicates can be present but those usually feed cyano bacteria (slime/scale algae) or diatoms.
 
Silicates are what fuel this algae you have. Brown algae in extreme growth stages can appear to be fuzzy. With silicates present, you can either do a very high light setup, or scrape like mad.
 
So would changing from 6000k power compacts to 10000k power compacts possibly change things. I dont dose any ferts for the tank, since this is not as heavily planted like my other tank.
 
Changing the color temp will not intensify the lighting at all, but it can cause your plants to grow slower or even die. 6700K is a good temp to stay at, but more intense forms of lighting will help get rid of the brown algae.
 
You need to identify exactly what type of algae it is, then you will know how to battle it.

10K wouldn't do anything, maybe make the brown a little more green or give it a nice sheen. Lowering the temp below the 6700 range would inhibit the browns but increase reds and provide darker greens.

Increasing/decreasing the light intensity won't do much. Changing intensity may initially inhibit growth of one type of algae but promote a different kind. If you go back to the same schedule and intensity it will come back.

If it is thick growing diatoms or brown cyano then you need to do something to control silicates.

If it is actual brown hair algae then you need to do something to lower phosphates and possibly iron. Get an iron test kit and see how high it is. Phosphate test kits are really good at detecting inorganic phosphates but not the organic ones that actually make up the majority of phosphates in the average aquarium.

With a 50-70 percent water change a week you may be providing tons of silicates/phosphates/iron that keeps feeding the algae. Try to adjust water changing schedules based on tests results for nitrates.

Some people are blessed with low phosphate, low silicate tap water; some people aren't. I have a fry grow-out tank that I use only tap water on and grow long brown/green algae on the rocks and glass. On my display tanks, I use HI-S RO/DI water and don't have anything besides what I put in the tank.
 
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