Brown Algae in my new 20 gallon long???

  • We are currently upgrading MFK. thanks! -neo
N

nickag9

Feeder Fish
MFK Member
Dec 9, 2009
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Cincinnati, OH
As you can see in the following picture I have developed a small outbreak of what appears to be some kind of Brown Algae seemingly overnight. It wasn't there yesterday and so far it has only started to grow on top of my fake plants where they are closest to the light...

brownalgae.jpg


My tank is not quite fully cycled but it is getting there. It has been setup and running for two and a half weeks now. Right now I have 2 Rosy Red Minnows and 1 Crawdad in the tank to help the cycling process. I am running 2 AC30 filters and I try to keep the light on (It's a Perfect-a-Lite hood with an Eclipse Fluorescent Lamp) for about 8-9 hours a day. The tank does not get very much natural sunlight but occassionally if the blinds are open some light may hit it. Right now my tank parameters are as follows:

Ammonia: 1.5 ppm
Nitrite: 1.0 ppm
Nitrate: 20 ppm
pH: 7.5

The Ammonia level has been fairly constant for the past week and a half but this is the highest I've seen the Nitrite and Nitrate levels. Anyway, is this brown algae common with new tanks? What can I do to get rid of it? I was planning to do a 50% WC this weekend, do you think that will help? Sorry for all of the questions, I'm just not a big fan of this sudden outbreak and I don't want to see it spread. Thanks.

- Nick
 
Get a flagtail or feifeng and it will clean that up quick! My flagtail cleaned up my 180 gallon in two days!
 
Adding a fish to eat this stuff is not an option as my tank is being setup as a native tank and will not have a heater. Unless of course there are algae eating fish that can live in 72-74 degree water and do not grow over 3 to 4 inches...

And if the tank is close to being cycled should I do a 50% WC this weekend or should I hold off? The Rosy Reds seem to be incredibly hearty as they have survived two weeks now with an Ammonia level of 1.5 ppm, so that doesn't concern me but what about the Algae? Will doing a WC and cleaning off the top of the plants get rid of it or will it just come back in a few days? Again, sorry for all the questions I just want to make sure my tank is safe for the native fish I plan to stock it with once it is fully cycled. Thanks again for all the help.
 
Unless you enjoy torturing fish, DO A WATER CHANGE NOW. Your tank is not completely cycled.The ammonia is unacceptable, have you tested for nitrite/nitrate ? Diatoms as opposed to brown algae are common in a new setup.
 
My first post shows the levels of Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate and even when I did my last water change the level of Ammonia did not stay below 1 ppm for very long. I understand my tank is not cycled and I know that it probably won't be cycled for another two weeks or so. I'm not going to do large WC every day to try to keep the Ammonia level any lower than it is. With the Nitrite and Nitrate levels rising I know that the cycling process is well under way and that soon enough the levels of Ammonia and Nitrite will drop to 0 and the tank will be cycled. I'm not terribly concerned with the 2 Rosy Reds as they are doing fine, I'm more concerned with the brown stuff growing on my fake plants. I have reduced feeding to once daily and in very small amounts to help speed up the cycling but other than that I'm open to ideas to eliminate the brown junk.
 
I'm not picking on you friend but your orignal post doesn't tell me when you last did a water change. It is just my opinion but putting fish into an uncycled tank is asking for trouble. Expecting any fish to endure that ammonia level is unacceptable. Brown algae is the least of your problems. The tank is still cycling as you are seeing nitrite readings. It's not done cycling. The nitrite should climb really high as the ammonia crashes. Then nitrate will begin to climb. Unless you are using the Rosy's as sacrificial fish, I would make 50% or better water changes every day to keep ammonia to .25 or less. The bacteria will do their job and grow into the bio-load. Watch for the Nitrite spike. If that gets above .50 - keep changing water. We just had to go through this with a hospital tank that we thought was cycled.
 
TO GET RID OF BROWN ALGE ALL YOU HAVE TO DO IS WAIT TILL IT CYCLES. ITS NORMAL IT WILL GO AWAY ON ITS OWN!!
 
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