Brown algae problems

[AnthonyFish20]

Ive got a bad algae problem nitrates are between 5-10 ppm.
Lights are on the tank about 6 hours a day.
I have trouble scrubbing the back off but have trouble getting to the back.
Any ideas on what to do.
I do 40-60% water changes every 4-5 days
I would add some bushynose plecos but do not want to risk them harming my ray.
I was thinking on next waterchangge day to scrub as much off as I can then do a big waterchange.

 

[LBDave]

How long has the tank been up and running? Looks like a diatom bloom.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

How long has the tank been up and running? Looks like a diatom bloom.

2-3 months

 

[AnthonyFish20]

a

How long has the tank been up and running? Looks like a diatom bloom.

Do you recommend scrubbing it off then doing a big waterchange 50-60%.

 

[Rocksor]

Yup scrub it off and do a water change. Is your silicate substrate new? It could take a few more months before you see a reduction in brown algae.

 

[LBDave]

Agree. With a new set up this is common. It will find it's equilibrium and decrease. Probably mostly go away. I have plants so I fertilize but don't see much diatom activity anymore. My tank is 9 months old. Diatoms finally went away about 4-5 months ago. Just get a little at the substrate line.
Also, just a note. Plecos are great but they won't solve algae and diatom problems. They love to eat this stuff but as a "cleaning staff" they are not the solution.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

Ok thanks guys I just scrubbed 90% of it of and doing a 50% water change rn.

 

[BichirKing]

just an fyi what I did... my water is high in phosphates and all my tanks have this to some extent. it never goes away. i built a big phosban reactor and it helped noticeably but was just one more thing to maintain. now I just leave it. my tank has been up for over a year and I still have to scrape this off. I was thinking of doing a rodi system to see if that helps but I change more water than I think a rodi could provide.my .02 good luck!

 

[LBDave]

just an fyi what I did... my water is high in phosphates and all my tanks have this to some extent. it never goes away. i built a big phosban reactor and it helped noticeably but was just one more thing to maintain. now I just leave it. my tank has been up for over a year and I still have to scrape this off. I was thinking of doing a rodi system to see if that helps but I change more water than I think a rodi could provide.my .02 good luck!

Yeah, having high phosphates in the water can suck.

 

[AnthonyFish20]

I will c how it looks in the next week if it grows back really quick. Hopefully the scrubbing will slow it down.