Brown Algae Problems in my 1 Month Old 30 Gallon Tank

[J Migidy]

I set up a 29 Gallon Bio Cube with Eco Complete, plants and water from my outdoor Koi pond. I ran it without fish for a couple weeks and then I brought in my two small koi for the winter. In the beginning Ammonia, Nitrite and Nitrate shot up which I expected. Now after weeks of water changes Ammonia is finally pretty much zero but Nitrite is off the charts and Nitrate is at the middle of the road. I think the nitrogen cycle still has a ways to go until everything zeros out. I feel I have enough bacteria eating my ammonia but not enough to eat the Nitrite yet. It's been over two years since I started a tank (my original 55 gallon is still going strong) so I'm a little rusty. This past week brown algae has taken over my plants, rocks and the walls of my tank. I think this is due to the high Nitrite levels? Will the brown algae go away when the nitrogen cycle reaches the last stage and the new aquarium is finally established or should I be doing something else to get rid of it? Right now all I'm doing is scrubbing the sides of the tank before I do a water change.

 

[rich311k]

Does the brown stuff come right off like a poder? If it does, it is just diatoms and it will go away on its own. They are not reaaly algae but a microscopic orgnism that feeds on silicates.

 

[J Migidy]

Does the brown stuff come right off like a poder? If it does, it is just diatoms and it will go away on its own. They are not reaaly algae but a microscopic orgnism that feeds on silicates.

Yeah, the brown stuff comes off pretty easy with some rubbing. Good to know that it will go away on it's own.

 

[7Enigma]

If your 55 gallon is up and running remove some of the filter media and put it in the filter of the cube tank. NitrItes "off the charts" are not good....

 

[J Migidy]

I have not done a water change in two days. I've been trying to get away with less changes. More brown stuff appeared on the sides of the tank. I scrubbed it off with a brillo very easily. I checked the levels to see if I needed to change the water today. Here is where I'm at. Ammonia is at .25ppm, Nitrite is at 0ppm, and my Nitrate is at 20ppm. Not looking too bad. How long until this stuff goes away???

 

[Purrbox]

Diatoms will last anywhere from a few days to a month. It really depends on how many silicates are in the tank for them to consume. Once the food source is used up they'll die off.