Hello from the Jersey Shore

[Leeanne]

I am new to this forum, this is my third attempt at trying to post. I have a 125 gallon tank that has 2 very large Orandas and 2 small Orandas in it. The tank is served by 2 Eheim Pro 4+ filters, 2 dual air pumps, and 2 heaters. The fish are fed very little, once daily. I have a brown algae problem that no matter what I do, I can't seem to eradicate it. I religiously change 60% of the water every two weeks. The last time I cleaned the filters was October. At that time, I removed all the faux plants and mopani wood and bleached the daylights out of them. I use PhosGuard in the filters and Safe to treat the new water. I scrubbed the glass clean and vacuumed the gravel. Still I have brown algae. I used to have a 75 gallon tank in my all seasons room that sat in bright sunlight year round. It didn't have any kind of algae problem. When it sprang a leak, I bought the 125 and put it in my living room where it gets no natural sunlight, only from the light bar on the hood. Would a UV light solve the problem? If so, is there one that would be easy enough to hook up without me having to rip my filtration apart? If there is a UV light that would work, not cause me to have to change everything around (I'm getting too old to keep crawling around on the floor under the cabinet), what kind is it, how big would it need to be? Thanks for whatever help you'all can give me. I sincerely appreciate.

 

[Lucy_S]

Not sure about the UV light, but you could try some floating plants to combat the algae. They live off the same waste, might be worth a try.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Welcome to the community. Looking forward to seeing and hearing about what you are getting up to.

Can you post a photo of your brown algae? Its probably diatoms, which is normal in a newly set up aquarium and tends to go away on its own given time. How long has your tank been set up?

Diatoms feed on nutrient inbalances in the water which tend to settle out as the tanks cycle establishes. They also feed on silicates from new substrate. Again when these silicates get used up, the diatoms tend to die off. They can thrive in lower light where green algae cant outcompete the diatoms.

I cant see UV making any difference to diatoms. UV will kill off what passes through the unit. As diatoms are growing on surfaces and not in the water, UV would never get into contact with them.

 

[Leeanne]

Thank you for your thoughts. The tank has been operational for three years. Relativity speaking this has just happened in the past year.

 

[Leeanne]

I thought I uploaded 2 pictures, but I don't see them. Hope you can.

 

[Aiken Drum]

Thank you for your thoughts. The tank has been operational for three years. Relativity speaking this has just happened in the past year.

Anything new in the tank? New substrate, decorations?

Do you know your water parameters? You could try upping the water changes.

Increasing light can help. This will promote green algae which is typically easier to deal with. This solution may not be ideal for you though. Plants will help with nutrient take up, but could also become a salad bar for you goldfish though.

Maybe the gravel vac brought nutrients to the water? Maybe some of the gravel brought to the surface leached silicates? How often had you been doing gravel vacs?

I thought I uploaded 2 pictures, but I don't see them. Hope you can.

I cant see any photos. Take a look through this thread that gives some detail on methods of attaching photos.

https://www.aquariumadvice.com/forums/f9/including-photos-in-your-posts-378679.html

 

[Leeanne]

I tried sending the 2 pix again. They are below. I think I'd like to but a sunlight bar instead of the full spectrum light bar I have now. I don't think the tank gets enough light.

 

[melosu58]

Welcome aboard. We are glad you found us here at AA.