I have four aquariums all set up in basically the same fashion, but continually have a recurring problem with brown alge in one of the tanks. Two of the tanks are in the same room under similar windows. The tank in question is 135 gallons. It has a Fuval pump rated for a 300 gallon tank and has two 4" bubblers. There is two inches of natural gravel on the bottom of the tank. It has a water lettuce type plant which has to be cut back at least once a month. I have had the brown alge in the tank with gold fish or koi. At present, there are four 8" koi in the tank. The alge is so bad I have to scape the sides of the tank every two weeks with a razor blade. This problem has me stumped. I would be grateful for any hints that would help set this problem right. Thanks, kindly. Arne
Brown alge in tank
- Thread starter DakotaBoy
- Start date
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dkpate
Aquarium Advice Addict
Welcome to AA! 
How long do you leave your lights on every day?
How long do you leave your lights on every day?
Thanks for the reply, dpkate. The tanks have 'grow' lights and are on from eight in the morning until midnight. Two of the tanks are five feet apart and have similar lights. The 135 has brown alge and the 65 has none. I have some concerns that if I have the lights on for a shorter period of time that it may affect the plant growth.
BigJim
Aquarium Advice Addict
Welcome to AA.
8:00AM to 12:00AM is a really long time to leave your lights on, but I'm doubting that that's causing your algae problem. Can you tell us what your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in the problem tank are? I suspect you may have a nitrate issue.
Brown algae are actually diatoms, a microfauna. Diatom problems can be caused by high nitrate levels. Koi are very messy fish and need weekly partial water changes.
8:00AM to 12:00AM is a really long time to leave your lights on, but I'm doubting that that's causing your algae problem. Can you tell us what your ammonia, nitrite, and nitrate levels in the problem tank are? I suspect you may have a nitrate issue.
Brown algae are actually diatoms, a microfauna. Diatom problems can be caused by high nitrate levels. Koi are very messy fish and need weekly partial water changes.
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