brown algea?

[Ky'smommy]

i changed my water the day before last. 10%
its a 80g
i woke up to find my tank covered in brown stuff
its absolutly bad
i think its algea. im not sure
im doing a huge clean of it right now.
but what could it be caused from. and how do i get rid of it.
its not cause my water is dirty either
i do 10% every other day -3 days and a huge waterchange 50% every week
and i always vaccum the gravel.

 

[Fishyfanatic]

Dose it wipe off easily? If so it's probably diatoms. It's a common stage in a new tank. How long as the tank been setup?

 

[Ky'smommy]

yes off the glass. but its floating everywhere and the blue/purple gravel is brown instead of purple blue.
here its been set up for about 1-2 months but its old tank 3 years
i picked it up and it was set back up with in a few hours.
so i dont think thats considered new is it?
i have discus in it. so it cant hurt them can it?
they are new and somewhat stressed already.
so im freaking out. i dont know how much water i should change to get rid of it?


ok i did a 40% water change. and i thought i got a fair bit of it out.
but it looks just as bad as when i started?
except the glass has alot less.
any ideas on how to get rid of it

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Looks to be possibly diatoms. They will eventually go away on their own. I'm having the same problem in my 29G, as the tank is newly set up. If it is diatoms, if you could find some Otos, they devour the stuff. i wish the lfs here carried them, as I'd buy an army of them. Do you have any pics of it?

 

[Ky'smommy]

there sent.
they turned out really nice.
and a few have all ten which is a shock. cause they have never acted like that since the first day.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Redid the pics and sent back to you, all fixed up and resized. Might want to send them to Zagz as well.

 

[Ky'smommy]

good idea.
will do.

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Can even try posting some of the pics in here....

As far as the algae, it's hard to tell. Even after the editing. Could be hair algae. Is it stringy, or is it more like slime that falls apart when you try to remove? If it falls apart, then probably diatoms or even BGA.

 

[Ky'smommy]

even better idea.
sent to zags already.
i will have them posted soon.
thanks again

 

[Lonewolfblue]

cool.....

 

[Ky'smommy]

oh no its like floating seeds. that stick to everything.
although its not seed the stuff looks like seeds and there is like thousands on the front of the tank alone. not to mention everywhere else.
i completely got the gravel and every side and every corner and under everythin cleaned out. the water was sooo brown.
i left for 2 hours came home and settled and it was the exact same.
except the glass isnt as bad as the first time.
that tree by the bridge in the non discus picture. was green not one spot left.
so look at how much it changed in about two hours.

 

[mr funktastic]

thats not to bad. my 55 gallon was completly coated at one time. it went away though which was nice, i highly reccomend ottos if u can get them. they do a really good clean up job. i hope it all goes away for u

 

[Lonewolfblue]

I believe it's diatoms, and will go away on their own. Also, otos are great at eating it as well.

 

[Ky'smommy]

ok.
i just thought it shouldnt get so bad.
i have no idea what its caused by. it real bad.
i took five gallons of water out today on it was so brown it wasnt even funny.
so i went to a store and bought 4 cory cats. and two ottos cause thats the only heathly looking ones they had and i couldnt find any at the other two pet stores.
they are just tiny but i hope all six will do a good job together.
the discus are chasing them around like they are food. but dont chase the minnows? i hope they dont eat them either lol.
i did another water cahnge today and its quite bad.
should i leave it or continue with water changes everyday ??

 

[mr funktastic]

waterchanges never hurt. espically with discus. it will take some time but the diatoms(if that is what they are) will go away. i am not sure what it is casued by but someone will know. just keep doing the water changes and it will eventually go away.

 

[Ky'smommy]

well i always do water changes.
but now they are like double and more often like everyday so far. i just cant stand looking at it.

 

[Ky'smommy]

ok so the tank is clearing up.
and the fish that had the start of ich. is still almost black. but a bit lighter and came out of hiding.
and he looks dirty with brown stuff.
will brown algea stick to fish? or will i have to start treating for something else.
this is my favorite fish and im very concerned any help will be appreciated.
no other fish in this tank look dirty.
so i dont know

 

[Devilishturtles]

No, algae will not stick to fish. Fish change colors under stress. Do you think that could be what you are seeing?

 

[Lonewolfblue]

Diatoms are caused by silicates in the water and on anything you put in the tank. Once the silicates are used up, the diatoms will go away. Usually diatoms will stick around a couple weeks to a little over a month. But then completely disappears. Another way to make it disappear is Otos. And diatoms don't stick to fish either.

 

[Ky'smommy]

not stick but settle lol.
cause i saw quite a few spots. and posted.
and then went back an hour later and all the spots were gone?
weird.
i got ottos. 2 of them.
and some cory cats and they are doing a really really good job.
my new fish friends. lol 2 albinos and 2 peppered.
maybe im just pariniod. my first discus tank and the first real problem was ich and now this and im just getting ahead of myself expecting the worst.