Red/Brown Algae Bloom

[goodeyesniper]

Hello all,

Recently my 10g tank has exploded with red/brown algae. It's covering almost all of my decorations and has now gotten on to my filter's baffle, which in turn causes little bits of algae to be shot into my aquarium's water.

My tank should be cycled, if not at the end of the cycle. My Ammonia and Nitrites are consistently at 0 and my Nitrates have been on the rise. I haven't been able to test recently so I don't know the current stats.

I don't think I'd be able to add an algae eater to my tank as I believe I'm fully stocked (1 betta, 8 neons, 1 apple snail, and 2 ghost shrimp) and I don't think I have a big enough tank except for maybe some kind of oto? but if I'm wrong that's great news!

Any advice on how to get rid of the bloom is appreciated! I wiped off some of the algae with a paper towel the other day but it has grown right back. I leave the light on for most of the day, so I'm going to start keeping it off more often.

 

[jcolon]

BA (diatoms) is common in new tanks, the result of excess silica (which diatoms use to form their shells) in the water. Some substrate / gravel could contain silica, as well as ground tap water. It usually goes away on it's own after a couple of months as the silica is hopefully depleted.

However in some tanks it never really goes away if your PWC source is silica rich. The link below has some suggestions Greater Washington Aquatic Plant Association » Algae in the Planted Aquarium

 

[goodeyesniper]

My algae is darker and looks more red than those pictures. Could it be a different kind?

 

[jcolon]

My algae is darker and looks more red than those pictures. Could it be a different kind?

Some BA can have a reddish appearance.