Big problem, very annoyed!

[Fishperson]

Hey guys, I have a brown algae problem, there is no need to describe it because it is just what you would expect, all over the tank and glass. So, I have a few questions.
1. What do you think is the best way to get rid of it?
2. If it feeds on silicates and needs that to live, and there is only a limited supply of that, then if I just let them grow until there are tons of them, until they burn out the silicates really fast, will that work?
3. Should I get a nerite snail or something to try and stop them?
4. What is the real cause?
5. Judging by this^^^ what is the best solution? Should I turn the lights off more? Feed less?
I feel like a teacher writing a test!

 

[derail]

You won't need to turn off the lights or anything, though that always helps with algae. Brown algae does feed on silicates, but as that typically comes from tap water, it'll never consume all of it and die off.
Snails, ime, are only sort of useful with getting rid if algae, and can spread like wildfire. Causes are silicates, too little light, nitrates, and not enough oxygen. I highly doubt you're having all of those problems, most common will be silicates and nitrate (those pesky water changes :/ )

It's not a hard algae and doesn't require much work, so I'd say just wipe it off (I'm personally a fan if the magnetic algae scrubbers) and vacuum it off during water changes. Unfortunately, every now and then it'll get on a decoration really well and that'll need to be rinsed/scrubbed under hot water, but again a minor detail.

Oto's work phenomenally well, but need to be in groups of 2-4 to be more comfortable. Plecos are OK, but usually realize they don't have to mess around with cleaning since the "magic hand" feeds them, (assuming you're supplementing algae wafers, sliced vegetables, etc.)
Not sure what you have stocked, but a CAE works great for a year or so before their diet changes and they outgrow other fish.

Good luck!

 

[Fishperson]

I don't want to add any other fish because plecos (even the small variety) get too big for what my stock. I don't mind adding snails, I can just throw in an assassin snail if they become a problem. I have heard of many people saying that snails work well, but I will take all opinions into consideration. How can I figure out if there is silicates in my water? I have river gravel as a substrate, does that leech silicates? My Nitrates are at 30ppm, but I will do a water change soon. My stock is in my signature, it is the only thing in there, the 20 gallon high.

 

[SKB]

I have snails but I still had brown Algea, they wont get rid of it all, I had 4. But if ud like some, it could maybe help but barely at all.

How long do u leave your light on? Depending on if you have plants, if u don't, really you don't need light, so if possible I think less light might help.

I've also heard that brown Algea grows on new tanks a lot of times. Is this the case? That might be why it's all over. Mine isn't that bad, but it was a little worse when it was new.

 

[Fishperson]

My tank does not have plants. My only living things (besides the algae) in the tank are in my signature. It is my only tank, the 20 gallon high. I just realized after testing that my nitrates are at 30ppm! Why aren't they lower, especially if the algae eats them and I did a wc of about 33% last weekend. I will do another 30-50% wc tommorow or thursday. My ph is 7.6, ammonia, nitrite 0.

 

[Mcor]

I have loads of snails. And loads of algae. They don't even make a dent in it. Not really worth it unless you want snails. And like someone said, the plecos started off doing really well with clearing it, now they wait for the pellets and courgette and don't even try to eat the algae any more. It's one of those things. I give the glass a good scrub weekly and that's about all I can do.

 

[hecurcia]

Have you tried Seachem Phosguard? My tap water has silicates and I was always dealing with diatoms until I started to use phosguard.It worked but,, it became a bit expensive and i got some ottos. Since i got them ( 5 months ago), i have never fed them pellets or vegetables. They are always fat and active.

 

[derail]

With any decent stock, the algae will NEVER consume all the nitrate in the water. Only water changes will keep your nitrates where they should be.
If plecos will outgrow your stock, you can try oto's, as they are pretty awesome.
Barring those choices, there are plenty of algae killing chemicals, but most-if not all- are fatal to invertebrates. And they force you to remove activated carbon. Either way, it breaks down to scrubbing the algae, even with chemicals.

Don't know if the river rock will leech silicates, but a little elbow grease or some new aquatic denizens will clear it right up. Oh, bee-tee-dub (btw), a group of oto's or a CAE aren't guaranteed to always keep algae in check.

 

[Fishperson]

I didn't expect the algae to eat much of the nitrates, but I do a 33% wc, and 3 days later it is up at 30 again!

I was wondering, does it really go away after time? I have been leaving the light on less recently.
And also, how do I know if silicates are in my water?

 

[hecurcia]

You need to ask your water supply company if the water contains silicates and if so, how much (ppm). That is the only way to find out.

 

[Fishperson]

Thanks hecuria, I will try and find out this weekend. If it doesn't, I assume that means it is coming from the gravel, so the diatoms will go away with time. If there is enough to permanently sustain them in my water, then I think I will try a snail. I know that just one snail can turn into 100 in like, 2 seconds, but my lfs has assassin snails, and I really want to see one of those in action, so I don't mind. And I know some say that snails don't help with algae, but many also say they do, so it is worth a shot.

 

[ashleynicole]

It will go away on its own I promise.

Bristlenose plecos love diatoms though and stay small enough to keep one in your tank.

If you continually have high nitrates then you must adjust your biolaod or increase your water changing schedule. First of all, fish only need to be fed a few times a week, not everyday, unless you have very young fish. This will greatly reduce the amount of waste and thus reduce the amount of nitrates.

If you cant keep up with the frequency of water changes needed to keep your nitrate levels down, and reducing feeding doesnt help, you can reduce your stock to less fish, or you can also consider adding some nitrate loving plants like elodia or wisteria that will help consume your nitrates and keep the levels low.

 

[Fishperson]

I am not worried about nitrate levels. I will just do more water changes (I kind of forgot recently). I know a bristlenose pleco would totally eat the diatoms, but I don't think I can keep it after. My tank is already fairly well stocked, and I want to get a ram too, so I can't get a bristlenose (I think, maybe I can, IDK). Do you think a bristlenose and a ram would be overstocking my tank?

 

[ashleynicole]

I didn't expect the algae to eat much of the nitrates, but I do a 33% wc, and 3 days later it is up at 30 again!

You say your not worried about nitrates but you seemed suprised they were up to 30 in 3 days. I was telling you why.

 

[derail]

Ashley makes a very good point, and if the nitrates are again back to 30ppm after a few days of a water change of a third, the bioload may be a little high. Checked the signature, added 20 fish total in a 20g high. Given its tetras and a Bolivian ram, the load is definitely manageable, but you may need to increase the frequency of your water changes to keep that in effect. But yeah, nitrate will attribute to brown algae. Just keep in scrubbing and vacuuming, it's totally worth it.

 

[derail]

Ashley makes a very good point, and if the nitrates are again back to 30ppm after a few days of a water change of a third, the bioload may be a little high. Checked the signature, added 20 fish total in a 20g high. Given its tetras and a Bolivian ram, the load is definitely manageable, but you may need to increase the frequency of your water changes to keep that in effect. But yeah, nitrate will attribute to brown algae. Just keep in scrubbing and vacuuming, it's totally worth it.

Edit: totally misread your profile, with only 5 tetras I'm fascinated the nitrates are that high.
Have you tested your new water before changing it? It could naturally have high nitrate

 

[ashleynicole]

Edit: totally misread your profile, with only 5 tetras I'm fascinated the nitrates are that high.
Have you tested your new water before changing it? It could naturally have high nitrate

I don't even know what the stock is but was pointing out that overfeeding can contribute to the bioload as well.

 

[Fishperson]

My stock is:
7 rummynose tetras
7 bloodfin tetras

I think I might have screwed up my profile, but it is in my signature.

 

[Fishperson]

Sorry, I fixed the problem with my profile. I have only updated my signature, so I forgot about my profile page.

 

[ashleynicole]

Sorry, I fixed the problem with my profile. I have only updated my signature, so I forgot about my profile page.

I am on the AA app on my phone so I can't see signatures or profiles