Just got home from vacation and... omg...

[Retired_AF]

I dont know if this is the right forum for this, but here goes... moderators, feel free to move it if necessary... Thanks...

I just got home from a 3-week vacation. I had someone available to feed my fish, but apparently thats about all he did.

I came home to find one of my tanks a reall nasty mess and the other, I'm not sure what to think... This will take a couple of posts, so please be patient while I load the pics...

The easy one first... I have a large plastic rock in the tank, grey in color; or at least it was... now it looks white and brown, mostly. I think the brown is some sort of algae. There is also a fuzzy brown growth on a piece of wood in the tank. the brown stuff is also growing on the decorations, filter tube and air line.

Any suggestions to get rid of this stuff?

 

[Retired_AF]

The second tank...

My other tank must have had the lights left on almost continuously...
How can I clean the tank and gravel without having to re-cycle the tank?
The anacharis has some fuzzy growth on it. Not sure what it is... The filter has some brown and other gunk on the outflow...

 

[Gboy66]

That rock used to be gray?!?!?

 

[Retired_AF]

That rock used to be gray?!?!?

Yeah, it's one of those gray plastic rocks from the lfs.....

 

[jcolon]

Looks like diatoms .... aka Brown algae. It's actually very common in relatively new tanks. See the link below for how to deal with them ... but BA strives in silica rich water ... along with other nutrients. I've been dealing with it since I've started my tank ... I've given up trying to clean them off ... and I've kind of gotten used to it. Don't worry too much, it'll literally just come off like dust. Doesn't harm the fish at all .... Ottos tear it up ... they would make short work of it in a week or so.

Brown Diatom Algae Control | Aquariums Life

 

[Gboy66]

Id just take it out clean it best u can and bleach it haha

 

[jcolon]

You could probably just rinse of the anacharis in tap, looks like a lot of spot / glass algae. See this link
Getting rid of Green Dust Algae (GDA) on aquarium glass | Aquariums Life

You could also black out your tank for 2-3 days. Plants should have reserves to survive, but algae really can't go that long without lights.

 

[Retired_AF]

Looks like diatoms .... aka Brown algae. It's actually very common in relatively new tanks. See the link below for how to deal with them ... but BA strives in silica rich water ... along with other nutrients. I've been dealing with it since I've started my tank ... I've given up trying to clean them off ... and I've kind of gotten used to it. Don't worry too much, it'll literally just come off like dust. Doesn't harm the fish at all .... Ottos tear it up ... they would make short work of it in a week or so.

Brown Diatom Algae Control | Aquariums Life

After reading the article, looks about right... this tank has been set up for about 3 months and I hadnt noticed any of this before, especially the bright white on the rocks, so I was a little shocked and upset when I saw it. Then I saw my other tank and about flipped out. It is an older established tank, but I have had issues with it before when I have gone on trips, only not to this extent... Usually my issues are with the plants growing like a jungle...

 

[Retired_AF]

I also didnt mention, in the first tank I lost 2 of my fish, in the second tank I lost 4... the water was tested and showed all 0's using the API Master Kit, so I dont think it is a water issue, but just to be safe I will be doing a PWC tomorrow in addition to whatever cleaning I can do...

 

[jcolon]

I also didnt mention, in the first tank I lost 2 of my fish, in the second tank I lost 4... the water was tested and showed all 0's using the API Master Kit, so I dont think it is a water issue, but just to be safe I will be doing a PWC tomorrow in addition to whatever cleaning I can do...

Wow ... that sucks ... sorry you lost 6 fish.

 

[Gboy66]

Ok who the hek was in charge of ur fish???

 

[Retired_AF]

Ok who the hek was in charge of ur fish???

My son... he has 5 tanks of his own, so I thought he could handle it... now, well... dont ask... LOL

 

[jcolon]

My son... he has 5 tanks of his own, so I thought he could handle it... now, well... dont ask... LOL

Ouch .... Hate to see how his tanks look like after only 3 weeks with yours .... Guess he can kiss his inheritance goodbye.

 

[Gboy66]

Wow how old is he? Cant he handle a couple tanks? Haha

 

[BlackMagic]

i get those brown crack in my BW tank all the time ...like the other guy i got use to it ...

 

[Retired_AF]

update...

Ouch .... Hate to see how his tanks look like after only 3 weeks with yours ....

His tanks look fine, but mine he apparently neglected...

now, after much scrubbing, fussing, cussing and gnashing of teeth, mine look better... did a 50% water change in the large tank and cleaned up in general... I'm still not sure why the rock looks white in the large tank, but the brown algae is mostly gone... I wonder if the color comes off the plastic rocks????

The other tank is a lot cleaner now... I scrubbed off the algae (most of it anyway) and scrubbed the decorations... I tried cleaning off the plants and did a LOT of damage to them so I left them for now... I did a 75% water change and found that I had lost a LOT more fish than I originally thought... I lost 3 female bettas, 2 female guppies, a female molly, a male mickey mouse platy, 2 neons and 3 otos just from the one tank..... I found 6 fry and 2 ghost shrimp I didnt expect to find, but that doesnt make up for what I lost...

ouch

 

[jcolon]

So sorry to hear you lost that many fish ... ouch! Guess he'll owe you come fathers day

I do think some of the paint does come off those ornaments ... I also have them and when I try to wipe of the Brown Algae, I see a bit of white showing through.