Brown algae Newly planted aquarium

J

Jordan Hobbs

New Member
Hi,

I have a relatively newly planted aquarium (about 2 months). Is a a low tech 10 gallon with a 1.8 wpg led light. I leave this light on 7 hours per day. The tank contains Java fern, water wisteria, anubias Nana, and staurogyne repens. Brown algae has been an issue from the start and now completely coats all my rocks, but really the issue is it is coating the leaves of all my plants which is obviously a problem. I use an all in one fertilizer called thrive which provides me a low dose of nitrate and phosphate required for plant growth. I also dose with seachem excel as well.

I have a Netrite snail but he only eats a patch here an there so not too much help. I tried an otocinclus with the intention of getting 2 more if he survived but I know they can be delicate and he worked out great and was eating a ton, then came home the next day and he was dead for no particular reason.

So otocinclus don't seem to be an option either.

Does anyone have any advice for getting rid of the brown algae so it stops blocking out the light from my plants?
 
Jordan Hobbs

With all Algae's removing it is the easiest part, you must must find the cause and fix that as well otherwise it will keep returning.
Info
http://www.tropicalfishsite.com/types-of-algae-growth-found-in-the-home-aquarium/

Brown Algae

This will probably be the first type of algae any one will encounter in the aquarium and could appear from early on and will normally disappear when the tank stabilises and becomes more mature. Brown algae could be in the form of a fluff like or spot appearance on plant leaves, rocks, glass, substrate or decorations. Unless you are aiming for a high tech planted set up, it is important to reduce nutrient levels if possible. As this algae grows well in low light, reducing light levels doesn’t help and could out do the green algae, so adding more light could help to rid brown algae. If brown algae appears in an established tank then all water parameters need to be checked and lighting tubes if older than 8/12 months may need to be replaced as they lose their intensity. Some will even change the tubes every 6 months to maintain good lighting in their tanks.

Possible causes:

  • Low light
  • Light tubes at end of their life,
  • High nitrates
  • High phosphate levels (from over feeding)
  • Poorly maintained aquarium/filter
Possible solutions:

  • Increase lighting intensity and/or duration
  • Replace worn out light tubes
  • Clean filter
  • Reduce nitrates to less than 20ppm
  • Conduct regular water changes
Keith:cat::cat:
 
The problem with already mixed fertilizers in my opinion is that you cant control how much of each thing goes in it. When plants use nutrients they dont use them evenly, and by not doing so they will drain one nutrient more than the next. This causes unused nutrient to stick around and become more concentrated when more fertilizer is added to the system. If a plant doesnt use a lot of one type of nutrient adding more of that nutrient doesnt make it want it more per say. This extra nutrient is now going to feed the negative like bad algae, causing blooms. To much nutrient can also cause nutrient block and stop the plant from taking that nutrient all together and cause it to become unhealthy. Algae grows when plants cant or are having trouble in order to maintain a balance and rid the ecosystem of the extra nutrient. Once a plant becomes unhealthy it can get algae growth on the leaves choking it out killing it and allowing the algae to take over. When your plants remain healthy then algae cant grow as the plants use the nutrients in a uniform balance.

When it comes to phosphates and silicates which are heavy in tap water it can cause some issues. There are single cell organisms that use phosphates and silicates to build there cell walls and when there is an over abundance of these two nutrients it can cause a bloom of these bacteria. This bacteria in freshwater is commonly responsible for the breakdown of organic matter, and when these cells die they coagulate and become visible, sometimes forming slime or coatings on plants rocks and decor. Nothing eats this stuff at this point is is best removed via siphon.

I couldnt help notice that you said the tank is only 2 months old? It sounds to me like your still got somewhat of a cycle going on and you adding that fertilizer is causing you a bloom that is making things worse whether bacteria or algae. In my opinion I would stop adding that fertilizer and others for a little bit, do a good tank cleaning and get as much out without really tearing up the system and do a water change. I would not add any more fertilizers for a while and just let it run, wait a couple water changes to let the water balance itself back out and the plants to regain control of the nutrient situation before adding any more nutrients to the water again. If need be cut the lights down to 6hrs a day and never exceed 8hrs a day. Nothing that uses photosynthesis needs over 8hrs a day to maintain healthy function. Also I have learned through personal experiments that blue moon light over a freshwater aquarium will cause twice the algae growth. I use to like to simulate moon cycle on my tanks salt and fresh and i quickly learned that I had an algae issue due to the moon light. Did some tests, replicated and repeated i am convinced it was responsible for my problems.

anyway just as mentioned above about the old lights and stuff, that is a really good place to start. A lot of the time its an old bulb that is responsible for algae growth...specially when it comes to growing black beard :eek:
 
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