# Brown Algae



## Amythyst (Feb 7, 2006)

Greetings all! 

I have been fish tanking for over 3 years now but I have an issue that is moderately under control but still annoying...

I have a lot of brown algae in my tanks. I realize brown algae is a result of phosphate levels but I can't seem to totally get rid of it. I do use water conditioners when I do water changes and I use easybalance when I do changes. This has greatly helped the situation as it used to be much worse... but its still there. 

It covers my decorations and I constantly have to brush them with a toothbrush to clean them off and it gets all over the glass. I don't have the tanks in direct sunlight but I do get a lot of light in the room.

Is there something else I can do? Other than the brown algae my tanks are perfectly clear and have no water issues.


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## craftyflalady (Jan 25, 2006)

I have used phosphate removers added to the filter with good results. Also back off on the feeding some and back off on the light might also help. Would really need to know more to help more. 

Hope that helps some,
Kathy


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

Possibly algae eaters can fix up your problem. Go with less feeding. Also do you have well water or city? That can have an affect on the phosphate levels.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Brown algae is NOT a result of high phosphate. In fact, no algae is. Brown algae occurs when 1 or more of the following happens.

New tank cycling: Common and will go away on its own.
Poor water flow: Not enough water movement.
Inadequate lighting: More light is needed.
Water high in silicates: The foundation of diatom algae. Hard water can be a problem but fixing the other causes will minimize this effect.


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## stealth (Dec 11, 2005)

But Simpte I was just up at Dr. Fosters and Smith and they even said Brown Algae or those diatoms(or w/e there called) were caused by high phosphates. In our 29 gallon we're experiencing brown algae and we tend to keep the light on around 12 hours. Are you saying to try and keep the light on even more or the brown stuff will pass in time?


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

No. I didn't say that your diatoms were cause by inadequate lighting. That is one possibility........................
FOr a long time, people believed PO4 (phosphate) was the cause of algae. This, in recent years has been proven to not be the case. Bear with me.......
Algae (microphytes) can use nutrients that we cannot readily test for (pbb).
Even if you lower po4, there will still be enough for algae to thrive on. Algae has to be triggered to establish itself in the home aquaria. Whether it be stirring up the substrate (releasing NH4 which is the no. 1 cause of greenwater), or overfeeding or whatnot. There has to be an imbalance in your aquarium whether it be planted or not. You will find that myself and many others actually add PO4 and No3 to our tanks on a daily basis. Overdosing these has never lead to algae outbreaks. Only when one is depleted does algae gain a foothold.

Anywho back to diatoms...........
At least one study have shown that diatoms store phosphate in sufficient quantities to provide for 100 subsequent generations.

Source: Chuck Huffine on APD 10/01

Harass the algae. Manually remove what you can. Keep up with the water changes. Clean filters. Make your tank undesireable for the algae and it will leave you alone.
Note: There are about 10,000 species of diatoms found in nature. Fortunately very few inhabit tanks and these tend to perfer low light.


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## Amythyst (Feb 7, 2006)

Simpte said:


> Brown algae is NOT a result of high phosphate. In fact, no algae is. Brown algae occurs when 1 or more of the following happens.
> 
> New tank cycling: Common and will go away on its own.
> Poor water flow: Not enough water movement.
> ...


Well, its not a tank cycle cause the tank is years old... I don't think its water movement as I have 2 filters and a bubble wall and there is generally a lot of current except when the filters start to clog. 

I always thought light caused algae? Everyone always says don't put your tanks in direct sunlight cause that will cause algae... so why now is poor lighting an issue? :| 

I am probably gonna go with the hard water thing. I live in the city and its not well water but I know from when I used to check that, my water was always hard and the PH was always low. I had to solve that problem by adding crushed coral to all my filters.

Oh well... guess I just have to deal with it.


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## ron v (Feb 24, 2005)

Amythyst said:


> my water was always hard and the PH was always low.


Possible but unusual. Normally hard water has a high Ph.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Sunlight can cause algae. We cannot simulate the lumens that the sun puts out (metal halide is closest but not it).


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## pokagon55 (Jan 31, 2006)

I agree with Simpte, I would like to add that high Nirates will also cause brown algae


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## Amythyst (Feb 7, 2006)

Simpte said:


> Sunlight can cause algae. We cannot simulate the lumens that the sun puts out (metal halide is closest but not it).


So not enough light means light from the tank and not from the windows?

I clean my tanks every two weeks and they are understocked. My water params are all normal... so I'm not exactly sure what the cause would be.


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## Cichlid Man (Jan 19, 2005)

Simpte said:


> Brown algae is NOT a result of high phosphate. In fact, no algae is. Brown algae occurs when 1 or more of the following happens.


Yep this is true. It's green water that is caused by high levels of phoshates.


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## pokagon55 (Jan 31, 2006)

low oxygen levels will do this also.


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## garfieldnfish (Jan 18, 2005)

What size is your tank and what are the other fish in your set up? Do you have live plants? If your tank is large enough (15 gal or more), you have live plants in it and if your other fish are compatible, add an otocinclus or two. They will eat the stuff.


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## Amythyst (Feb 7, 2006)

Its a 30 gallon.

I have 5 bleeding heart tetras, 2 neons, 2 rosey barbs and 2 corys.

And no live plants.


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## Damon (Jan 18, 2005)

Filtration? PH, GH, KH?


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