Brown Algae In New Tank

I have brown algae in my new Jewel vision 180. I used some aquarium silicone to stick a textured background on and have left the tank to cycle for a week! i was feeding it during this time and after a week i introduced 2 comets. I then added about 15 plants and some java moss. I also added a DIY CO2 reactor and generator, but i havent got a test kit yet. The bubbles are coming out at a fast rate! Within 2 days i have brown algae over the larger leaf plants and now it has spread to the others! I added a Pleque as i was told they eat algae but he seems to eat thru the affected leaves. i leave the lights on for about 12 hours a day. They are the standard t5 lamps that come in the new Vision 180's. The tank is near a window and only a small corner of the tank gets direct sun for a few hours!

Is this brown algae going to go away when the silicon stuff has been consumed or will it thrive in these conditions? Just dont want it to wipe out £40.00 worth of plants!
Would a UV sterilizer help?

Its diatoms, so not a true algae but a single celled organism. Its very common in new tanks. Some ottos would clear that up in a day or too, they love the stuff. Or it should clear naturally once the tank matures.

Sam

Is it damaging to plants?

Nope

Hi, I am having exactly the same problem in my new Juwel Lido 120 (minus the co2) and it is so annoying to see everything going brown I'm currently awaiting delivery of some Seachem Phosguard which hopefully should reduce the Phosphate and Silicate levels and make conditions less favourable for the brown algea to grow.
I was wondering if anyone could tell me if reducing the Phosphate level in this way will be bad for plants. Also, as deucebrennan has already mentioned, would a uv sterilizer be beneficial?

Thankyou

Hi , I agree with Themuleous Ottos the way to go. I had diatom problems i my tank when i first started,very common,it was every where plants ,rocks,glass you name it. On advice from members here decided to add 5 Ottos (38 US galls) the job was complete in under 2 weeks!! They are great a little work horse in the tank mine are rarely seen but they do the job,just be aware that i beleive they are quite sensetive when adding to a new set up acclimatize them slowy when introducing them into the tank.One downside they poo for england lol




good luck

Ian

Whatever you do, dont bother with phosphate removers! Completely unnecessary in a planted tank. Removing PO4 does more harm to the plants than it does to the algae. And as I said, diatoms aren't actually algae anyway and should pass as the tank matures.

A uv does little to stop algae, expect for green water, but it wont touch anything else.

Sam