Struggling with brown algae

Galvin88 · Aug 23, 2021

Hi all,
I seem to be struggling with brown algae at the minute, my tank has been set up for about 9 months, I keep my lights on for 8 hours at 70% brightness,
Water change around 60-70% every week.
Thank size 64g
Water parameters
pH 7.6
Ammonia 0-0.25
Nitrate 0
Nitrite 0
Kh 0 was 2 but it has changed lately

I feed my fish once every 2 days, so I don't over feed and only feed what they can eat before it lands.

What am.i doing wrong here the algae gets on my grey sand,(the picture showing the sand is the algae on the Sand not the glass)
I get a little bit of green aswell on my rocks and glass.
I'm abit confused on what to do apart from keep cleaning it off just for it to grow back in a few days.

Byron · Aug 23, 2021

I assume there are no plants in this tank, none show in the photos. That means algae has the ability to use the light and nutrients, and it will because this is perfectly natural. You cannot avoid having algae--if you do, the tank is not healthy. All those photos you see on YouTube and such with supposedly algae-free tanks are mythical. A healthy fish tank has algae.

As for controlling it, there are options. Any algae on the glass, at least the front glass, neds to be cleaned off. The easiest way is to use a sponge-type scraper at every water change, whether you see algae of not. You can do the side and rear glass panels as well, your choice. But doing it every week during th water change will ensure the glass remains clear of algae...assuming everything is otherwise in balance.

As for the rock, same thing...completely natural. I would leave this if it were me. The sand, using a water changing apparatus to vacuum the sand during each water change should solve this. But remember, having fish in the tank and having the tank light on will result in algae.

If you had live plants here, and especially floating plants, it would be a bit different story. You would not have as much algae if any, though it still may occur. If I neglect the sponge cleaning of the inside glass for a few weeks, I see this diatom algae. I've been under very poor health the last eight or nine months, and water changes were managed but nothing beyond this, and the diatoms began to spread. Keeping on top of glass algae is important.

Galvin88 · Aug 23, 2021

Byron said:
I assume there are no plants in this tank, none show in the photos. That means algae has the ability to use the light and nutrients, and it will because this is perfectly natural. You cannot avoid having algae--if you do, the tank is not healthy. All those photos you see on YouTube and such with supposedly algae-free tanks are mythical. A healthy fish tank has algae.

As for controlling it, there are options. Any algae on the glass, at least the front glass, neds to be cleaned off. The easiest way is to use a sponge-type scraper at every water change, whether you see algae of not. You can do the side and rear glass panels as well, your choice. But doing it every week during th water change will ensure the glass remains clear of algae...assuming everything is otherwise in balance.

As for the rock, same thing...completely natural. I would leave this if it were me. The sand, using a water changing apparatus to vacuum the sand during each water change should solve this. But remember, having fish in the tank and having the tank light on will result in algae.

If you had live plants here, and especially floating plants, it would be a bit different story. You would not have as much algae if any, though it still may occur. If I neglect the sponge cleaning of the inside glass for a few weeks, I see this diatom algae. I've been under very poor health the last eight or nine months, and water changes were managed but nothing beyond this, and the diatoms began to spread. Keeping on top of glass algae is important.

Thank you,
As for the algae il just keep doing what I'm doing and clean it off l, just grows so fast.
Is the algae on the sans more than anything that bothers me .
As for plants, I have 1 jarva fern on the driftwood, I am adding plants,. I'm just not very clued up on them so not sure what to get, I know I want Amazon sword but after than not sure.

Byron · Aug 23, 2021

Galvin88 said:
Thank you,
As for the algae il just keep doing what I'm doing and clean it off l, just grows so fast.
Is the algae on the sans more than anything that bothers me .
As for plants, I have 1 jarva fern on the driftwood, I am adding plants,. I'm just not very clued up on them so not sure what to get, I know I want Amazon sword but after than not sure.

Floating plants would be your best type here, they assimilate nutrients including ammonia/ammonium very rapidly, plus they shade the sand. Substantial floaters, like Water Sprite, or Frogbit or Water Lettuce are better than tiny plants like duckweed which is probably more a nuisance, but it still does help.

Guest14017 · Aug 23, 2021

I have quite a few live plants and low nitrates and everything and ALL my tanks as long as I have lived suffer from brown algae. It comes back instantly if I clean the glass etc. If I turn the lights off long enough to kill it, the live plants die too. I run the lights as little as possible but still have the issues. I just stopped caring. I do what I can and what I can't I leave alone. I was told recently to try nerite snails... so we shall see.

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Struggling with brown algae

Galvin88

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