75 Gallon Tropical Fish Aquarium

[Clorey68]

I have had this aquarium for over 7 years and have never had a brown algae problem. Now all of a sudden, I have a major problem. I was told to start using RO water instead of treated tap water as we have a water softener and this may be the problem. We have had the water softener for as long as we have had the aquarium, so why all of a sudden is this happening? I went to Aquarium Services and they told me that the very soft water is what is causing the brown algae. I was also told to put carbon in the form of something called Chemical Pure in the Eheim filter and that this would clear up the algae. I keep the light on for 12 hours every single day. This light fixture is as old as the aquarium. Could this be the problem? Right now, only after one week, this aquarium is covered in brown algae, on the glass and the gravel and on all the artificial plants. It looks disgusting. Will it harm the fish? I doesn't seem to. Could it be nitrates and if so, how do I check for it. I feed these fish only frozen brine shrimp and once in a while flake food, maybe once a week. Some of these fish I have had for 17 years. I just don't understand why all of a sudden brown algae is a problem. Can really soft water do this? Please, please help me out here as I am very frustrated about this problem. Thanks so much.

 

[drobbyb]

to Tff! I have really soft water and initially I had a brown algae problem. It cleared up on it's own however. If this is happening after 7 years of the tank being up, something had to change to cause this. It could be as simple as changing the bulbs in the light fixture. You say that you have your lights on for 12 hours everyday. Do you have live plants that demand this? The fish really don't care how long their light is on.

It could also be from the presence of ammonia, however slight it may be. Have you changed your filter pads lately? Add any new fish? Any decaying plants?

 

[John Hutch]

I have had this aquarium for over 7 years and have never had a brown algae problem. Now all of a sudden, I have a major problem. I was told to start using RO water instead of treated tap water as we have a water softener and this may be the problem. We have had the water softener for as long as we have had the aquarium, so why all of a sudden is this happening? I went to Aquarium Services and they told me that the very soft water is what is causing the brown algae. I was also told to put carbon in the form of something called Chemical Pure in the Eheim filter and that this would clear up the algae. I keep the light on for 12 hours every single day. This light fixture is as old as the aquarium. Could this be the problem? Right now, only after one week, this aquarium is covered in brown algae, on the glass and the gravel and on all the artificial plants. It looks disgusting. Will it harm the fish? I doesn't seem to. Could it be nitrates and if so, how do I check for it. I feed these fish only frozen brine shrimp and once in a while flake food, maybe once a week. Some of these fish I have had for 17 years. I just don't understand why all of a sudden brown algae is a problem. Can really soft water do this? Please, please help me out here as I am very frustrated about this problem. Thanks so much.

Hi Clarey,

Here is brown algae in a whole:

Cause:
Excess silicates & nitrates

Inadequate light

Low oxygen levels

Brown algae is a common occurrence in a newly set up aquarium. It is generally caused by too little light, an excess of silicates, an abundance of nutrients, and too little oxygen. Silicates can build up through tap water that is high in silicic acid, and silicates that leech from some types of substrates.

Cure:
Wipe off surfaces & vacuum gravel well

Use silicate adsorbing resin in the filter

Increase the lighting

Stock a plecostomus or several otocinclus

Use live plants and a air stone or bubble wand to increase Oxygen Levels

This type of algae does not adhere strongly to the tank surfaces, and is easily wiped away. Vacuuming the gravel with a siphon will quickly remove coatings from the substrate. Increasing the lighting will inhibit re-growth of brown algae. As a new tank matures brown algae is often eliminated naturally by plants and green algae competing for nutrients.
Some sucker-mouth catfish will readily eat brown algae, most notably plecostomus and otocinclus. If the problem is due to high silicates in the water, and the brown algae persists, a special silicate absorbing resin can be used in the filter.

Hope this helps
John

 

[Clorey68]

I have had this aquarium for over 7 years and have never had a brown algae problem. Now all of a sudden, I have a major problem. I was told to start using RO water instead of treated tap water as we have a water softener and this may be the problem. We have had the water softener for as long as we have had the aquarium, so why all of a sudden is this happening? I went to Aquarium Services and they told me that the very soft water is what is causing the brown algae. I was also told to put carbon in the form of something called Chemical Pure in the Eheim filter and that this would clear up the algae. I keep the light on for 12 hours every single day. This light fixture is as old as the aquarium. Could this be the problem? Right now, only after one week, this aquarium is covered in brown algae, on the glass and the gravel and on all the artificial plants. It looks disgusting. Will it harm the fish? I doesn't seem to. Could it be nitrates and if so, how do I check for it. I feed these fish only frozen brine shrimp and once in a while flake food, maybe once a week. Some of these fish I have had for 17 years. I just don't understand why all of a sudden brown algae is a problem. Can really soft water do this? Please, please help me out here as I am very frustrated about this problem. Thanks so much.

Hi Clarey,

Here is brown algae in a whole:

Cause:
Excess silicates & nitrates

Inadequate light

Low oxygen levels

Brown algae is a common occurrence in a newly set up aquarium. It is generally caused by too little light, an excess of silicates, an abundance of nutrients, and too little oxygen. Silicates can build up through tap water that is high in silicic acid, and silicates that leech from some types of substrates.

Cure:
Wipe off surfaces & vacuum gravel well

Use silicate adsorbing resin in the filter

Increase the lighting

Stock a plecostomus or several otocinclus

Use live plants and a air stone or bubble wand to increase Oxygen Levels

This type of algae does not adhere strongly to the tank surfaces, and is easily wiped away. Vacuuming the gravel with a siphon will quickly remove coatings from the substrate. Increasing the lighting will inhibit re-growth of brown algae. As a new tank matures brown algae is often eliminated naturally by plants and green algae competing for nutrients.
Some sucker-mouth catfish will readily eat brown algae, most notably plecostomus and otocinclus. If the problem is due to high silicates in the water, and the brown algae persists, a special silicate absorbing resin can be used in the filter.

Hope this helps
John

I have had this aquarium for over 7 years and have never had a brown algae problem. Now all of a sudden, I have a major problem. I was told to start using RO water instead of treated tap water as we have a water softener and this may be the problem. We have had the water softener for as long as we have had the aquarium, so why all of a sudden is this happening? I went to Aquarium Services and they told me that the very soft water is what is causing the brown algae. I was also told to put carbon in the form of something called Chemical Pure in the Eheim filter and that this would clear up the algae. I keep the light on for 12 hours every single day. This light fixture is as old as the aquarium. Could this be the problem? Right now, only after one week, this aquarium is covered in brown algae, on the glass and the gravel and on all the artificial plants. It looks disgusting. Will it harm the fish? I doesn't seem to. Could it be nitrates and if so, how do I check for it. I feed these fish only frozen brine shrimp and once in a while flake food, maybe once a week. Some of these fish I have had for 17 years. I just don't understand why all of a sudden brown algae is a problem. Can really soft water do this? Please, please help me out here as I am very frustrated about this problem. Thanks so much.

Hi Clarey,

Here is brown algae in a whole:

Cause:
Excess silicates & nitrates

Inadequate light

Low oxygen levels

Brown algae is a common occurrence in a newly set up aquarium. It is generally caused by too little light, an excess of silicates, an abundance of nutrients, and too little oxygen. Silicates can build up through tap water that is high in silicic acid, and silicates that leech from some types of substrates.

Cure:
Wipe off surfaces & vacuum gravel well

Use silicate adsorbing resin in the filter

Increase the lighting

Stock a plecostomus or several otocinclus

Use live plants and a air stone or bubble wand to increase Oxygen Levels

This type of algae does not adhere strongly to the tank surfaces, and is easily wiped away. Vacuuming the gravel with a siphon will quickly remove coatings from the substrate. Increasing the lighting will inhibit re-growth of brown algae. As a new tank matures brown algae is often eliminated naturally by plants and green algae competing for nutrients.
Some sucker-mouth catfish will readily eat brown algae, most notably plecostomus and otocinclus. If the problem is due to high silicates in the water, and the brown algae persists, a special silicate absorbing resin can be used in the filter.

Hope this helps
John

Hi John,
Thanks so much for your informative reply. This aquarium has been set up for 7 years and only recently have I had this problem of brown algae. I will try all of the things you have suggested. I keep getting told that it is the soft water, but it can't be, as we have had the water softener since we have had the aquarium. I will go to Aquarium Services tomorrow and discuss what you have told me with them and then see what they will sell to me to try to rectify this situation. I will keep you posted and thanks again. Clorey 68

 

[Clorey68]

to Tff! I have really soft water and initially I had a brown algae problem. It cleared up on it's own however. If this is happening after 7 years of the tank being up, something had to change to cause this. It could be as simple as changing the bulbs in the light fixture. You say that you have your lights on for 12 hours everyday. Do you have live plants that demand this? The fish really don't care how long their light is on.

It could also be from the presence of ammonia, however slight it may be. Have you changed your filter pads lately? Add any new fish? Any decaying plants?

Thanks for your quick reply. No new fish, no decaying plants and yes I have changed the filter pads recently. I keep the tank light on for 12 hours each and every day, maybe this is too much. Maybe I should change the light fixture. I don't have live plants, only artificial ones. I am going to get the ammonia level checked and also the nitrates. I will let you know what I find out tomorrow and I am going to keep using the reverse osmosis water. Thanks again for your help. Clorey 68

 

[OldMan47]

New filter pads could be a part of the problem since they are not cycled yet and the tank may be responding to a mini-cycle. Without live plants in the setup, I would cut the artificial lighting back to only be on when you are there to enjoy the fish. Your lights on time may be a bit long but if it has been that way all along, it is probably not the main cause. My first suspicion would go back to the filter pad change.
I am sure that your LFS will have plenty of things to sell you to control algae in the tank but it would be better to discover the cause and correct it instead of dosing with chemicals.

 

[Clorey68]

I was just thinking something. Since I have had the Eheim canister filter, I have never changed the pices of gravel like rocks. I believe they get rid of the ammonia right? Perhaps they are not doing their jobs anymore and I need to change them. I change the filers, but not the rings with the holes in them and not this gravel like stuff. Any thoughts on this? Thx.

 

[OldMan47]

The rings and the gravel looking stuff are both decent biological media. You might want to give them a good rinse in used tank water if it has been a while since you did that. The whole idea of the biomedia is to provide a surface for the bacteria to grow on. As long as there is an available surface, they should be performing that purpose.