Brown algae and high nitrates?

[Cichlid_Man]

Hey folks.
I need a bit of advice here in an area that I have never had an issue with before.
My 75 gallon Cichlid tank has been up and running since 9/2006 with no great major problems.
I have now noticed a ton of brown algae on the rocks, glass, and below the gravel.
I checked the water, and what was perfect last week, is now showing nitrates at about 30. I know these 2 things are related, but how did it get in there?
I have no plants and the tank is never lit and it is not in a lit up room. No windows??

What is safe to do for it besides a bunch of water changes??
Thanks!!!!!!

[Drumachine09]

As long as it isnt planted (which i think you said it isnt) You can go to walmart (or the austrailian equivelent) or your LFS and pick up a box of "no more algae" tablets, by jungle. There is 8 tabs to a box, and 1 tab treats 10 gallons. Drop them in your tank and let them fiz up like alka-seltzer. I had some in my 10g community, and in my 29 malawi tank. I turned of the lights, and when t to sleep. When i woke up it was all gone. Treat it every 20-25 days. You also might need to remove the carbon from your filter as well. Hope this helped.

[Chrona]

Did you recently add anything to the tank? In particular sand, or rocks that may contain silicates? Interestingly enough, brown algae is often causes by low light as they normally can't compete with other algaes

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Normally I'm against chemical treatment, but this stuff is a PITA to remove and it takes a while to go away. Plus, your tank isn't planted.

[Drumachine09]

Did you recently add anything to the tank? In particular sand, or rocks that may contain silicates? Interestingly enough, brown algae is often causes by low light as they normally can't compete with other algaes

[Only Registered Users Can See Links.]

Normally I'm against chemical treatment, but this stuff is a PITA to remove and it takes a while to go away. Plus, your tank isn't planted.


You have a link for everything, dont you! Its a good thing though:hmm3grin2orange:

[Chrona]

I need a firefox addon that gives me another bookmark tab ;)

Brown algae = diatoms btw.

[Cichlid_Man]

Drumachine...
I used to use those "alka seltzer" type tablets a long time ago but never knrew if they could cause harm...They did work well...
I guess I could look into it.

Chrona,
Nope...I haven't done anything different or added anything to the tank.
OH! Wait!
I added a peice of slate that I pulled from the James River, but that was a month ago...
I wonder???

[Chrona]

Drumachine...
I used to use those "alka seltzer" type tablets a long time ago but never knrew if they could cause harm...They did work well...
I guess I could look into it.

Chrona,
Nope...I haven't done anything different or added anything to the tank.
OH! Wait!
I added a peice of slate that I pulled from the James River, but that was a month ago...
I wonder???

Sounds like your found your answer ;)

According to Wikipedia, slate is composed primarily of quartz, which is a natural form of silicates. It may have taken a month before enough silicates leeched out to trigger the bloom.

[Drumachine09]

Only use the tablet in UN-planted tanks. I dont know why, but chrona corected me, so he could probobly tell you.

How did you prepare the slate?

[Chrona]

Most algae killers use copper sulfate, which is pretty nasty stuff, for both the fish and the plants. Catfish, loaches and tetras and especially sensitive.

Algaefix is one notable exception, as it uses some other chemicals that are safe for plants. Not sure what though

Kind of a moot point though. In general, figuring out what is causing your algae is much better than tossing in algaecide.

[Cichlid_Man]

We learn everyday here!
Thanks!
I had no idea about slate.
I guess I will yank that out of the tank, do some water changes, and get back into shape.
I don't suppose algae will hurt the fish anyway, but it is not pretty!

[Chrona]

Make sure to remove the brown algae as well (making sure it leaves the tank on your scrubber and doesn't go into the water) since it will release silicates as it dies off.

[Lady Hobbs]

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Here's another one, Joe. Don't know if it will tell you anything tho.

Good luck getting that tank pretty again.

[crackatinny]

Good tip on the slate chrona, that explains a recent algae outbreak in my slate based tank, it has fine slate as the base, and a cave built from slate.

[Cichlid_Man]

Thanks Hobbs!
Thanks to all.
I tried getting the algae out but it wasn't "slimy" like green algae and didn't stick to the sponge. Unfortunatley, it went back in the water. (Most of it).
It is really embedded in the gravel too and I don't want to stir that up.
It's not ugly, really, but is it harmful to fish?
That's my main concern. Will it hurt the fish?

Lastly, why the high nitrate? Do they go hand in hand?

[Chrona]

Well, the nitrates is still up in the air. There are many studies and tests that all contradict each other about whether or not it effects brown algae, lol. This hobby is still learning ;)

[Cichlid_Man]

Thanks Chrona!

I don't think the algae will hurt anything so I won't put any additives.
As far as the nitrate, I just did a complete water change.
Well, almost. I did back to back to back 50% changes and the nitrates are zero.
I will have to monitor this and see if they jump again.
All the other water chemistry is perfect.
Thanks for your help.
You deserve MOTM!!!!

[kenyth]

Live plants and snails are GREAT algae contollers. Use these and if you ever notice algae as a problem, you just do a couple 20% water changes and it magically disappears!

You can use live plants in conjunction with fake ones. If you want completely hassle free plant benefits, float some Hornwort in the tank. This plant lives in all kinds of conditions. Plus, the longer you leave on your light, the more waste it absorbs from the water. It gives fish and amphibians some top level hiding area as well. Fish also seem to like picking through it for bits of food. Just remove brown areas and excess growth periodically.

Just my humble opinion. I think snails and live plants are great for aquarium health.

[Drumachine09]

So, slate causes algae?

[Cichlid_Man]

Thanks for the tip on snails and plants.
I hope I can find this hogwort?
I cannot plant anything in my cichlid tank because they will rip it up anyway.

As far as snails?
Don't they too become a nuisance?

Anyway...
Drumachine.
I am not sure all slate causes algae, but mine did. I took it from the James River here in Virginia and that river is loaded with brown algae.
This is something I know little about and never had an issue with before.

[Chrona]

You could see if your LFS can order some Olive Nerite snails. Their eggs can only hatch in brackish-saltwater, so you won't get overrun.

As for the plants, generally there are additional lighting and other consideration that come with fast growing stem plants that can outcompete algae for nutrients. Likewise, slow growing, low light plants that require no care also absorb little nutrients from the water, which doesn't do anything against algae.

[kenyth]

Sorry, I meant Hornwort. I just saw some ad about Harry Potter and it must have polluted my thoughts. Here's some info on Hornwort.


Quote:

"You can find hornwort in many Iowa ponds and lakes. In a few lakes, it grows so thick, it impedes boat traffic. You usually find it at the surface. Because it has no roots, hornwort floats. In cooler weather it sinks. In the wild, hornwort’s tiny leaves harbor any number of wee beasties that you may not want in your aquarium. Fine leaves and dense growth make hornwort an excellent safe harbor for baby livebearers. Fry swim in there. Larger fishes try to swim in there with less success. Fry also eat the microscopic animalcules that thrive on the hornwort leaves. Egg scatterers also find hornwort makes an excellent egg-laying site. Sticky eggs adhere to the leaves. Non-sticky eggs get caught in the tiny leaves. Parents and other egg-eating fish eat fewer eggs when they have trouble seeing them and getting to them. Unfortunately, small snails use the same technique to hide their eggs. Some people dislike the small snails because “they took over my tank.” Actually, those snails eat up all the extra food these people keep pouring in there. Less food = no snail population explosion. Most hornwort fans use it because they like the way it looks. And hornwort costs next to nothing. You can decorate a 10-gallon tank for about $3. Just drop a weighted hornwort bunch at each end and voila ... you have a decorated natural tank in under 60 seconds. By disassembling a bunch of hornwort and arranging the strands in different lengths, you can make your décor look even better. Many plant keepers consider hornwort a temporary or fill-in plant. Hornwort grows incredibly fast so any arrangements are only temporary. A hornwort stem reaching only halfway to the top will likely grow to the top by Tuesday. Six-inch strands easily grow to three feet long in a 10-gallon tank. This plays havoc with your décor. But little baby fish and spawners love it. New aquarists find this the perfect plant. Under nearly any type of lights, hornwort survives and grows. Under bright lights, it grows as much as an inch per day. It sucks out fish wastes faster than fish can excrete them. Carbon dioxide, ammonia, nitrites, nitrates, and phosphates all go into that fast-growing foliage. It sucks all the nutrition out of the water in six to eight weeks and will often die unless you fertilize it. But in the meantime, hornwort keeps new tanks healthy as a horse without West Nile Fever. Under bright lights, hornwort growing tips often turn reddish. What causes hornwort leaves to fall off? Copper (many medications contain copper) kills it in hours. Most algae killers take just a bit longer. Starving takes much longer. So what do you do? Change the water and switch to anacharis. When hornwort leaves fall off, you get a mess of decomposing plant material that looks terrible. It can also kill your fish if you leave it in there to rot. Get out your net and start scooping. By swirling your net in a figure-eight pattern, you can get most of this junk out in three minutes. Then gravel vac your tank floor. Still, for an econo natural look, you cannot beat a healthy bunch of hornwort."

[Cichlid_Man]

Thanks to both of you for the help.
I will look into those snails and the hornwort.

Hogwort!!!!
I thought that word sounded a bit familiar!!!