PDA

View Full Version : Brown Algae situation

slingham64
03-28-2007, 01:02 AM
Need some help. Came home to a "golden" tank tonight. There's brown algae everywhere. Is there a quick fix to this problem or do I need to wash everything by hand??
Drumachine09
03-28-2007, 01:04 AM
Do you have live plants?
Chrona
03-28-2007, 01:04 AM
Need some help. Came home to a "golden" tank tonight. There's brown algae everywhere. Is there a quick fix to this problem or do I need to wash everything by hand??

Which tank?
slingham64
03-28-2007, 01:08 AM
No live plants, just fakes, an they have brown on the tips, it's my 10 gallon. Fish all look happy, tested the water, it's fine.
Chrona
03-28-2007, 01:11 AM
Did you recently add anything to the tank? Namely rocks, sand, etc.
slingham64
03-28-2007, 01:34 AM
Did you recently add anything to the tank? Namely rocks, sand, etc.

Haven't changed a thing. Noticed starting about 2 weeks ago a little starting to form on the two rocks I have. Didn't think much of it, but I heard of a tablet you can put in like alka seltzer style an it clears it all up. Ring any bells? I just hope this is something easy to remedy.
Chrona
03-28-2007, 02:13 AM
What are the rocks made out of, when did you put them in, and where did you get them? You can use algae killers, but the majority contain copper sulfate, which is fairly toxic to sensitive fish. Plus, it's brown algae, so it's not going anywhere (meaning it will keep coming back) until you get to the root cause, which is excess silicates. Most likely, those rocks are now leeching silicates into the water after being in the water for some time.
slingham64
03-28-2007, 02:28 AM
What are the rocks made out of, when did you put them in, and where did you get them? You can use algae killers, but the majority contain copper sulfate, which is fairly toxic to sensitive fish. Plus, it's brown algae, so it's not going anywhere (meaning it will keep coming back) until you get to the root cause, which is excess silicates. Most likely, those rocks are now leeching silicates into the water after being in the water for some time.

The rocks have been in there since I got the tank, which was early February. I've also got a piece of driftwood, which also was in there since the beginning. Both I got at my LFS
Drumachine09
03-28-2007, 02:45 AM
Haven't changed a thing. Noticed starting about 2 weeks ago a little starting to form on the two rocks I have. Didn't think much of it, but I heard of a tablet you can put in like alka seltzer style an it clears it all up. Ring any bells? I just hope this is something easy to remedy.

These tabs called "no more algae: by jungle" are amazing. 1 tablet treats 10 gallons. 8 tabs to a pack. only abot 3 bucks. I HIGHLY reccomend them.

Good luck with the algea situation.
dishmando
03-28-2007, 03:24 AM
Having a diatom(brown algae) issue with mine as well. I tried picking up two "golden algae eaters" last night form my LFS to see if i could tame this algae issue. Anyhow, Came home tonight and it looks like a maid went through my tank and cleaned it all up! just awesome to see!

my $0.02 on a simple remedy!

good luck
Chrona
03-28-2007, 03:36 AM
Careful with golden/chinese algae eaters. They eat algae early on but quickly become fish-food only after they get a taste. Plus they get fairly big (6-8 inches) and are very aggressive/territorial as they mature.
slingham64
03-28-2007, 04:25 AM
I think for now I'll try those tablets, see where that gets me. From there I'll try Algae Eaters.

an that dude stole my avatar! not cool!
Chrona
03-28-2007, 04:36 AM
Actually I believe he had it first :)

Otos will work wonders for brown algae btw.
slingham64
03-28-2007, 04:34 PM
Actually I believe he had it first :)

Otos will work wonders for brown algae btw.

ouch.... alright, back to the drawing board then.
Swayde
03-28-2007, 04:45 PM
My ottos devoured my brown algae outbreak really fast. They seem to be thriving too. I've had them 1 week so far and they are very active and their bellies are rounded like they should be.
slingham64
03-28-2007, 04:48 PM
My ottos devoured my brown algae outbreak really fast. They seem to be thriving too. I've had them 1 week so far and they are very active and their bellies are rounded like they should be.

I just don't think I can fit anymore fish in the tank, it's a little full as is. I'm hoping the tablets do the trick, if not I'm gonna have to rethink a few things.