algae and cichlids

**gearbox22** · 11-05-2007, 02:58 PM

hi can anyone tell me about algae we have a cichlid tank and have only had this for 2 month fish are fine all readings are fine water qaulity is fine my question is.. all the rocks in the tank are going a brownish colour, is this normal at this early stage, as everything is pretty new, i thought it took several years for rocks to go this colour, if this is unusual is it to do with how much you have your tubes on or could natural light be causing this, or does everything seem fine to you all.............thanx in advance

**sergo** · 11-05-2007, 03:32 PM

it's brown algae and it is normal for newly set up tanks but it can also be caused by excess silicates in the water, over fertilization of plants and low light. do you have any plants?
brown algae thrives in low situations.

**gearbox22** · 11-05-2007, 03:44 PM

hi sergo thanks for reply i only have 1 artifical plant and the rest is rocks and 1 terracotta pot and im sorry i dont know what sillacates in the water means.
we also have i blu tube and 1 normal tube these are switched on from 9am to 5pm and are changed from blue tube to the other light alrenatley during the time they are lit there is also brown spots appearing in front of glass but someone just told us to get a couple of magnets and remove it that way the water is changed on a weekly basis hope this helps .........thanx

**sergo** · 11-05-2007, 05:10 PM

how big is your tank and how many watts are each buld you are using? the magnetic glass cleaner is a good thing to have and i may suggest you leave both lights on at the same time so you can get more intensity to help control the brown algae better. also try not to overfeed the fish too.