pinkfloydpuffer

So, my brackish aquarium, which has been running for about 5 months now, still has brown algae growing all over the glass, plastic plants, and even substrate (aragonite) like crazy! I have to scrape all the glass every week, cause there'll be spots all over it. I swear I can almost see that stuff growing...
So is brackish any different than fresh when it comes to algae? Is there anything I may have overlooked that is causing this? The tank has a 15W fluorescent bulb. I don't run the lights very long. Some days it's up to maybe 8 hours, but often it's only 3. Depends on when I get home from work/school, lol. My nitrates are very low, never getting above 10 PPM. I only feed the puffers up to 6 times a week, and they usually snarf down any piece of food they can find. I can't figure out what I'm doing wrong here. Help?!?!

Shawnie

my new 75 gallon did the same thing for about 5 - 6 months...after I finally ignored it, it kinda blended in with the natural look...my 20 gal still gets it now and then..and its about 7 months old..but my cories took care of that LOL...I think diatoms can go for awile and I assumed thats whats still going on in mine...and you arent over feeding or lighting anything so Im thinking yours is still diatoms also..... I dont mind it now and its just part of my tanks...ill probably miss it when its all gone

pinkfloydpuffer

Sounds like I'll just have to get used to it for a while. *sigh*
I would like to find a solution though, as I'd like to experiment with brackish plants in there, and don't want them getting choked out.
It's weird though, my two betta tanks have had almost no problem with diatoms, and they've been up for 3-4 months...

Angela_96

I still have some lingering diatoms in my SW tank (of coarse its only a month old) even after I switched over to purified water, that could make a difference? Do you know what your phosphate levels are?

I also have noticed in all of my tanks (all 9 of them) when they were set up the first few months they would have a lot of algae and then it died down. I have amost no algae in my tanks now, except of coarse the sw w/ the min diatoms. My cleanup crew is doing an impressive job on that.

pinkfloydpuffer

I don't know what the phosphate levels are, nor do I have a way to test them.
I think it's my cories and pleco that keep the algae down in my betta tanks, but with puffers you really don't have any options with cleaners.

Angela_96

Thats true, I think there are a couple plants tolerent of the brackish conditions though, they could compete for the nutrients in the water w/ the algae and would help control it. Just .4 phosphates in my tap water was enough to cause the diatoms in my sw tank (I let the LFS test my water for phosphates). You could also ad a poly filter to your system to filter out the phosphates, silica (which diatoms feed off of, and other nutrients).

pinkfloydpuffer

Yeah, I've graciously been given this link previously about the brackish adaptable plants: http://www.plantgeek.net/plantguide_...ter_by=&page=1
I think right now my only options are java fern and java moss, and I will have to try to upgrade the lighting by at least 5W first. And java fern isn't the most aggressive plant, lol.

Angela_96

I have some java fern in one of my cichlid fry tanks that I keep in my kitchen it actually really does a great job. There is some sunlight in the room and I had some algae problems for a while. I was surprised, my husband actually gave me the idea to get plants for it to compete w/ the algae.

pinkfloydpuffer

Hm... well, I was planning on starting that project soon anyways, so I guess I'll see how it goes

Angela_96

I hope you find the solution! That diatom algae is awlful!

sirdarksol

Makes me kind of glad my brackish tank went the hair algae route rather than the diatom route (unlike my 90g, which is coated in brown).

pinkfloydpuffer

My dad told me he has a strip light in the garage!
We're also going to try a DIY acrylic cover. Hope it works! That way I can get some plants in there

sirdarksol

You may want to hook up some simple DIY CO2 setups, as well. They'll give your plants an edge over the algae. One problem with adding lights is that you're adding algae food. With the CO2, though, the plants tend to grow faster than the algae.

pinkfloydpuffer

I'll definitely look into those. I've wanted to do a higher light setup, but haven't ever got up the courage to do it, lol.

pinkfloydpuffer

Alright, I've got my lid. However, turns out my dad had a 4 footer, not a 2!
Oh well. So I'm going to have to get one. It seems all the 24" fixtures are only made to support 15W though. Does anyone know how to get more watts? I was aiming for a min. of 20, but 30 or 40 would be nice.

Iron waffle

weird, i'm actually trying to grow algae

pinkfloydpuffer

You can have mine!

Beeker

I have hair algae too. It looks nice on the driftwood, but when it gets too long I pull it out. It is starting to choke some of my plants though. I would like to find a way to get rid of it. I got a pleco, but he is only eating my driftwood and not touching the algae.

soldieroffortune1974

The best way to get rid of Brown algae (diatoms) is to INCREASE lighting.The algae thrives in low light conditions (even a complete black out). Overfeeding isn't an issue either,Diatoms are photoautotrophic, and don't require light or phosphates to thrive.

The reason most newer aquariums have brown algae is because the green algae hasn'e been established yet. If you increase the chances for green algae to bloom,it will kill off the brown algae.That's why older aquariums,it disappears on it's own. You have the green algae and the brown algae both vying for existance,and can cancel each other's progress.