Brown Residue

I have a 55 gallon with one common goldfish in it. It’s been cycled for about 3 months. Sand substrate. No live plants. About a month ago I had to replace one of my lights and put led lights on one side of the tank. Last week I noticed brown residue on the front of the tank glass but only on the side with the led lights. I cleaned it off. This week the brown residue is back and it’s also on my plastic plants. Is this algae? And what should I do?

 

Hello!

It sounds like diatom algae which isn't harmful to your fish, mostly unsightly. Try cutting back on how long you keep on your lights....how long do you keep them on?

 

Usually all day. So from 9am-9pm and then the led lights have a blue night option so there is some kind of light on half the tank all the time

 

I usually do a 25% water change weekly. I was gonna do a 50% water change today and clean the glass and plants with vinegar water. Should I not do that?

 

Usually all day. So from 9am-9pm and then the led lights have a blue night option so there is some kind of light on half the tank all the time

Oh that is much too long of "daylight" haha. 6 hours at the most, but you can do about 4 to help cut down on the algae.

I usually do a 25% water change weekly. I was gonna do a 50% water change today and clean the glass and plants with vinegar water. Should I not do that?

You don't have to do that; and you don't accidentally want to get vinegar in the tank. Wipe it away with an algae sponge and reduce your lighting; you can even turn off the light for 24 hours to give it a minI blackout

 

Double post!

 

Ok. Thank you so much!