# Help with algae I.D.



## shawn74 (Dec 16, 2009)

I've been searching through the posts on here as well as the internet and haven't been able to find a pic that looks like the algae I have on my plants. Just to give a little background, this is in a 55 gallon freshwater tank. I just installed a pressurized CO2 setup with a AM1000 reactor and Milwaukee pH controller. For lighting I have (2) 54w T5HO 6700k bulbs running 12 hours and (2) more running for 4 hours to simulate mid-day sun. I have an XP3 and a HOT Magnum 250 for filtration and do 15% WC every Saturday. I have been slacking on my fertz though. I have Seachem N,P,K and have been using the beginner instructions as far as the amount to dose. 

Can anyone help with a) what kind of algae am I dealing with and b) what can I do to clear it up. Thank you all for any help you can give, I feel like I'm on the verge of having a nice planted tank, if only I could clear up this problem.








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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*How many bubbles per second of CO2? Lack of oxygen sometimes causes brown algae*


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## shawn74 (Dec 16, 2009)

Thanks for the reply. I am running 3 bubbles per second when the pH controller is on. I have a 4" disk air stone i could run at night when the CO2 is off, do you think that might help?


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## NursePlaty (Feb 5, 2010)

*2-3 bubbles per second is good and shouldnt be the issue.

How long has your tank been set up and has it finished cycling? It sometimes happens when the water parameteres are not done being stabilized. 

If your tank has already been cycled, it could be because of high nitrAte levels. Overfeeding or anything dead in there? Nutrient overload (such as potting soil and not topsoil in substrate)? Lots of fish poop in the gravel? Your 15% water changes might not be adequate if your nitrate levels are lets say 80 which becomes 60 in a 15% water change and back up to 80 agian after a few days. 
EDIT: Another person also has brown algae problem, here is the link, in case it helps.
http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/brown-algae-5741.html*


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## shawn74 (Dec 16, 2009)

The tank has been setup since the beginning of December. I was feeding twice a day, but as of about 3 weeks ago cut down to once a day. My substrate is plain petstore gravel, but now that all my plants are so big I haven't been able to vacuum the gravel. I wonder if that is causing a nitrate spike. I will up my WC to 30% and see if that helps. I also am running my airstone on my moonlight timer to increase O2. Thank you for the help and I'll update with any changes.


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