# Its all a mess



## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

This is my 2nd 20 gallon tank in my lifetime. All water levels check out normal....however, there is brown algae on the rocks, the driftwood, the plastic plants, the filter, the heater, etc. I do a 10 to 25% water change every two weeks. Have 8 Danios and 2 mystery snails. Also have Tahitian Moon sand as my substrate. I do have two colormax flourescent lights in and noticed this algae problem started after I changed from the standard lights. I took everything out 1 week ago cleaned placed back in did a water change checked water conditions and here I am in the same fix. Is it the lights?


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## WhiteGloveAquatics (Sep 3, 2009)

How much natural sunlight does it get? My buddies 28g bowfront does this because its the range of the sunlight, even though its 20' from the window.

It might be the lights, turn them off for 3 days to kill off the algae, but if its brown it sounds sunlight related.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

A bunch it is right in front of a window....


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## Gizmo (Dec 6, 2010)

More than likely it's an OD on light caused by a combo between natural daylight and your light fixture. Try covering the side of the tank facing the window with a background or something, and cut back your light fixture's usage to only when you need it for viewing, etc.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

gtm, I'll sure take u're advice and cover up the back I've turned the light off may end up moving it in a few weeks to the opposite side of the room with no windows. Thanks much!


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

It could also be the wood, how long have you had the driftwood?


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

Since its original set up the driftwood is fake


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## driftwood (Feb 13, 2011)

I changed to T5HO lights when I put in live plants and had them on about 14 hrs. a day. Algae started poping up on rocks, driftwood and glass. (Hair and green algae) I cut them back to about 8-10 hrs and the algea is going away, also you might try some Flourish excel


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Diatoms. It's normal and they clean up easy. They will eventually fade away.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

jen662 said:


> This is my 2nd 20 gallon tank in my lifetime. All water levels check out normal....however, there is brown algae on the rocks, the driftwood, the plastic plants, the filter, the heater, etc. I do a 10 to 25% water change every two weeks. Have 8 Danios and 2 mystery snails. Also have Tahitian Moon sand as my substrate. I do have two colormax flourescent lights in and noticed this algae problem started after I changed from the standard lights. I took everything out 1 week ago cleaned placed back in did a water change checked water conditions and here I am in the same fix. Is it the lights?



sure the lights result in the algae.

But even more importantly the algae is simply the tank reacting to the lack of live plants to consume the nutrients from the bioload.

So if you add lotsa fast growing live plants and get them thriving, you can have the lights on with no algae.


my .02


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## probe1957 (Jul 2, 2010)

James0816 said:


> Diatoms. It's normal and they clean up easy. They will eventually fade away.


Is the right answer.


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## wlfspirit (Nov 16, 2010)

I agree with James and Probe. It is diatoms which are unaffected by light duration. These are more of a water quality problem...phosphates and silicates. I had the same problem in my 20g planted tank and in my 10g fish only tank. I added a phosphate/silicate removal media and it has greatly reduced it. This frequently blooms in a fairly new tank and once the tank is well established, should reduce. In my fish only tank however, I removed the media and got 2 otos and they are having MORE than enough of the brown algae and green to eat and are getting FAT! lol I'm starting to wonder if they will keep having enough to eat...they eat constantly!


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

Thanks for the help, had surgery Friday and am in the recovery stage will post more as I feel better...


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## bmoore09 (Nov 20, 2010)

James0816 said:


> Diatoms. It's normal and they clean up easy. They will eventually fade away.


This is correct. After my tank fully cycled, I had diatoms for about 5 weeks. They're awful looking, and almost made me wanna give up. I thought they would never go away. But everyone kept saying they'll go away naturally. And they did. Just make sure you do your regular water changes (as it seems you are)
The fish were fine, and the water tests came out perfect. 
The only way I know to get rid of them faster is putting in some Oto Catfish. They'll clean it up in no time.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

I'm going to put a pic up in a few minutes .... home from surgery and recovering well. This is getting the best of me this tank is awful......


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

jen662 said:


> I'm going to put a pic up in a few minutes .... home from surgery and recovering well. This is getting the best of me this tank is awful......


Below is a pic of my MESS! I took everything out two weeks ago and cleaned put back in did a water change, checked water conditions all was well. Three days after I cleaned it this stuff came back. I have Tahitian Moon Sand as a substrate. Its a 20 gallon tank... 8 danios two snails, whisper filter, 2 CFL I am about to give up. Please help!!! ty


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## probe1957 (Jul 2, 2010)

Definitely diatoms. I am fighting the same battle myself. Some weeks are better than others but in general, I can report no significant progress.


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## bmoore09 (Nov 20, 2010)

Diatoms for sure. Like I said, mine was like that for well over a month (maybe two). 
Put two Otos in there. Theyll clean it up pretty quickly. And they'll keep it clean.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

They wipe off with ease. No worries and nothing to be concerned about.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

James0816 said:


> They wipe off with ease. No worries and nothing to be concerned about.


Yeah I know but if it is ugly all the time or I have to wipe it every few days it that's kinda lame. I have never had an aquarium do this before not even my large cichlid tanks. Hubby bought me a fluval edge for Christmas and I returned it for this because I decided to keep fish. Thinking I made a boo boo. Hate Oto cats...we had one get 24 inches long ended up putting him in the pond. They get so big fast.....


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

jen662 said:


> Yeah I know but if it is ugly all the time or I have to wipe it every few days it that's kinda lame. .... Hate Oto cats...we had one get 24 inches long ended up putting him in the pond. They get so big fast.....


If you keep it under control, there is nothing wrong with it. You do regular maintenance on the tank already as it is right? It only takes a few seconds to wipe. And as far as being lame ... welcome to the hobby because maintaining a tank does take work. It's just part of the deal. Sry.

As for the Oto being 24", you are referring to a different species of cat. Otocinclus cats only get to be a couple inches.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

James, I am thinking of these being regular algae eaters so I will go google them. Can't figure out why my tank is like this. I may pull the fake plants out as they seem to be holding the most of it. I'm so use to having clean pretty tanks....this is just aggravating.


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

I understand completely. It's a normal thing that most experienced hobbyists don't even thing about anymore. See a spot .. wipe a spot. They will eventually eat themselves out of a home and fade away.

Diatoms are one of the favorite foods of the Otocinclus. Cute little guys. But you will have to suppliment their feeding once the diatoms go away.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

checked with Walmart only fish place in town they have Cory Cats and Plecos. Will any of these do....? Thank u all so much I'm picky about my tanks being beautiful....and this ugliness is awful.


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## roacan (Dec 25, 2010)

Check this thread for algae eaters

http://www.aquariumforum.com/f2/what-algae-eater-right-you-look-11170.html

Aquarium Algae Eaters

Algae Eaters for the Freshwater Aquarium - Article at The Age of Aquariums - Tropical Fish


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## jrman83 (Jul 9, 2010)

jen662 said:


> Yeah I know but if it is ugly all the time or I have to wipe it every few days it that's kinda lame. I have never had an aquarium do this before not even my large cichlid tanks. Hubby bought me a fluval edge for Christmas and I returned it for this because I decided to keep fish. Thinking I made a boo boo. Hate Oto cats...we had one get 24 inches long ended up putting him in the pond. They get so big fast.....


I scrub my glass weekly on all my tanks...even if I don't see anything on it. Not sure what your routine is, but regular water changes do help with diatoms. Many will say no because you're introducing more silicates with each water change and although that may be true, it tends to keep the diatoms from forming. Scrubbing glass is just part of my routine now. It will go away. You need some of the good healthy green stuff...it will take your mind off of the brown. 

Did you mean pleco (algae eater) that got to 24". They do get that big.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

I always clean my walls with my magfloat and have been taking everything out to clean it bi weekly doing a weekly water change. My point is my 55 gallon tanks were never this bad at getting dirty. I just cleaned it again.....will post a pic shortly. Took everything out scrubbed and soaked it put it back in. Walmart doesn't have the Otos and no pet store near me. See where Live Aquaria has them shipping is like 35.00, but if they'll eat the diatoms might be worth it. Also thought of buying more stones or fake rock and letting it just stay in there give it a Marine look.

jr......yes it was an algae eater he lived in our pond many years until he died.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

The latest pick....I have cleaned the outside glass yet that is next.


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## bmoore09 (Nov 20, 2010)

jen662 said:


> I always clean my walls with my magfloat and have been taking everything out to clean it when bi weekly doing a weekly water change. My point is my 55 gallon tanks were never this bad at getting dirty. I just cleaned it again.....will post a pic shortly. Took everything out scrubbed and soaked it put it back in. Walmart doesn't have the Otos and no pet store near me. See where Live Aquaria has them shipping is like 35.00, but if they'll eat the diatoms might be worth it. Also thought of buying more stones or fake rock and letting it just stay in there give it a Marine look.


That's crazy that no LFS in your area has them. All of mine do. I always put Oto cats in my tanks b/c they keep them clean. You may wanna pick them up somewhere if you want that mess to go away quickly. but like everyone else said, it will eventually go away on it's own. Here's the oto I'm talking about..they're cheap fish too:

Otocinclus Catfish


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

thanks for the link.......I'm not close to a pet store walmart is all we have. Our local fish store closed a year ago so nowhere to get Otos nearby. I might just wait it out but I hate people coming in seeing a nasty tank all the time. Thanks you all....


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## James0816 (Jun 19, 2009)

Tank looks good. Now that you have it that way, just keep an eye on. When you see a spot appear, just take a few seconds to remove it. Even if it's just in passing when you see it. Little things like that will help you keep it in check.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

Thank u that is the plan however, those otos are so cute.....I'm almost tempted to order a pair from Live Aquaria. I do have algae wafers on hand my snails won't eat them.

Nope not LA min order is now 29.00 with 35.00 shipping....ouch. Will just deal with it.....thank u all again.


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## beaslbob (May 29, 2009)

It does look better.

FWIW I have had tanks the literally went for years without touching the inside glass with no algae on the sand or glass. *old dude


my .02


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

I'm approaching 1 month on my 10G and all I've done so far inside the tank is scrub the glass to remove the dusty film deposited by the play sand I used.

Plants are going like gang busters and Ben (jrman) has some plants in the mail to me for redecorate the tank. very excited.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

mec102778 said:


> I'm approaching 1 month on my 10G and all I've done so far inside the tank is scrub the glass to remove the dusty film deposited by the play sand I used.
> 
> Plants are going like gang busters and Ben (jrman) has some plants in the mail to me for redecorate the tank. very excited.



Hubby and I were just talking about it....would like to have some live plants in ours.


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## mec102778 (Feb 17, 2011)

I recommend it! Thinking about how I can start to overhaul my tanks to include plants.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

Tried to log on yesterday couldn't.....today is day two after good clean up. I had to wipe walls and the diatoms were already all over the plants, decor....etc. Wiped off best I could.....really surprised it came back that fast maybe cleaning it wasn't a good thing. Sure wish I had Otos in a place nearby.


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## ReStart (Jan 3, 2011)

Jen says "Hate Oto cats...we had one get 24 inches long ended up putting him in the pond. They get so big fast....."

Ottos don't get big, in fact, they are small and stay small. But, our forum sticky post about algae eaters says,
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Best At Algae Removal

Bristlenose Pleco (Ancistrus sp.)

Bristlenose Plecos are true oddballs, but wonderful algae eaters. They eat all forms of algae with gusto, and have an added bonus of being non-aggressive and attaining easily accommodated sizes. Plus, they're just plain cool looking! With a *maximum size of around 4-5", *they fit in most aquariums from 20g and up. While they do not harm plants directly, their grazing activity on the leaves of plants could potentially lead to broken stems, so care should be taken when putting them into planted aquariums.

Males are easily differentiated from females by the abundance of 'bristles' on their nose; females only have a small amount of short bristles on the front edge of their nose.


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## jen662 (Mar 22, 2011)

ReStart said:


> Jen says "Hate Oto cats...we had one get 24 inches long ended up putting him in the pond. They get so big fast....."
> 
> Ottos don't get big, in fact, they are small and stay small. But, our forum sticky post about algae eaters says,
> -------------------------------------
> ...


Hi there, let me apologize again....I didn't know what an Oto cat was as we don't have any fish store in town but Walmart. The Pleco my husband and I had grew to be extremely large and after outgrowing our largest African Cichlid tank we put him in our pond where he resided happily for years until he passed away we assume from age. Now, I have googled and wiki'd Otos and am familiar with them as of a few days ago. Thank you.....nice evening to you.


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