# Ack, Brown Algae



## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Heya peoples,
I am not freaking out just annoyed. I noticed a couple days ago this brownish algae growing on some of the plastic plants. 
They are to be phased out shortly to live plants.
I looked this up on the internet and found it's also called Silica Algae and is common in new tanks.
My question is this, I got this little Moon Rock from a supposedly reputable dealer.
I rinsed it and scrubbed off the glue and placed it in my tank then screamed!
It started bubbling like crazy and spewing what looked like little white things(I am suspicious that it wasn't sealed and it was spewing Silica into my tank)
I soaked it for like an hour it stopped bubbling so I put it in my tank.
Two weeks later this Brown Algae appears.
Do you guys think it (the algae) just coincidentally appeared after the rock or was maybe biding it's time and I just suddenly noticed it.
It also mentioned in the article that lack of light (I just replaced the funky light) could cause this algae growth.
I had planned to do my first big cleaning this weekend anyways so from what I read I should wash it off the plants do a nice vacuum of the substrate and wipe down the glass.
Sound like a good plan? Water change of course would be included.
cheers
gg


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Brown diatom algae stage for new tanks sounds like. It will be replaced by green algae eventually. My nerites ate through my brown diatom stage.

In general tho algae means there are excess nutrients, more live plants will eat more nutrients leaving less for algae


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Gotcha, thanks!! 
Oh and btw, not that I'm having A DAY or anything but my grip slipped and I dropped 5 gallons of water on my carpet. Whooo ha, groan


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Happens, I had a 55 bust at the seams, Lucky was at home to get fish in bucket before it completely emptied.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

susankat said:


> Happens, I had a 55 bust at the seams, Lucky was at home to get fish in bucket before it completely emptied.


Ya, lucky for that. I had a previous 29 crack while I was out. Most fish were ok but I had my mama Kribensis in a breeder basket above and the poor thing fried :*(


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

This stuff is prolific! The plant that I scrubbed two days ago already has a significant regrowth on it.
Now I can't bleach that sucker and then soak in a bucket of DeChlor water??
I hesitate to do anything drastic as it is not harmful but don't want it becoming a problem.
I do plan to do another clean in about a week see if I can get better suction.
Anywhooo...have a good one
GG
PS: I got so into talking to the gal at the fish store I forgot to get some live plants. I will be going back asap to do that.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

If plastic yes you can soak in bucket with mild solution of bleach, then soak in clean dechlorinated water, live plants you can spray with a mix of peroxide and water.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

susankat said:


> If plastic yes you can soak in bucket with mild solution of bleach, then soak in clean dechlorinated water, live plants you can spray with a mix of peroxide and water.


Cool. Thanks Susan


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Gad this stuff is pervasive! I was getting myself all concerned that two Nerites might not have enough to eat. HA!! 
No frickin' chance they will go hungry at this point. 
My question is this, I probably know the answer but I value ya'alls opinions.
I should do a good scrub of all the glass and maybe bleach the last couple plastic plants??
I guess should I vacuum the gravel??
this algae bumbs me out, but!! my Red Racers gonna be delivered today. 
Hope yer all well
GG


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

I'd leave it for the snails to eat, my snails zipped through my brown diatom bloom stage that was on literally everything. My snails wouldn't eat the algae off of the fake moss decorations though, so you might need to clean/bleach any fake plants to rid it


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Yeah? This stuff is spreading like a plague. I just looked at the gravel and darn there is a coating of the stuff I literally did not see yesterday.
sigh
It (the algae) wouldn't affect the fish at all from what I read?
I'm not to concerned but my fish are extremely agitated. This could be from them getting used to the Nerite I guess.
If so they're gonna be doubly trippin when Red Racer hit's the scene.
Cheers


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Clean the glass at least.


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

susankat said:


> Clean the glass at least.


Noooo the snails dinner 🤣🤣


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Ya, gonna throw my tank cleaning shirt on and try and get a foothold on this stuff.
as always thanks
GG


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Kurama said:


> Noooo the snails dinner 🤣🤣


Trust me Kurama, there is plenty for them to eat. Stuff is insidious
Edited: Love my number one cheap cleaning tool, Les Turkey Baster'
worked like a charm to skim off substrate algae


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## Deathdealer91 (Jul 23, 2014)

susankat said:


> Happens, I had a 55 bust at the seams, Lucky was at home to get fish in bucket before it completely emptied.


Definitely does. I has a 280 bust one year while at work. Came home to dead fish and plants and water all over my living room floor. Not fun at all


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## Deathdealer91 (Jul 23, 2014)

It also could have come from the rock. Their is a test you can do but you'd have to look up the method. If it does all the bubbles and some other stuff then it probably shouldn't go in the tank.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Muriatic acid works but not safe to use. Vinegar pr peroxide will test some.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Ok, you both have gotten me curious about this rock cave. FYI I pulled it from the tank and have not put it back in.
What would I be testing for?
Vinegar or peroxide would fizz like crazy with the presence of bacteria yes?
I'm very displeased with this seller as she refused to answer my email when questioned about the white particles, she only answered an email asking about size of the holes with part numbers for larger stones.
I'd be curious to see if this rock may have polluted my tank.
I will then name her and flame her.
Cheers


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

So I originally thought it was more likely to be new tank brown diatoms, but re-reading the moon rock part it really shouldn't have spewed bubbles at all - I was thinking it was like oxygen bubbles caught in pores maybe? But most of those aquarium things are ceramic or resin so they shouldn't really have pores right?

I vote keep it removed and/or put it in a quarantine tank and see what happens maybe?

Personally I've moved away from the decorations and am looking for more natural approaches. My bettas were rescues and the tank/deco was included - it wasn't until recently I realized the inside of the decorations (resin molds) was insanely sharp and that's why "Squidward" (3yo named him) had fin loss that would never heal. Since removing the deco "Squidward" is now showing new growth and healing


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

If it bubbles with peroxide or vinegar, it's not because of bacteria, it's because of the elements it's made of and will be toxic,


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Update there was no bubbling with the Peroxide which frankly surprised me.
It's still not going back in.


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Possibly just coincidence for timing of new tank diatom stage then


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Kurama said:


> Possibly just coincidence for timing of new tank diatom stage then


Ya, thinking the same. What an adventure, loving it


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Just a frustration post, you can cheer me on if you like.
_tearing at her hair, small growl_
This stuff is relentless. Evil brown Diatoms.
I scrubbed the glass real nice 2 days ago and can barely see through it today.
grumble grumble
Hope ya'all are doing well
GG


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Mine has switched over to the green algae finally, less noticeable buy my snails keep it wiped out. Even during the brown diatom stage I never had to clean anything (except the fake moss that Gary the snail wouldn't eat from)


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

What size tank are you talking about Kurama? My guys are doing a nice job but this stuff grows to fast.
The bottom substrate went from a couple spots to full cover over night.
shrug
I'm glad yours wasn't as severe


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## rob206 (3 mo ago)

Maintenance fish, shrimps,snails, mollies, real plants, Pristine.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Define maintenance fish please.
Real plants enroute


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Gamegurl said:


> What size tank are you talking about Kurama? My guys are doing a nice job but this stuff grows to fast.
> The bottom substrate went from a couple spots to full cover over night.
> shrug
> I'm glad yours wasn't as severe


It was severe though, they just ate it all and got fat loooool

Talking about my 3 gallon split tank, my olive snail has about 1.75 gallons and my zebra snail has about 1.25 gallons.

It's such a small tank it keeps them at the perfect level of fed and my glass stays spotless


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Nod nod. I may invest in at least one more small Nerite. Lil Red is doing an AMAZING job but I don't think the two of them are sufficient to keep it spotless.
29 gallon is quite a bit bigger than 3 gal. 
Cheers Kurama


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

So before I go on I will confess to being a worry wort. hangs head
I seem to have taken a big bite out of my brown algae issue, so much so that I have myself stressed that the snails won't have enough to eat.
Logically I can look and see quite a bit growing on the gravel.
I also have some algae pellets and I figure if they are that hungry they will try the pellets.
What I noticed today is a whitish film over the glass. biofilm?
I should just calm down right?
This _is_ only a three month old tank now supporting 3 Nerites.
cheers and hope all are well


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Clean the glass


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

susankat said:


> Clean the glass


Clean that film off the glass? What is it?
edited: I did put a Calcium chip(the snail guy sent me those and lazy pellets) that darn thing dissolved a day later in a white cloud.
I won't be doing that again but maybe it's residue from that.


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

I would agree, calcium chip probably noy culprit but the other I would believe. Can you check your water company to see what your calcium is. With you water hardness I can't see putting stuff not needed. Just a small chip off cuttlebone for them to chew on.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

My water company report say's 27.5 ppm.
Why do I feel like I screwed my snails.
After that Melafix treatment and water changes, I had cleaned all my decorations and glass.
I should be thrilled that I see no growth of brown algae but I worry that now the kids won't have enough to munch on.
I looked up online(all that accurate info ) and there wasn't anything that says Melafix would kill the algae but I wonder.
I love my fish tank but at times I want to take a hammer to it.
insert sigh


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

You can always feed algae tabs or like I did when I was raising mystery snails, I fed blanched zucchini and spinach weekly.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

susankat said:


> You can always feed algae tabs or like I did when I was raising mystery snails, I fed blanched zucchini and spinach weekly.


Cool, I was hoping you had some ideas. I do have Algae tabs in the form of _Lazy Pellets_ that the last snail vendor sent along with the snails.
Blanched is cooking about 5 minutes? Not just pop it in there raw? I suppose I will need some clips to secure that food.
Thanks so much Susan, I appreciate you and so does my room mate, then he doesn't have to listen to my crazed ramblings. lol


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## susankat (Nov 15, 2008)

Only a couple minutes you don't want them cooked. You can use a fork to hold down.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

susankat said:


> Only a couple minutes you don't want them cooked. You can use a fork to hold down.


Awesome, thanks again.
Two side notes: The film on the glass was almost definitely residue from those evil calcium tabs. There was white dust when I wrung out the sponge. Lesson learned
Two: I need to calm my crazy self down, when I did wipe the glass there was plenty of brown algae. ha! Thanks for putting up with me


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

susankat said:


> Only a couple minutes you don't want them cooked. You can use a fork to hold down.


I meant to hold it down in the fish tank or will it stay down once it's blanched?


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Gamegurl said:


> Awesome, thanks again.
> Two side notes: The film on the glass was almost definitely residue from those evil calcium tabs. There was white dust when I wrung out the sponge. Lesson learned
> Two: I need to calm my crazy self down, when I did wipe the glass there was plenty of brown algae. ha! Thanks for putting up with me


It's calcium precipitation and the snails will eat it. Mine do, it only sticks around a few days before they make their way to it and gobble. 24ppm is low calcium, 70ppm+ is generally ideal, my hard tap has no calcium so I use a wonder shell once a month (it spikes to like 260ppm calcium and then slowly diminishes with weekly water changes)

I break an algae wafer in half and chuck it in both sides once a week (Thursday usually because I like to watch them) the mix of nerites and pond snails eat it all within a day. My glass and tank is always clean so when I drop the wafer in they come running


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Kurama said:


> I break an algae wafer in half and chuck it in both sides once a week (Thursday usually because I like to watch them) the mix of nerites and pond snails eat it all within a day. My glass and tank is always clean so when I drop the wafer in they come running


My Nerite's show no interest at all in those wafers.
I place them directly in their path and they just go around. lol
So far plenty of algae for them to munch though I am so happy it's not on the plants as much, the algae.
Kinda funny, Speedy is the biggest snail and he's the only one I have seen cleaning leaf's, the plant bows down with his weight but he hangs on. hehe


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

My nerites didn't go for the wafers at first either, it wasn't until the pond snail outbreak that the nerites actually ate off the wafer and even then they didn't touch it until the next day when it was breaking down into the substrate. The baby pond/ramshorn snails were all over it instantly tho


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

So my original brown algae has turned a shocking color of orange. Is this bad? It's spreading like a plague and I thought I had a handle on it.
Oh well Lots for the Nerites to eat though they arent on the objects that are being covered in the crap.
arg!
I feel like crap today but will clean if need be.
edited: I have just read up on this stuff and it's apparently not harmful.
What I read said to many nutrients in the water, possibly to much light though I try to keep it under 8 hours.
It also mentioned food waste, not happening in my tank especially now with the cory's cleaning everything up, also mentioned not keeping it clean enough but that's not the case.
Gonna do a quick water test but it's been right on, no high Nitrates.
_sigh
edited again: Scrubbed bleached and blehhhhh. take that you bastage algae_


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Excess fertilizers maybe? Are you running co2 yet?


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Kurama said:


> Excess fertilizers maybe? Are you running co2 yet?


I haven't been using excess ferts but I am gonna skip a week. Great minds think alike. I won't be using Co2 but have two air stones in the tank


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Co2 will help the plants outcompete the algae, if the plants have ferts and no co2 then the algae will eat the ferts.

Air stones will oxygenate the water but will also offgas the co2 faster leaving less for plants. Have to find a perfect balance


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## Tetra234 (1 mo ago)

General question on Co2, won't Co2 rev up the system and cause quicker imbalances in ferts and then potentially contribute to algae?


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## Kurama (5 mo ago)

Tetra234 said:


> General question on Co2, won't Co2 rev up the system and cause quicker imbalances in ferts and then potentially contribute to algae?


Anything out of balance leads to algae


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## Tetra234 (1 mo ago)

Kurama said:


> Anything out of balance leads to algae


It's a hard realization after 4yrs of successfully keeping a low tech fully planted tank.. Also without a carpet it's really difficult to manage flow and gunk building up between all the plants disrupting flow.. 
You can get into the sand with a siphon but one doesn't want to damage the roots..


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## Dlaw (6 mo ago)

Diatom algae (and really any algae) won't hurt your fish, and will only hurt your plants if it's allowed to grow on them to the point where they can't get any light for themselves. While we might not like the way algae looks, it's actually pretty good for your tank, especially when the tank is young. It photosynthesizes, which means it's helping with the bioload, as well as being a food source for various organisms that you'll end up wanting to colonize your tank for long term stability. As you know, it's also a primary food for most inverts.

For diatom algae in particular, I've found that the best course of action is no action, except maybe some CUC (which you've already done). It seems that the more you fight it, the harder it holds on, but if you let it run it's course (so to speak), it usually will only stick around for a month or so. I personally only mess with dust algae and hair algae. I clean the front glass off and pull the hair algae out manually. I don't worry about BBA (I do have a few tufts here and there, but I think my mollies have been tearing at it, as it is never in the same place for longer than a week), but if it started getting out of control, I would start dealing with it.

CO2 can help, but you also need strong light for it to be effective, and like Tetra and Kurama pointed out, too much of any one thing can cause algae. Having all of the fuel in the world doesn't help if you can't use it, and with CO2 if you don't supplement it with high light, you might not have enough photosynthesis going on to raise the O2 levels to a safe level for the rest of the inhabitants.

So the TL-DR is: Algae is mostly good for your tank, even if it is ugly. Leave diatoms alone, and usually they'll go away by themselves in my experience. CO2 can help, but comes with it's own learning curve.


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## Gamegurl (4 mo ago)

Very cool post Dlaw and I appreciate you sharing that knowledge with me. I'm still battling the brown diatoms by wiping my plant leaves, resin decorations, uno.
But here, I never thought I'd be excited about green algae but I think I see the first signs of it.
That's good right?
I know it's alot different as it doesn't just wipe off with the soft side of the sponge, you have to take the scrubber to it and it is small green dots in a cluster.
I also noticed some green when I cleaned the glass top last night.
Hopefully turning a corner with the brown stuff.
Do you think my plant food is being consumed by the algae? I have held off for one week as I was unsure if it contributed to high Nitrates?
Cheers and thanks


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## Mr.Grizz Aquatics (18 d ago)

Evil phosphates!


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## Dlaw (6 mo ago)

It definitely could be the fertilizer was contributing, if there wasn't enough plant growth to consume it. I've found it more with hair algae than diatoms, but that would make just as much sense to me.


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