Brown algae

Srgtpepper

My tank is fairly new, about a month old. I have live plants, swords,cobomba, money wort and they have started to grow a brown algae on them, and on the back wall and filter. Is this harmful, will it go away, or what can I do to get rid of it?

herefishy

Could be diatom growth too. Can you post any pictures?

fish_4_all

It can be harmful because the algae/diatoms will block light absorption by the plants and could hurt the overall health of the plants. When I get diatoms or algae on my plants I remove as much as possible. If it gets really bad I will use a bleech dip to kill it and give the plants a better chance to recover.

iam_koi

hello srgtpepper! good day..

brown algae is what we call "new tank" algae..this is usually caused by new setups, tanks that has not established yet. i had the same case with my planted aquarium. i do less water changes (bi or once weekly), scrape the visible algae (make sure not to scratch the glass), and make sure ferts are minimal.. just want to share my experience. hope this one helps.