i'm having some brown algae problem with my tank, and i need to scrape them off the glass. Problem is my school of CPDs freak out every time i use the scraper. The end result is that they now stay low and hide among the plants. Good news is they're eating the crushed flakes i'm dropping, but i'm guessing most end up uneaten, which rots and feeds the brown algae problem -- Holy vicious cycles, Batman!
Hi fishybert. Rather than use the scraper... since it's probably loud to them, I keep a couple of brand new dish scrubby pads from the dollar store and use them. NOT steel wool, that will scratch the tank. Just the softer woolly little pads. They come pink, yellow, white, green in squares and they are flat. Keep them with your fish supplies. Try that.
You could try the magnetic algae scrappers. One side clings to the inside of the tank and the other side to the outside. You move them around with your hand to scrape off the algae. I've been hearing a lot of good stuff about them lately and want to try one out on my goldfish tank (aka my algae farm :roll: ).
I bought some 'mystery snails' to rid my tank of algae, as my pleco could not keep it clean by his lonesome. After a couple days I noticed a significant reduction of algae. Those little buggers sure can eat!
You could clean the tank, then just not feed them for a day to let them calm down. Only put in what food they'll eat in less than 5 minutes. Anymore, and you will contribute to the problem you are seeing. Brown algae as said can easily be cleaned off with a glass safe sponge (if your tank is acrylic, make sure the sponge is safe for it or you'll scratch it up).
Live plants, and reducing the duration your lights are one can help too. The plants will use up nutrients before algae can get to it, but if they run out of something and stop/slow photosynthesis algae takes advantage, that is why you need the light in balance with the nutrients.
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