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brown algae problem.

4946 Views 21 Replies 6 Participants Last post by  cocolodecorazon, 
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i never had a brown algae problem before. just in the last two weeks its been taking over my tank. covering the glass. ive had the tank up and running for almost a yr now. ive been reading it could be from my sand which i had just put in like 3 weeks or a month ag o. i dont leave my lights on very long between 9-11 hrs a day. is that to long? it doesnt seem to be getting on anything else besides the glass. my plants all look fine. i did notice my snails were eating it but they arent cleaning it completely. what can i do to get rid of this crap? ive been waiting for a magnet glass cleaner for a week should be here tomorrow. other then wiping it off every could days is there some special trick to get this stuff to stay out?
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Absntmind
smit3183 said:
Just wipe it down . It's an eye sore but completely harmless. It's the silca from the sand that's causing it . My tank has looked the same at times. It will eventually be less and less of it. I may have to wipe down once every couple months now. Nothing to worry about.
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Brown Algae is common in new tanks. It can come and go even months after a tank has been set up, and will go away for good once the tank becomes fully established.

Sand does not cause this; silica does not leach from sand any more than it does from the glass an aquarium is made from.
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Absntmind
smit3183 said:
What's causing my diatoms then? My tank has been going over a year with pool filter sand and I still have to wipe down sides of tank from time to time
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My understanding is no tank will ever be 100% algae free. Without a cleaning crew and left untouched, almost all tanks will show some type of algae development over time. I've heard people say "an algae free tank is only possible with no lights and no water".

Causes for yours could be several; but the most common are elevated nitrates, lights on too long (or ambient light from a window), bulbs need replacing, excess nutrients...

I had brown algae off an on my tank for about 8 months. First I changed the bulbs and lowered my light schedule down to 10 hours and it seemed to lessen. I also noticed a window was letting light into the tank early morning, basically meaning the tank was still lit for over 12 hours a day. I just make sure to keep the blinds closed on that window now.Then I started feeding less and added a few more plants, and it lessened more. Last I started dosing small amounts of fertilizer and it was hardly noticeable.

I finally added a cleanup crew and never saw brown algae again. For me it was a few oto's, MTS, and a couple zebra nerite snails. I add some blanched cucumber once a week to supplement just in case :).

That's not to say I have been algae free (BGA fight recently, my fault), but the battles are fewer and further between now. Just have to try and keep things balanced, every tank is different.
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