[cyclesnipas]

This is driving me crazy as it makes my tank look awful and no matter how much cleaning and maintenance I do I cant seem to make it go away. Ive asked a few aquarium stores about this and have heard everything from- Its "just algae" you should buy an algae eater to its "some kind of toxin" you should buy this to get rid of it. Ok well which is it? Just algae? Phosphates? Nitrates? Silicates? Nitrites? None of the above? No one can ever seem to give me a positive answer. Im hoping you extremely knowledgeable folks can shed some light on this for me as your not just trying to make a sale. ;-)

 

[Agent13]

Its often Cyanobacteria... caused by elevated Nitrates and/or high phosphates. The "cure" is simply cut back your lighting schedule, reduce feeding or even stop feeding for a little while, manually remove it from everything you can and up your water changes. Test for nitrates and see if thats up. Also you can use a brand new tooth brush the scrub it off plants and decor and keep it up for a while until it stops coming back.
Don't need to buy a thing.. well maybe a tooth brush

 

[fish monger]

Agree with Agent13. Could also be inadequate filtration.

 

[Flear]

if it's cyano, i've never had this, but it tends to have me thinking there isn't enough water flow, ... but i've never had it so i dono.

if it's green dusk algae (maybe a different color) ignore it, it will clear itself up
if it's not "algae" at all, it could be poop-like stuff that's just settling onto the plastic plants, ... settling out of the water column.

if you think it's algae, let it grow till it becomes obvious
it will either resolve itself and clear up, or give you a better idea of what it is, ... if it stays the same, consider poop-like stuff settling out of the water column, ... in which case, look into a better filter system

---

could consider some live plants too

 

[Tracy Bird]

Cyano is blue/green the OP indicates its brown.

How long has the tank been set up?

What size is the tank?

Describe the fish you have in the tank.

I'm assuming no live plants as you reference artificial.

What filtration do you have?

What type of light is installed:

- Bulb type (T5-T8, Led)

- Bulb Watts

What is your lighting schedule, how long do you keep your lights on?

Is the tank located in an area of high natural lighting garnered through windows and or doors?

What are your water parameters?

Can you post up some images?

There are a lot of different algaes and additional info is needed to provide good suggestions.

I kinda sense your frustration - we can all relate!

I like to keep things simple, for now I'd hold off on adding chemicals or aquatic life which at this point may only fuel the fire and try to better determine what can be changed to correct the problem without adding chems and creatures.

 

[Boredomb]

Hey Tracy Bird cyanobacteria is typically blue-green in color, but it can be greenish-brown to black, or even red in color. So in this case it could still be cyanobacteria. Tho the questions you asked and if answered will help us further to know what it is. Thanks for your post there!!

 

[Tracy Bird]

Hey Tracy Bird cyanobacteria is typically blue-green in color, but it can be greenish-brown to black, or even red in color. So in this case it could still be cyanobacteria. Tho the questions you asked and if answered will help us further to know what it is. Thanks for your post there!!

See.... you learn something new every day round here!

Thanks Boredomb

 

[cyclesnipas]

I might add that I have natural driftwood in the tank. Could it just be the tanins (doubt I spelled that right) staining the plants? But as requested- 45 gal. set up for over 5 years. 6 Cardinals, 6 Rummy nose, 1 G.Blue Ram, 2 small Angels, 3 Green Corys, and a 6-7" Royal Pleco. 2 Penguin 200 filters and a Maxi Jet 400 Power head with sponge filter just installed cuz Im treating for Ich but keeping in permanently. As for lighting Solarmax HE 42W T5. I usually run the light around 11-12 hrs. a day. there is no direct sunlight exposure. Im doing weekly 25-30% water changes with substrate vacuuming every/ every other week as needed. I feed once a day in the morning with flakes and frozen blood worms as a treat every other night or so. As for water parameters- Ph 7.2, Ammonia-0. Unfortunately (I know im gonna catch flack for this) I do not own any other test kits so Im not knowledgeable of the other parameters. I hope I covered everything as well as possible.

 

[cyclesnipas]

One other thing. Im noticing it seems to be worse on the plants in the rear corners which would lead me to believe it is a filtration issue(?) as these are also out of direct lighting. Im hoping the new Power head sponge filter will help eliminate any dead spots. I usually rinse the filter cartridges every few days and replace them every 2 weeks. Oh and im in the market for a new tooth brush ;-)

 

[Agent13]

Yes, sounds rather cyano like to me. Reduce your lights back to 9-10hrs. I'm pretty sure it's elevated nitrates given your run down of your setup and maintenance. While battling the cyano(which yes is often a clay reddish brown color is freshwater setups) you'll be needing to change your water at a much higher volume to both get rid of the C. and lower the nitrates.
Running your setup 5-6 yrs I'll not consider you a newbie so I wouldn't worry about getting any other tests unless you just want to know. But Nitrates just happen in between water changes regardless and higher with a higher stocked tank. You are feeding the bloodworms a bit often so overfeeding is probably contributing to this. Are you willing to cut back on that a little?

BTW, whats your treatment for Ich? One of the cause for ich is also water quality issues so both could have been caused but the very same thing.

 

[cyclesnipas]

Finally some real, good advice on whats going on in my tank. Thank you everyone. I originally suspected nitrates so its good to hear im not totally clueless lol. Things just get a little confusing when you have people at stores telling you a million different things. Ok so the Ich treatment im using is Sentry ParaShield at 1 9ml dosage a day for 5 days. Im on day 4 now. Im gonna do the 5th treatment tomorrow, do a water change the following day then 2 more days of treatment. Good idea? Also I can def pull back on the lighting and blood worms as Ive only been feeding them those for the past week. What are your opinions on API Nitra-Zorb?

 

[cyclesnipas]

Oh and I believe the Ich was introduced by 3 Cardinal Tetras I purchased a week or so ago.

 

[Agent13]

Ok so the Ich treatment im using is Sentry ParaShield at 1 9ml dosage a day for 5 days. Im on day 4 now. Im gonna do the 5th treatment tomorrow, do a water change the following day then 2 more days of treatment. Good idea? Also I can def pull back on the lighting and blood worms as Ive only been feeding them those for the past week. What are your opinions on API Nitra-Zorb?

I am skeptical of API Nitra-Zorb. No particular reason other then..well.. I just am.

Is the Sentry ParaShield working? I haven't ever heard much positive feed back on that. If it's doesn't fix it then do a huge water change to get it out of there put new carbon in your fitter to also get rid of it then up your temp to 86f for two weeks. That alone is the best way to kill ick. You're already more then halfway through so I guess finish it out?? Then heat your tank if your ich isn't resolved.

 

[cyclesnipas]

Im noticing less Ich spots however its far from gone. The only fish that have it are the 6 Cardinals though I saw 1 spot on the tail fin on the ram which appears has gone away. they seem totally unphased by it still have there colors, eat and swim like nothings wrong. I keep the temp at around 82 as it is so going up to 86 shouldnt be a problem. So ill finish the treatment, follow with a large water change, restock my filters and raise the temp to 86. Would it hurt to start raising the temp now? Maybe I should quarantine the cardinals?

 

[Agent13]

I'd wait. Meds and heat and ich are 3 stressors too many. Just finish the meds..asses your ich situation then and keep an eye out for a while and if it isn't gone or does come back then go ahead and heat the tank.

Normally I'd always say QT.. especially a new fish however the ich is already in that tank..not just on the fish so it's not necessary to QT..just extra work at this point.

 

[cyclesnipas]

Understood. I learned that oxygen can deplete during medicating as well as temp increases so yeah, that would be bad. Thank you soooo much for all your helpful advice! Hopefully I can put an end to all of these issues. Ill keep you posted.

 

[Flear]

plants love nitrates if your curious.
could get floating plants if you have any thoughts/concerns about cleaning your substrate that could/would fill with roots

 

[Agent13]

plants love nitrates if your curious.
could get floating plants if you have any thoughts/concerns about cleaning your substrate that could/would fill with roots

This is true, and more trustworthy then new nitrate "cures" on the market. Water changes too, but yes plants are good.

 

[Flear]

all our modern technology and science. the expensive filtration systems and drugs, ... and nature does a better job every time. cheaper too

 

[cyclesnipas]

Live plants love nitrates huh? Iv toyed with the idea of going live rather than artificial however im concerned my Royal Pleco will make salad out of whatever I put in. Also my other concern is heating the water to 86 degrees. Im under the impression that corys are sensitive to high temperatures no? Are there any others in my tank I need to worry about?