Brown algae(I think its diatom) - Algae

plantblr · 06-26-2008, 06:32 AM

Hi all

,

This is my 1st post here.

My glass,leaves of my plants,the filter & the gravel all are covered by a Brown slippery thing,which I think is Diatoms

.

The tank is a 50gallon,the lighting being 65watts x 2 for 10hrs a day.
My tank doesn't have many fast growing plants,currently I have many Anubias,Ferns,10 Vals & 2 Swords in it.I think maybe of less fast growing plants there is this breakout.

Please help........the tank has begun looking really ugly

Many thanks
Ravi

trenac · 06-26-2008, 09:43 AM

Diatoms are common in new setups & low light setups. It will disappear in time as the tank matures. In the meantime you can just keep it wipped off the equipment & glass. You could also employ some Otto's to help with the cleaning. Snails can also help.

I would also suggest getting some more fast growing plants in there. Instead of planting you could use some floaters like Hornwort, Red root floater, watersprite etc.

Also make sure that you are dosing ferts (micros,nitrates,phosphates,potassium) & using a carbon source like Seachem Excel or C02 injection (best choice).

MatPat · 06-26-2008, 10:18 PM

If you don't want to use the floaters like Trenac suggested, you can cut your lights back to 8 hours until you get a few more plants in the tank. The Anubias and Java Ferns will probably do a bit better with a shorter photo period and the Swords and vals will should do fine with 8 hours. Shortening the photo period will probably help a bit in preventing other types of algae as well, assuming you fertilize like Trena suggested.

Since this was your first post, welcome to APC...you had a pretty busy day accumulating 31 posts in less than 12 hours

plantblr · 06-27-2008, 02:17 AM

Hi Trenac/Matt,
Thanks a ton for your inputs......
This is quite a old tank,say.....around 6 months old.The only change i did recently was upgrading the light from a meagre 20 watts to a whopping 130 watts......& planting those vals & swords.

MatPat · 06-27-2008, 06:00 AM

Well you found the cause of the Diatom algae! I have run into similar issues on tanks in the past when I have upgraded the lighting, though I have never done such a large change. Given your lighting change, you will definitely need to adjust your fertilizer level accordingly. It is now even more important to get some more plants in the tank.

plantblr · 06-30-2008, 03:11 AM

Thanks matt

,

I just got some 3 types of Crypts this weekend & planted them(around 10 of them each,so....10 x 3=30),some Baby tears & some Hydrilla too(it looks just awesome with that dark Green look,just love it

)......Now will have to wait & check if the Diatoms reduce........

MatPat · 06-30-2008, 06:26 AM

The diatoms would have cleared either way but the additional plant mass should help with future algae problems assuming you add the fertilizers like trenac suggested.

Let us know how the tank progresses and be sure to share a pic or two.

plantblr · 07-04-2008, 05:25 AM

Hi all,

Here are a few pics,just with Anubias & Ferns,before I planted the tank with more plants.You can view the pics on the link below.Will soon post the pics after I have planted the tank.
http://www.flickr.com/photos/28318201@N08/?saved=1

Thanks
Ravi

plantblr · 07-21-2008, 05:55 AM

Hi all,

Can you pls recommend some fish which eats up any algae(irrespective of the type)?

Thanks in advance,
Ravi

davemonkey · 07-21-2008, 09:48 AM

-Mollies will eat most algae if you keep them hungry for it.
-Otocinclus will eat diatom algae and some others, but not hair algae.
-Siamese Algae Eaters will eat most, especially the BBA/Hair algae until they get older (past 3.5 inches) or spoiled on fish food
-Chinese Algae Eaters would just as soon eat your fish before they eat any algae