[OakRaid]

Hi All .. I have a planted tank that has been running for about a month.
first a description and a little history ...
50 gl, 12" wide, 18" high, 48" length, Magnum canister filter, Coralife 2 x 65 watt power compact 6700K, with a 4 ft 40 watt running a growlux bulb. Substrate is Flourite.
Now the history .. tank was doing fine, until the fish I had just added got ick, Was told that Aquarisol would not hurt my plants...Wrong. Plants started to turn brown, and look like the edges of the leafs are burnt.
So anyway... After finally catching and removing the fish, I have done three 50% water changes. Now the last few days I am getting this brown hairy looking algae all over the tank. I am thinking it is some kind of diatom, caused by the injured plants not using up the nutrients as before the ick meds. Do you guys think this is right? And any recommendations on how to get this stuff out of my tank??
Also read that low light can cause a diatom outbreak, Do you think my lighting is inadequate? Thank you, appreciate the help!

 

[MiamiAG]

Hi,

I think your lighting should be fine.

It appears that the ick treatment hurt your plants and, hence, their nutrient uptake was reduced. The dying plants increased your NH4 in the tank and algae took advantage of the favorable environment and began to grow.

First, be patient. You will win the algae war.

Second, reset your tank. What fertilizer regimen are you following? Provide the tank with the needed nutrients and then continue 50% water changes once a week.

Once your plants recover, the algae will begin to go away. Suck up as much as you can manually during the water changes.

If they are diatoms, they will go away rather quickly. If they are some other form of algae, it will take a little longer.

Good luck!! Let us know how it goes.