cleaning brown algae from leaves
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m.milliner
- Posts: 48
- Joined: Wed Nov 26, 2003 4:54 am
- Location: Alexandria, VA
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Ghazanfar Ghori
- Site Admin
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- Joined: Sun Nov 23, 2003 5:26 am
- Location: United States
Good news and bad news about brown algae. First of all it is fairly easy to control or get rid of it. Brown algae is usually, but not exclusively, a diatom. Diatoms require silica in the water to reproduce and grow. They are an algae with a shell made from silicas. So the easiest way to control them or get rid of them is to remove the silica, which is found in most tap water, but can cost serious $$$. Controling the source of the water is one way to remove them. As of now, every time you do a water change, you are adding fresh silica into the system for the diatoms to use to grow. So as long as there is a source of silica, a source of fertilizer, and a light source you will have brown algae.
Almost all "true" brown algae are marine. There are very few freshwater species and they are relatively rare even in nature. Brown algae of either water type tend to grow in cold waters.
Although some people would say that there is no relation between diatom vs. light and would call this a myth, I have to disagree. As an example I will talk about my own experience.
When I first setup my 75G cichlid/sand tank I had only 1 double light setup. Fixture was left alone in the middle of the tank for about 2 weeks. The outcome was brown line, about ~ 5" wide, from the left to right of my tank. Sand and rocks were coverd in brown algae right below the light fixture. It looked like someone just placed a brown 5" wide paper in my tank. I moved the light fixture all the way up front and same thing happened up front.
There is a strong relation between Excessive amount of light vs. brown algae in my opinion.
Also diatoms, like all algae plagues, are invariably caused and sustained by excess nutrients in the water column. Silica is the most important of these in the case of diatoms.
The three best solutions for diatom control are Otocinclus catfish, Bristlenose or simply waiting them out. A half-dozen healthy otos will clear a medium-sized tank (~55 gallon) in a few days and keep it clean
after.
Second approach would be introduction of Bristlenose Plecos which are work horses when it comes to brown algae. They stay small and work hard.
Waiting the diatoms out means scraping them from tank surfaces and letting the filter and water changes remove them from the water column which removes both the diatoms and consequently silica (and other consumed nutrients) from the tank water. Eventually, the plague will peak and then fade away rather quickly.
For the impatient, there are silica removal resins that will take the silica out of water, but they can be a pain and are not cost effective. Or you could use a reverse osmosis filter to remove practically all minerals from tap water, but RO can cause as many problems as it cures in some cases and it is certainly expensive both in time and money.
Almost all "true" brown algae are marine. There are very few freshwater species and they are relatively rare even in nature. Brown algae of either water type tend to grow in cold waters.
Although some people would say that there is no relation between diatom vs. light and would call this a myth, I have to disagree. As an example I will talk about my own experience.
When I first setup my 75G cichlid/sand tank I had only 1 double light setup. Fixture was left alone in the middle of the tank for about 2 weeks. The outcome was brown line, about ~ 5" wide, from the left to right of my tank. Sand and rocks were coverd in brown algae right below the light fixture. It looked like someone just placed a brown 5" wide paper in my tank. I moved the light fixture all the way up front and same thing happened up front.
There is a strong relation between Excessive amount of light vs. brown algae in my opinion.
Also diatoms, like all algae plagues, are invariably caused and sustained by excess nutrients in the water column. Silica is the most important of these in the case of diatoms.
The three best solutions for diatom control are Otocinclus catfish, Bristlenose or simply waiting them out. A half-dozen healthy otos will clear a medium-sized tank (~55 gallon) in a few days and keep it clean
after.
Second approach would be introduction of Bristlenose Plecos which are work horses when it comes to brown algae. They stay small and work hard.
Waiting the diatoms out means scraping them from tank surfaces and letting the filter and water changes remove them from the water column which removes both the diatoms and consequently silica (and other consumed nutrients) from the tank water. Eventually, the plague will peak and then fade away rather quickly.
For the impatient, there are silica removal resins that will take the silica out of water, but they can be a pain and are not cost effective. Or you could use a reverse osmosis filter to remove practically all minerals from tap water, but RO can cause as many problems as it cures in some cases and it is certainly expensive both in time and money.
