Really hate this brown algae

[swinters66]

I did what some here suggested...keep doing what I am doing regarding the water changes, etc and I took the silk plants out and cleaned them in a mild bleach/water solution. But it is still coming back and all these plants I cleaned 2 weeks ago, need to be taken out again.

It's also starting to appear on the glass, which is really making me mad. I have to mag float every other day and the discus really dont like that thing zooming over the glass.

I was told in another thread, I cant remember who though (sorry)....that this type of algae will go away in time...its just a rusty brownish colored algae. It doesnt seem to be affecting the fish in the tank, it just looks awful and I dont want to show off my nice tank with this crud everywhere.

Other than keep taking everything out and cleaning it....is there anything else I can do to fix this? Ive had this tank set up since Sept....and it was pristine until maybe a month ago. I dont get the cycle of this algae, if it has one. and I basically just want it gone. I'm obsessing bad on it and i want to pull my hair out when I come in here and see these beautiful fish in a tank that looks like its not being taken care of.

Anything else I can do to get it gone sooner than just waiting it out??

[Timbo]

hi stephanie!

sounds like diatoms. they are mostly unharmful, but unsightly as you noted. is there gravel in this tank?

[Kindredspirit]

Okay Tim ~ what are Diatoms? Stephanie...I have the same problem with my 10gal Goby tank...

....talk about brown algae!! OMG! I often wonder why it is brown and not green ~ I have always chalked it up to the fact I need to do a wc and some good housekeeping...you were told it wld ultimately go away? Interesting cuz the Goby tank was never so gross and ugh! ....on the glass and sand...I kept meaning to get to it and yesterday I swear I came into my office and the tank looked like it had been cleaned! I thought of my daughter but instantly blew that off ~

All of Tim's "Diatoms"....just went away!:confused: That has never happened before! I still cleaned the tank last night tho;)


I hope you figure this out!!


Marie ~ http://smileys.smileycentral.com/cat/29/29_5_2.gif

[swinters66]

Yes Timbo i have gravel in this tank. When we put it up in Sept, and moved the discus...the tank was crystal clear....perfect! No other tank in the house has this stuff. And they are all gravel also. Temp in the tank right now is 83.1 (just did a small water change) Usually it stays around 85.

So, there's gravel, silk plants and some rocks, which are brown now :mad: and a centerpiece of wood. When I do water changes I vaccuum the gravel.

And I'm with Marie..what are diatoms?

[poconogal]

Stephanie, my Albino BN plecos love the stuff, at least mine and my friends do! They had my tank cleaned up and sparkling within 2 weeks, plants, glass, tubing, etc. That brown diatom algae is horrid. I've been told that it can take up to a YEAR for it to stop. And no matter how many times you remove things to clean it off, within a week or two its covering it all again. Also, it is the first "algae" that can appear in a new or somewhat new setup and usually once you start to get green algae, the brown stops appearing.

Oh, and it has appeared in my tanks that have gravel, and also in my BB tanks as well.

I've also been told that a UV sterlizer will stop it. I have one but it doesn't seem to be working properly. Others that I know have a Coralife Turbo Twist UV and it stopped all algae from appearing, so I'm trying that next. Then I can just feed my BNs algae wafers, they won't mind!

Connie

[wolfbane]

The only tankl I have with the brown crud is the shrimp tank with NO ancistrus in it. The bristle noses keep the other tanks spotless might want to try them.

[poconogal]

The only tankl I have with the brown crud is the shrimp tank with NO ancistrus in it. The bristle noses keep the other tanks spotless might want to try them.
Debbie, do you find that your BNs actually much prefer the brown? Mine do. Now I'm getting green spot algae and they really don't touch it too much. Just the brown, mostly.

[wolfbane]

Yes, they definitely prefer the brown stuff, I think the green spot algae is too hard for them to eat.

[mikesmac]

Hello All,

I posted this a while back but just as a refresher, if you don't want algae, use magnets. Yes I said magnets. You said you have a Magfloat scraper? When you aren't using it put it on the return line of your canister filter if you use one ( one side of the magnet on either side with the water flowing between). These magnets usually aren't that strong but I found that it will significantly reduce the amount of algae growth. After seeing the results with those I got some high powered neomydium magnets and the tanks I use these on have no algae at all. The stronger the magnet, them more effective this is. I rigged fixtures to hold them on either side of return lines to the tanks. IMPORTANT: You have to be real careful with them though because they are so strong that if they come together with you finger between them they will break your finger without a problem. And you don't want to get them near your credit cards.(or maybe around Christmas you do:) ) I had a couple that I inadvertantly let get too close together and when they slammed into each other they shattered into a bunch of pieces.

There are actually commercially available (canister type ) magnetic units made for aquarium use that you can just insert inline, which is where I got the idea in the first place, but I'm not sure of the strength of the magnets in those and they were pricey as compared to just rigging them myself. A web search will let you read up on the "technology" behind it. I haven't noticed any ill effects to my Discus and I've been using them on my tanks for quite a while. This is also the same concept as the electronic water softener (goes over your water line...electrically created magnetic field softens your water- but these unit can be reeeealy expensive as compared to just using the strong magnets) and if there were any ill effects I think they would have been pulled from the market by now. The inhibiting effect on algae was just a discovered side effect of the process.

Mike

[Timbo]

hi mikesmac

i would be very interested in the "science" of the claim that magnets can reduce algae. i think it is an urban myth.
if you would, please post your scientific reference that supports this claim, i would be very interested in how it is justified

interesting article:

http://skeptoid.com/episodes/4007

[poconogal]

Hello All,

I posted this a while back but just as a refresher, if you don't want algae, use magnets. Yes I said magnets. You said you have a Magfloat scraper? When you aren't using it put it on the return line of your canister filter if you use one ( one side of the magnet on either side with the water flowing between). These magnets usually aren't that strong but I found that it will significantly reduce the amount of algae growth. After seeing the results with those I got some high powered neomydium magnets and the tanks I use these on have no algae at all. The stronger the magnet, them more effective this is. I rigged fixtures to hold them on either side of return lines to the tanks. IMPORTANT: You have to be real careful with them though because they are so strong that if they come together with you finger between them they will break your finger without a problem. And you don't want to get them near your credit cards.(or maybe around Christmas you do:) ) I had a couple that I inadvertantly let get too close together and when they slammed into each other they shattered into a bunch of pieces.

There are actually commercially available (canister type ) magnetic units made for aquarium use that you can just insert inline, which is where I got the idea in the first place, but I'm not sure of the strength of the magnets in those and they were pricey as compared to just rigging them myself. A web search will let you read up on the "technology" behind it. I haven't noticed any ill effects to my Discus and I've been using them on my tanks for quite a while. This is also the same concept as the electronic water softener (goes over your water line...electrically created magnetic field softens your water- but these unit can be reeeealy expensive as compared to just using the strong magnets) and if there were any ill effects I think they would have been pulled from the market by now. The inhibiting effect on algae was just a discovered side effect of the process.

Mike
Mike, I remember the water softener product that created a magnetic field. They were introduced many years ago, actually, and supposedly do work. Like Timbo, I'd be very interested to see any articles on the use of magnets for algae control. Do you have any links? Thanks!

Connie

[mikesmac]

Mike, I remember the water softener product that created a magnetic field. They were introduced many years ago, actually, and supposedly do work. Like Timbo, I'd be very interested to see any articles on the use of magnets for algae control. Do you have any links? Thanks!

Connie

Hi Connie,

I checked into this a long time ago but ...quick web search and....

http://www.springerlink.com/content/u6q1433493107518/

http://www.scalewatcher.co.uk/

http://www.askthebuilder.com/310_Magnetic_Water_Softeners.shtml

(from that site):
"WQA Magnetics Task Force Report: In March of 2001 the Water Quality Association (http://www.wqa.org) published a two-year study called the "WQA Magnetics Task Force Report." The report detailed 34 of 106 scientific test results on magnetic water treatment that met the task force's scientific criteria. They concluded that many of these magnetic processes were valid and worked to soften water, but in order to spread the technology more research is required and the industry should be held to a certification standard concerning water treatment."

That's just real quick. On the web arguments can be found for either side.

If people want to scoff at the idea they are entitled to their opinion, the only thing that I know for sure is that it works for me, otherwise I wouldn't tell people about it...and I don't sell softening units or have any afilliation with anyone who sells magnets other than being someone who bought some. I guess I am just more open to possibilities than a lot of folks. When I am unsure of something I tend to try it out myself before deciding one way or the other and sometimes the benefits are well worth the effort.

Mike

[RandalB]

I'd be interested in seeing more information also. Nothing new from the WQA since 2001 on the subject and there are definately no units on the wholesalers lists that are electric or magnetic...

Keep us posted Mike,
RandalB

[swinters66]

Well I do use a canister filter, Eheim. The mag float I have is a small one, so I dont know how strong it is....at this point though I am willing to try anything to get this nasty brown crud out of my tank, even sticking magnets to my canister. Ugh Im so aggravated. Also...every lfs near me doesnt have BN plecos right now. Yeah, when you NEED one, no one has any! Typical of me :undecided: The guy at Petsmart didnt even know what one was!!

My water looks clean and clear...fish have nice colors...everything else in the tank looks like crap!!!

[mikesmac]

Hello Stephanie,

Glad to see you will at least try it to test for yourself if it works. My Magfloats are the 125 size so they are large but not the biggest ones. Where I used to have to scrape off the viewing panel of my tanks at least every other day to be able to see in, with the magfloat in place I can go for weeks before having the algae start to interfere with the view. The stronger magnets work even better.

If anyone is interested, I found the following on eBay.

http://cgi.ebay.com/3-Trentatron-Magnetic-Water-Conditioner-Softener-T1_W0QQitemZ190065471638QQihZ009QQcategoryZ3191QQs sPageNameZWDVWQQrdZ1QQcmdZViewItem

I haven't contacted the seller yet to see if he has any research documentation showing that this works but I'm going to. It isn't really that high of a price either for 3 of these considering the time and materials it took me to make up sturdy enough fixtures to hold the magnets that I bought in place. It takes quite a bit to keep them from squashing anything that gets between them, much less a vinyl tube.

Mike

[Dying for Discus]

I read a very long article a while back about algae and the article went into the crazy biological cycle of it.

The one thing that many people don't realize is the effect of your phosphorous levels on the growth of algae in the tank. The more phosphorous the more algae you tend to battle. I don't know the biology overall but in the end it says to get rid of the phosphorous in your tank to get rid of the majority of algae.

So I tried this out. I bought a buttload of those phosphate/phosphorous absortion filter bags, and magically enough, my algae vanished!!

Then I took it out a month ago. I noticed a week ago a steady buildup of brown algae beginning.

Now, whether or not the addition of the phospho-sorb was a cohort effect of something else- I don't know. I don't have a phosphorous test kit so I didn't scientifically track it.

But it might be worth a try!! :balloon:

[swinters66]

Well a friends husband says it sounds like its my water (tap) that is causing this...could that be true? This is the only tank with a heater. My hubbys tanks are cold water, SA and African cichlids. Could my tap water, which I treat before adding to the fish tank, being heated, cause this??

Should I get my water tested? What should I test for? What should I look for in the testing that would seem out of the ordinary?

[Dying for Discus]

Sorry that was PHOSPHATE I meant...not phosphorus. :)

[Dying for Discus]

Here's the link to the one I think I read...its all hypothetical but like I said, worth a shot:

http://www.cam.org/~tomlins/algae.html

One other thing- maybe buy a low range phosphate test kit and try it on your tap. If it has phosphate I'd go to r/o water.