Regular Member blubblubblub Posted August 8, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 Last week I randomly had an algae bloom; brown algae on a decoration and on a live plant. Wasn't sure if it was good or bad so I scrubbed off as much as I could off the decoration but left it on the plant. Here's a pic: Do I need to clean it? I didnt do anything different..no extra lights..why the bloom and why is it brown? Are they eating the plant there or is that general disintegration? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member ashlee18 Posted August 8, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 How old is the tank? Brown algae doesn't eat the plant so just rub it off as you please. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blubblubblub Posted August 8, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 LOL I meant are the fish eating it..hehe. Ok good its not bad, but still puzzles me. Tank is hmm 3 months old? I'd have to scrub clear algae once a week off the glass, not brown.. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member MummyDJ Posted August 8, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 All algae is good algae. Moat people simply don't like it for aesthetic reasons but our little piggies love to nibble the stuff as part of their diet. Chances are you're getting a bloom of algae due to your tank being so young. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member cmclien Posted August 8, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 Brown algae aka diatoms appears in new tanks and stays for around a year I think. Thats what I've been told anyways and I can't wait for it to disappear as my tank is 10 months old. Like others have said there is nothing wrong with having it in your tank and some goldfish like to eat it. I prefer for aesthetic reasons to scrub it off every week as I'd rather see my plants be green! Its my constant battle with diatoms that I am hoping to win some day Just make sure you are not over feeding and/or leaving uneaten food in the tank as high nitrates will usually lead to more diatoms. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member tithra Posted August 8, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 8, 2013 If the layer of brown algae gets too thick on your plant leaves it can subsequently block light which could lead to dying leaves, so it's a good idea to clean off what you can from larger leaves once in awhile. Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blubblubblub Posted August 9, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Ahh ok thanks, learned a lot 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Brown algae aka diatoms appears in new tanks and stays for around a year I think. Thats what I've been told anyways and I can't wait for it to disappear as my tank is 10 months old. Like others have said there is nothing wrong with having it in your tank and some goldfish like to eat it. I prefer for aesthetic reasons to scrub it off every week as I'd rather see my plants be green! Its my constant battle with diatoms that I am hoping to win some day Just make sure you are not over feeding and/or leaving uneaten food in the tank as high nitrates will usually lead to more diatoms. My 55 gallon is free of brown algae, but the 100, which is around 2 years old, still has brown algae. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member 4prettyfish Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 What Cindi said is what I learned here also while being on Koko's. Now you are saying it could be longer Alex. NOOOOOO! I'm never going to get rid of that cr*p because I lost my bb and had to start all over again a few months back. UGH Whenever I see that on my tank glass I get rid of it while doing a wc. My stones....I'm kind of leaving it for my fish. My plants I need to take out and give them a good scrub. I hate this part of fishkeeping. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Cheryl, the good news is that the disappearance of the brown algae should not depend on how old your cycle is. It depends on things like the availability of silicates in the tank. New tanks have lots, and that's why you see a lot of brown in new tanks. I actually don't remember about the 1 year mark being around when you should see disappearance. That's probably true, although there are always exceptions, like my poor tank. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member 4prettyfish Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Alex: I don't know who made the remark, that it takes about a year to finally see that gone. but I do remember someone or some (plural) did say that on a thread(s). Thanks for explaining it better/more. I just wish it went bye bye forever. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 I have noticed that ever since I added the (not so) hidden LEDs to the tanks, there is quite a bit more green, and not much brown. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member 4prettyfish Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 I feel like I'm following you Alex. ha ha I'm using led's in both my tanks and haven't seen a difference unfortunately. (hhmmm) 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member waterfaller1 Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Brown algae should give way to green algae. TDS has a strong effect on this. There is no set "time" as far as I am aware of. In our sw reef it switched within a few months...it just depends as I said. Otocinclus catfish eat diatoms. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Otocinclus catfish eat diatoms. So do Nerites and bristlenoses. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blubblubblub Posted August 9, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Brown algae should give way to green algae. TDS has a strong effect on this. There is no set "time" as far as I am aware of. In our sw reef it switched within a few months...it just depends as I said. Otocinclus catfish eat diatoms. TDS? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member waterfaller1 Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Sorry..TDS= total dissolved solids{your water} 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member cmclien Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 I have noticed that ever since I added the (not so) hidden LEDs to the tanks, there is quite a bit more green, and not much brown. I still need to order this! or go to petsmart and get it. Maybe it would finally push me all the way over to the green side.... Brown algae should give way to green algae. TDS has a strong effect on this. There is no set "time" as far as I am aware of. In our sw reef it switched within a few months...it just depends as I said. Otocinclus catfish eat diatoms. I'm assuming you mean as TDS goes up so do diatoms? Or is it the opposite effect. In this house our TDS is around 450 but in our last house it was off the charts high around 1000 approximately. Some TDS of course is good because generally all those minerals makes harder water. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member addymeg1 Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Cindi, i just got it and its great! I got a 21 inch one and put it in the middle of the back of my tank. I had no idea it could go under water too! It makes the tank sooo much brighter. But i havent experimented with it with plants yet. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member cmclien Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 Cindi, i just got it and its great! I got a 21 inch one and put it in the middle of the back of my tank. I had no idea it could go under water too! It makes the tank sooo much brighter. But i havent experimented with it with plants yet. Did you get it at petsmart? Maybe I will get one today or this weekend. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member addymeg1 Posted August 9, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 9, 2013 (edited) Yes. They didnt have two 17 or 18 inchers so i got one 21 and it looks great! Edited August 9, 2013 by addymeg1 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member dnalex Posted August 10, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 10, 2013 I think the sale goes until the 18th or thereabouts. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member blubblubblub Posted August 11, 2013 Author Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2013 So you can measure TDS? Still not 100% sure what that is..man I don't even know what I don't know, theres so much stuff to learn. Another thing is I'm not getting any clear algae anymore (the type that would start showing on the glass) so is there a reason for that? Does that clear stuff turn brown then green? Or whatever? 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member Daniel Posted August 11, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2013 What you're describing sounds like biofilm. The biofilm will not turn into brown or green algae. http://www.kokosgoldfish.invisionzone.com/forum/index.php?/topic/103683-biofilm/ 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Regular Member waterfaller1 Posted August 11, 2013 Regular Member Share Posted August 11, 2013 Yes, you can measure TDS with a TDS meter. 0 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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