mini cycles/brown algae

Hi, I have an issue with my 55 gallon regarding brown algae. I know it is not unusual, but I cannot seem to get rid of it. Also, I have reason to believe that despite the tank being set up for several months, it has not yet settled. I think it was because of a lack of material for bacteria to grow on plus I am always wiping everything down due to the algae. I bought a 25 pound bag of gravel yesterday hoping I could establish a bigger colony of bacteria. Do you think this may help solve my problems. I have not lost any of the fish that live in the tank, but I fear the unstable conditions may be harder on their fins. I do regular water changes which I think helps the fish, but hurts the biological load. I am thinking with the new gravel things will improve. Any thoughts out there would be appreciated.

It's pretty easy to wipe off brown algae..as it is like a fine powder..just basically brushes away....but still a pain to see all over the tank.
Like you said..it is mainly due to the tank being newly set up. Not sure adding extra new gravel will change things...unless this is gravel that has been in another tank & has all the good "cooties" in it??
Brown algae is caused mostly due to an abundance of nutrients. ( Too much nitrates)..sooo keep up the w/c's.
Also..How much LIGHT do you have on this tank? Maybe increase the time you leave the light on?...as that will inhibit the re-growth of it. Just keep vacumming and trying to keep the tank maintained well.
I would also add maybe another air-stone for oxgen. More oxygen..less chance this has to continue.
Once you get enough beneficial bacteria going..the brown algae should disappear on it's own.
Plecos are good cleaner-uppers...but is this your Angel tank you are talking about? If so..yeah.. NO...plecos & angels..not a good combo.

Hmmm, increase the light and oxygen? I can do that. Of course the light is usually on from 6am to 10 pm. Maybe it is too much. As for adding an airstone, that is no problem at all. Thanks for the tips.

Megham...It also may be your tap water.
Being in Arizona..are you real dry out there? Duh??...stupid question...
I mean...you haven't had much rain this summer have you? I just wonder if maybe you have too much silic acid in the water? Sometimes you can buy stuff to place in your HOB filter to combat that as well. Ask at your LFS..and they should be able to help you.
I personally wouldn't use any algae control product....so don't let them try & sell ya that stuff.
With your good w/c routine..it really should clear up for you...just may take some time...bigger tank..longer process.
don't sweat it sweetie !!
oh..and yeah.. & around 12 hrs. of good light is usually sufficient.
..so sounds good.

Hi Megan.

Brown algae or diatoms are usually seen in new set-ups, but can occur in established tanks as well. The best conditions for this to grow are low light, low nitrogen and high phosphate. Overfeeding can be a huge source of phosphates, but in some instances phosphates can come in directly from the tap. This is a problem I've had on occassion, and testing the tap water at the source confirmed this for me.

The length of time your light is on won't have as much effect as the lighting level. A higher output bulb may help you, as could some live plants. Otherwise it is pretty harmless and just an eyesore that should settle out once your tank is more established, however that's also when the green algae will begin . You could always add a couple otos, they'll be fine with the juvies.

As for your biofilter, the surfaces within the tank are the favorable place for the bacteria to colonize, so adding the gravel will help a lot. For barebottomed tanks adding porous decor items is beneficial.

Interesting, how do I test for phosphates? I suspect it may be in the tap water.

I have the Nutrafin Master Test Kit by Hagen for freshwater. It has the test for phosphate in it, but you should be able to buy it separately somewhere.
http://www.hagen.com/usa/aquatic/product.cfm?CAT=1& SUBCAT=124&PROD_ID=01078400020101

I was surprised to find phosphates coming out of my tap, but whenever I get a flare up of diatoms, I know it's there.

It could be increased silicates in the tap water too, as Diane said.

A test kit will rule that out anyway.

If you find the tap water is fine but your tank water is high in phosphates, it could just be that you might have success cutting back on the food a bit.

I've heard that there are some animals that you can get that will eat the brown algae.

I'll try to ask at the LFS and see if they know. I read it somewhere...

It was Shrimp or Mollys or something... I'll find out...

Thanks, I do know that ottos love it. I have also heard some shrimp are good as well. I do think the shrimp are awful cute(amano). I would like to get some, but I know my angels would be having shrimp scampi for lunch. They already look at my ottos as food so I keep them in my heavily planted tank. Two seem to have gone missing. Hmmm, I wonder what happened...

Lunch! I agree that is the worst thing about keeping otos...they are just the right size for a quick meal. They are awesome at cleaning up soft algaes though.

Lol on the shrimp scampi comment Megan.

I've got a bunch of cherry shrimp... breeding like crazy!

Of course I can't put them in the Angel tanks... I'm waiting till I get a full tank then I'm going to put some in the rainbow fry tanks... YAY!!!

I got them for the baby to watch... She's impatient with how long it takes the angels to look like angels... LOL!

Angela..I thought you were gonna say you were waiting for the cherry shrimp to fill up your tank then you were gonna have " Shrimp Scampi" ..just kiddin'

Can I say that "shrimp" is one of my favorite foods???
Yummmmy ::

Oh yes, I absolutely love shrimp too. I will take it fried, sauteed, anything except live or raw. I think bamboo shrimp would be large enough for my angel tank, but I feel they just aren't very cute. As a matter of fact, I think they are quite ugly for a shrimp. Hmmm, I think I just got us off topic. I've gotta see about selling some juvies this morning so I am a bit distracted.

LOL!

No... I wasn't going to say shrimp scampi... LOL!! Although I do LOVE to eat shrimp... Not Cherry Shrimp... but regular shrimp... LOL!

Have any of you have eaten at Kobe's before? We now have a Little Kobe's in Cookeville! It's a Japanese Steakhouse where they cook on a Hibatchi grill in front of you.

I also have several Juvies that need to go! My tanks are getting full...

No, I haven't tried Kobe's. It sounds good. We have a Mongolian grill near here that does a similar thing.
I sold ten of my juvies today. Some were a little small(around nickel) so I only got fifty cents for them(even the ones that were larger than quarter size). The new guy they have working there was somewhat rude to me, but they are the only place buying my fish around here so I will not complain to much about them. It is a labor of love anyway and I don't do it for the money. I sure hope they take good care of the little guys there. I am a little worried about them.

Hey how come every topic on here turns into eating good food? Take it easy on me, remember I am on a diet!!

Megan: Where in the heck in the Phoenix area did you manage to get cash for juvenile angelfish? By the way, the first, smaller batch of golds are about dime size now. If I can ever get a good picture, I'll post it.

I take them to Phoenix tropical fish inc. They gave me store credit. I have to laugh now. I told the guy they were around quarter body size. When he mentioned they were smaller than he expected I asked him to show me what he wanted. He took me back and showed me some lovely SILVER DOLLAR sized blacks. I told him they were bigger than quarter and he kind of gave me a look and a grumble. I just said "ok, I can make em bigger, whatever you guys need."Oh well. I admit some of mine were only about nickel, but still....most weren't.

I am looking forward to those golds. It sounds like they are coming along nicely. I can't wait to see photos. Even if they are a bit fuzzy.

You can't tell much about this picture, but I'll post another one.

OK. Here's another try. The golds are in a grow out tank with a bunch more juvies. I'm not sure you can even see them in here, but there is a nice big glare. If I keep fiddling with digital cameras, I likely will never be any good.

John, they look fantastic! I love the ventral fins on that one. I can't wait to get mine. I mean fish, not ventral fins.

In that last picture, you can see a baby gold on the far right. I guess you could use ventral and dorsal fins if you wanted to dress up as an angel. Years ago, Barbara and I went on a Halloween motorcycle ride, and some us us dressed in costumes. We had all sorts of characters, but this one lady showed up wearing a garbage bag with random debris attached to the outside. When I asked her what that meant, she said she was disguised as biker trash. I dressed up as an old man in a Harley jacket, which is how I always went riding at that time of year. ::