And the brown Algae Aproaches???

[Samuel Warren]

I got a 50 Gallon Tank, 5 Amazon Swords planted throughout, and chemical
levels of 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and about 10 Nitrates. I swap out 5 gallon
water changes once a week. My whole setup is about 10 weeks old. After I
got the first batch of plants I bought some of the plant fertilizer safe for
the fish at my local LFS, and put that in there at about week two. Around
week six, I put the last 2 Amazon Swords in and another recommended dosage.
Now in the last week I am starting to see brown Algae on the sides of the
glass. Should I stop using the plant fertilizer?, did it cause my problems?

Also what can I do to get rid of the algae? I would prefer to go natural
first. The Pleco however does not seem to be able to do it all? I saw one
algae killing product at my LFS but it was not recommended for planted
tanks.



2 Glass Catfish
1 Glass Fish
1 Rainbow Shark
1 Flame Dwarf Gourami
1 Golden Gourami
2 Clown Loaches
2 Dalmation Mollies
2 Silver Angelfish
2 Red Velvet Swordtails
6 Long-finned Zebra Danios
1 Plecostomus catfish

--

This message was written on 100% recycled spam.

SAM >>

[Dinky]

"Samuel Warren" > wrote in message
...

>
> Also what can I do to get rid of the algae? I would prefer to go natural
> first. The Pleco however does not seem to be able to do it all? I saw
one
> algae killing product at my LFS but it was not recommended for planted
> tanks.
>


If it is truly brown algae, it is a diatom, and generally caused by light
conditions being too low for your tank setup. With swords, I'd have at least
2 watts per gallon. WHat's your lighting like?
Also, look into getting some Otocinclus, or perhaps Siamese Algae
Eaters, if you can find the real ones.


--

billy
--
Need tech help?
news://news.winextra.com

[Samuel Warren]

Well it's a corner wedge shaped tank, it's taller than long. It came with a
hood with two areas to add the strip lights. The strip light that came with
it uses a generic all light spectrum bulb. I bought a second light strip
hood and installed a bulb that is more bluer to enhance the color of the
fish. The lights are usually on a timer from 11:00 am to 10:00 p.m., or
when the Clown Loaches start falling asleep. But usually the only blue
light is on or in the evening; and both lights are only on when I wish to
display the tank to family. If you think my light conditions are too low do
you think I should keep both units on in relation to the timer? Unless I
redesign the hood the two strips are all it will take. By the way both
bulbs are 15-watts for a total of 30.

--

This message was written on 100% recycled spam.

SAM >>
"Dinky" > wrote in message
link.net...
>
>
> "Samuel Warren" > wrote in message
> ...
>
> >
> > Also what can I do to get rid of the algae? I would prefer to go
natural
> > first. The Pleco however does not seem to be able to do it all? I saw
> one
> > algae killing product at my LFS but it was not recommended for planted
> > tanks.
> >
>
>
> If it is truly brown algae, it is a diatom, and generally caused by light
> conditions being too low for your tank setup. With swords, I'd have at
least
> 2 watts per gallon. WHat's your lighting like?
> Also, look into getting some Otocinclus, or perhaps Siamese Algae
> Eaters, if you can find the real ones.
>
>
> --
>
> billy
> --
> Need tech help?
> news://news.winextra.com
>
>

[Rick]

I also am having a problem with brown algae (Diatoms). I have a 20gallon
with very bright flourescent lights. I keep the lights on as long as can
comfortably be done but it makes no difference.

Can't seem to find anywhere in CT that sells anything other than Plecos and
the one I have is disinterested in the brown stuff. I'm to the point of
either buying snails or just using chemicals. It's really driving me crazy.
My new white pebbles are turning yucky and so are my decorations. I'm sick
of putting a toothbrush to them.

Any other ideas?
"Samuel Warren" > wrote in message
...
> I got a 50 Gallon Tank, 5 Amazon Swords planted throughout, and chemical
> levels of 0 Ammonia, 0 Nitrites, and about 10 Nitrates. I swap out 5
gallon
> water changes once a week. My whole setup is about 10 weeks old. After I
> got the first batch of plants I bought some of the plant fertilizer safe
for
> the fish at my local LFS, and put that in there at about week two.
Around
> week six, I put the last 2 Amazon Swords in and another recommended
dosage.
> Now in the last week I am starting to see brown Algae on the sides of the
> glass. Should I stop using the plant fertilizer?, did it cause my
problems?
>
> Also what can I do to get rid of the algae? I would prefer to go natural
> first. The Pleco however does not seem to be able to do it all? I saw
one
> algae killing product at my LFS but it was not recommended for planted
> tanks.
>
>
>
> 2 Glass Catfish
> 1 Glass Fish
> 1 Rainbow Shark
> 1 Flame Dwarf Gourami
> 1 Golden Gourami
> 2 Clown Loaches
> 2 Dalmation Mollies
> 2 Silver Angelfish
> 2 Red Velvet Swordtails
> 6 Long-finned Zebra Danios
> 1 Plecostomus catfish
>
> --
>
> This message was written on 100% recycled spam.
>
> SAM >>
>
>

[lonerider]

"Rick" > wrote in message
...
> I also am having a problem with brown algae (Diatoms). I have a 20gallon
> with very bright flourescent lights. I keep the lights on as long as can
> comfortably be done but it makes no difference.
>
> Can't seem to find anywhere in CT that sells anything other than Plecos
and
> the one I have is disinterested in the brown stuff. I'm to the point of
> either buying snails or just using chemicals. It's really driving me
crazy.
> My new white pebbles are turning yucky and so are my decorations. I'm
sick
> of putting a toothbrush to them.
>
> Any other ideas?

No petsmarts around ? I too started getting the brown stuff and bought up
the last 10 ottos at a petsmart about a 35 minute drive from here. They do
well and have a fat belly all the time. My LFS doesn't stock them either but
i convinced him to order some next time around. I have 2 in my 10gal,3 in my
29gal and 5 in my 55 and there is still more green algae left for more. My
29 gal. started with the brown stuff after about 8 weeks, a few days after
the ottos it was gone. I don't know if they ate it but it is now gone and
haven't seen any since their arrival. I like the busy little guys and plan
on more.

Larry

[Dinky]

"Rick" > wrote in message
...
> I also am having a problem with brown algae (Diatoms). I have a 20gallon
> with very bright flourescent lights. I keep the lights on as long as can
> comfortably be done but it makes no difference.
>
> Can't seem to find anywhere in CT that sells anything other than Plecos
and
> the one I have is disinterested in the brown stuff. I'm to the point of
>

www.fishsupply.com

The customer service is a bit on the weak side, but it is made up for by the
PHENOMENAL prices, good shipping, and good selection. I rarely buy livestock
from an LFS anymore. They rock.

billy

[Kevin]

Samuel,

I'm no expert on the matter but I've done a decent amount of reading
and I have a decent looking planted tank. My opinion is that your
tank needs more light. For a 50 gallon tank that is unusually tall
you will do best with at least 100 watts of light. Many amazon swords
require fairly strong lighting. I would look into power compact
lighting. Shop around on the internet and LFS and you can fing
markdowns or used products. Also a squad of 8-10 O-cats (Otocinclus
affinis) would help with the "brown" algae. Also, if you add more
light you may have issues with other types of algae. The best way to
combat algae is to have lots of healthy plant growth. The more plants
that you have competeing for light and nutrients the less algae you
should get. Good luck.

-Kevin

check out my tank
http://home.houston.rr.com/spacecadets/aquatime.htm


"Samuel Warren" > wrote in message >...
> Well it's a corner wedge shaped tank, it's taller than long. It came with a
> hood with two areas to add the strip lights. The strip light that came with
> it uses a generic all light spectrum bulb. I bought a second light strip
> hood and installed a bulb that is more bluer to enhance the color of the
> fish. The lights are usually on a timer from 11:00 am to 10:00 p.m., or
> when the Clown Loaches start falling asleep. But usually the only blue
> light is on or in the evening; and both lights are only on when I wish to
> display the tank to family. If you think my light conditions are too low do
> you think I should keep both units on in relation to the timer? Unless I
> redesign the hood the two strips are all it will take. By the way both
> bulbs are 15-watts for a total of 30.
>
> --
>
> This message was written on 100% recycled spam.
>
> SAM >>
> "Dinky" > wrote in message
> link.net...
> >
> >
> > "Samuel Warren" > wrote in message
> > ...
> >
> > >
> > > Also what can I do to get rid of the algae? I would prefer to go
> natural
> > > first. The Pleco however does not seem to be able to do it all? I saw
> one
> > > algae killing product at my LFS but it was not recommended for planted
> > > tanks.
> > >
> >
> >
> > If it is truly brown algae, it is a diatom, and generally caused by light
> > conditions being too low for your tank setup. With swords, I'd have at
> least
> > 2 watts per gallon. WHat's your lighting like?
> > Also, look into getting some Otocinclus, or perhaps Siamese Algae
> > Eaters, if you can find the real ones.
> >
> >
> > --
> >
> > billy
> > --
> > Need tech help?
> > news://news.winextra.com
> >
> >