# Brown Algae?...



## Red Sox Fanatic (Jun 13, 2011)

I am having alot of trouble with brown algae,whats its cause and how do i get rid of it??


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## Nzac (Oct 13, 2010)

sounds like diatoms.... scrub it off, it usually comes off very, very easily.


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## Guest (Aug 4, 2011)

Diatoms usually appear in new setups and disappear once a tank is mature and established. I got them something horrible on my 75G bowfront, it took quite sometime for them to disappear. Likw Nzac said, all you can do is wipe them off, eventually they should disappear.


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## Mr. Hannibal (Feb 21, 2003)

Yeap, all you need is an algae scrubber, weekly partial water changes and patience...


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## Red Sox Fanatic (Jun 13, 2011)

My set up per say is not new,but i did add new filters could this be the culprit???


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## ibcd (Jan 8, 2011)

Could be. Did you leave a old one on for awhile to establish bio in new filters?


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## Red Sox Fanatic (Jun 13, 2011)

No,but it seems to be under control.did a wicked scrub down in my tank and it looks good now i will stay on top of it.


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## ScarsandCars (Jul 17, 2011)

Thats exactly what happened to me. I replaced my HOB to a canister and got the brown gunk all over. I scubbed it of for about two weeks and now its pretty much gone.


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

I have a post on a brown algae blossom I had in one of my tanks. It was the one running the longest of all my tanks an has the best water params. I clean it off, do water changes, cut back on light in the tank.. doesn't matter.. still there an has covered everything in my tank now, powerhead, decor, substrait on the bottom, all the glass, even the heater is covered in it. I can wipe it off everything an the water fogs up, the filter soon clears the water but by time I'm home from work the next day its back lol. I did nothing to this tank, no filter change, no changes what so ever.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

MFNRyan said:


> I have a post on a brown algae blossom I had in one of my tanks. It was the one running the longest of all my tanks an has the best water params. I clean it off, do water changes, cut back on light in the tank.. doesn't matter.. still there an has covered everything in my tank now, powerhead, decor, substrait on the bottom, all the glass, even the heater is covered in it. I can wipe it off everything an the water fogs up, the filter soon clears the water but by time I'm home from work the next day its back lol. I did nothing to this tank, no filter change, no changes what so ever.


Based on that, I'd say that you probably have excess silicates in your source water


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

humm.. What do you do to get rid of that an why don't any of my other 6 tanks have it an this one just now getting the brown? This is why the water stuff is so confusing to me Joe lol. I can't make sense of it most the time.


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## JoeDizzleMPLS (Nov 5, 2007)

Diatoms can be a real pain, can be caused by silicates in your source water, from your substrate, and a number of other things. I usually buy otocinclus to take care of it when I've had outbreaks -- nerite snails would be another option.


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## MFNRyan (Mar 27, 2011)

Cool thanks. I bet it's my substrait. That is the only different factor then my other tanks. I'm using cichlid stone in that tank to help keep the pH up. Maybe that is causing it Thanks for the help Joe.


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