# please help can't get rid of brown algae and now green spot algae



## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

Hello Sam D, welcome to the forum. 

Can you please let us know some more details.

What plants do you have ? What substrate ? What light? Do you add any fertilizer ?

Could you tell us what you did about 1 or 2 weeks before you noticed the algae ? Any uprooting, added fish?


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## Sam D (Nov 8, 2015)

I have gravel and use root taps at the moment. Regular hood light waiting on my new light to come in. 
As far as plants I have alot. I have some crypts, wisteria, rotalia indica, s.repens, regular baby tears, Amazon swords, and a couple more I can't remember the names off hand.
I use root tabs, co2 booster, leaf zone, flourish and flourish iron.
I do weekly water changes. All I've done in the last two weeks is the water changes and trimming the plants.


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## jmsaltfish797 (Oct 27, 2012)

How much water are you changing at a time and where is it coming from?


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## Sam D (Nov 8, 2015)

I change about 10 to 20% once a week and I use tap water that comes from a well. I use stress coat+ to treat the water


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

The brown stuff are diatoms, mainly found in new aquariums. Usually as time goes by the diatoms die back and other green algae take their place. I had some diatoms in aquariums with gravel that altered the quality of the water. The silicates in the water are somewhat linked to the number of diatoms growing. Maybe these silicates come from your gravel or from your well water. Try not doing any water changes for a time, or use another water source to see if the diatoms reduce.

The green spot algae or green dot algae GDA are also commonly found in aquariums with slow growing plants. For me, keeping my phosphate (PO4) level at more than 2ppm keeps their growth in check. They appear from time to time on rocks and glass but grow very slow. Try adding some phosphate to your fertlizing regime.


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## Sam D (Nov 8, 2015)

What is phosphate and where do I get it. I'm new to this planted tank and don't understand stuff like this lol


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## BruceF (Aug 5, 2011)

Start reading here,
http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/11-fertilizers-water-parameters/21944-_dosing-regimes_.html

In the mean time try and keep up with the algae by removing as much as you can manually.


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

Phosphate is the (-PO4). We can add it to the aquarium in substances like KH2PO4. It is one of the major nutrients needed by plants. Other nutrients are nitrogen N (from KNO3), potasium or kalium K. There are other nutrients needed by plants like Carbon, Mg, Ca, Fe and others but this is a longer discussion. 

You can buy it online from ebay or others. Maybe if you update your profile with your location, somebody nearby can guide you to a good source.

Before you buy any please read around the forum/net on Estimative Index (EI) fertilizing. Also this site The Skeptical Aquarist offers a good overview on most planted aquarium topics. Keep in mind, some things said in there are opinions or based on prior knowledge.

The Skeptical Aquarist

Please ask any questions you might have after reading on things.


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## Sam D (Nov 8, 2015)

Thanks everyone for breaking it down for me. Now is co2 booster the same as excel? And would it help if I added a diy co2 setup?


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## dukydaf (Dec 27, 2004)

From their description both co2 booster and excel do the same thing.

A DIY CO2 system will help with plant growth. How much depends on light and other nutrients. Make sure you monitor the state of your fish.If they start to come to the surface disconnect the CO2, you have too much. Do not let the CO2 conected to the aquarium overnight. DIY CO2 will produce high amount of CO2 the first few days and then lower the output. I find it trickier to keep good CO2 levels with DIY CO2 but I have done it for years. I've written more about it in my journal http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/12-tank-journals/873305-approach-7-5g-nano-cube-2.html#post8456466


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