# Brown Algae questions



## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Way too much light, not enough plants

Even with CO2 those plants will not be able to subdue algae with 2x T5HO sitting on the tank

CO2 will help a little bit but it does not look like your plants are demanding at all and you don't have very many of them anyways


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

klibs said:


> Way too much light, not enough plants
> 
> Even with CO2 those plants will not be able to subdue algae with 2x T5HO sitting on the tank
> 
> CO2 will help a little bit but it does not look like your plants are demanding at all and you don't have very many of them anyways


Oh, geez I thought I had not enough light. I didn't want to overcrowd with plants either, so I should definitely add more? Should that fix it?


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## WaterLife (Jul 1, 2015)

I have very limited knowledge in plants, but maybe you could remove one T5HO bulb and just use one for now.
How long do you keep the lights on? Maybe cut back on duration.
Get some algae cleaner fish to help battle the algae.

Like I said, limited knowledge, so hopefully others can chime in.


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

WaterLife said:


> I have very limited knowledge in plants, but maybe you could remove one T5HO bulb and just use one for now.
> How long do you keep the lights on? Maybe cut back on duration.
> Get some algae cleaner fish to help battle the algae.
> 
> Like I said, limited knowledge, so hopefully others can chime in.


Thanks for responding. I just added four oto's the other day, I waited to add them since it was a new tank. The lights are on from 8 to 10 hours, is that too long?


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

Plant growth won't out compete Diatoms, once they start they have to run their course, eventually they resolve themselves. Here's a thread I wrote up on them, there are some suggestions at the end for dealing with them.

http://www.plantedtank.net/forums/showthread.php?t=723809


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## Maryland Guppy (Dec 6, 2014)

klibs said:


> Way too much light, not enough plants


I would have to vote this way too.
3x or 4x the plants and maybe the lights are good.

Light will always be the determining factor in a planted tank.
How long is the photoperiod? Shorten or dim in some manner.

Sorry seen 8-10 for photoperiod, maybe try 7 hours.

I run 6.5 hours on a 40 gallon long with medium lighting.
This includes ramp up and down time.
Diatom algae was gone for me in 4 months after starting.


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

Yeah I can't really tell what algae you're facing but whatever is on the plant in the first pic looks like BBA or something. Not diatoms. Diatoms will definitely run their course within a few months like MG said above.



laeanee said:


> Oh, geez I thought I had not enough light. I didn't want to overcrowd with plants either, so I should definitely add more? Should that fix it?


This is the opposite of how you should plan your tank. More plants make everything easier. Heavily planted tank with moderate - high lighting is the ideal situation. Anything above moderate lighting without a lot of plants will for sure run into algae issues.

2x T5HO is genuinely a good amount of light on most tanks. Depends on the fixture but it is definitely quite a bit of light.


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## Oso Polar (Apr 22, 2015)

Hmm, I don't think 2x*24W* is that much light. These are probably just these short bulbs: http://www.aquatraders.com/Odyssea-24W-Compact-Fluorescent-Bulb-p/61209l.htm


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## klibs (May 1, 2014)

OP said they were T5HO...


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## Oso Polar (Apr 22, 2015)

Standard linear T5 HO bulb for 36" fixture (I assume tank is 40B) has ~ 34" length and 39W, not 24W. Regular 24W T5 HO bulb tube is 22" - for 24" fixtures. Something doesn't add up...


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

*More info*



Oso Polar said:


> Standard linear T5 HO bulb for 36" fixture (I assume tank is 40B) has ~ 34" length and 39W, not 24W. Regular 24W T5 HO bulb tube is 22" - for 24" fixtures. Something doesn't add up...


The Info off the box is: Odyssea Dual Pro T5 High Output Fluorescent Light 24W x 2 (I have the extenders pulled out, the fixture itself is only 23.5", but it was all my lfs had). It came with one actinic bulb and one "normal"(?) bulb. I replaced the actinic bulb with another "normal" light bulb by the same company (a 24W). I hope I cleared up the confusion and didn't make it worse, sorry, lol.


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## ahem (Dec 27, 2014)

You may have luck getting rid of the diatoms using phosguard which will also strip silicates which diatoms need. I would get a silicate test kit to see if you have a lot in your water. The phosguard is not a long term solution, just short term few days to a week to kill off or reduce what is there so you can get a handle on it.


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## pantherspawn (Dec 21, 2011)

If it's diatoms, a nerite snail or an Amano will make small work of it. 

Sent from my SM-N910T using Tapatalk


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

ahem said:


> You may have luck getting rid of the diatoms using phosguard which will also strip silicates which diatoms need. I would get a silicate test kit to see if you have a lot in your water. The phosguard is not a long term solution, just short term few days to a week to kill off or reduce what is there so you can get a handle on it.


Thanks, I will get a test kit and check it out.



> If it's diatoms, a nerite snail or an Amano will make small work of it.


I want to get some shrimp. I'll have to order them online because only Ghost shrimp are sold where I live. I'm a little worried about the 3 White Skirt Tetras I have eating any Amano that I put in there, but from what I've read if I offer hiding places, they'll be ok. (The other fish I have are Corys, Guppies & Otos)


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## FatherLandDescendant (Jul 24, 2014)

laeanee said:


> (The other fish I have are Corys, Guppies & Otos)


If you have otos give them a chance they love diatoms. I put a lone oto in a 29gal low tech tank that had mild diatoms and within a week he/she had the entire tank diatom free. I have 4 in my 40b that had slightly heaver diatoms and within 2 days there was hardly any to be seen.


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## ahem (Dec 27, 2014)

laeanee said:


> Thanks, I will get a test kit and check it out.
> 
> 
> I want to get some shrimp. I'll have to order them online because only Ghost shrimp are sold where I live. I'm a little worried about the 3 White Skirt Tetras I have eating any Amano that I put in there, but from what I've read if I offer hiding places, they'll be ok. (The other fish I have are Corys, Guppies & Otos)


Unless the Tetras are ravenous and target the shrimp you should be ok with a decent amount of hiding places. You probably want to get a bunch though, sometimes it takes them a few months to start breeding and replenishing. Keeping your fish well fed tends to keep them from going after shrimp.

RCS are very easy to work with, peaceful, and prolific breeders one you get them settled. They are very attractive as well.

However I would not count on critters to take care of the the problem entirely. It's hit an miss whether they eat certain things or not.


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## harley (Jul 24, 2015)

ahem said:


> Unless the Tetras are ravenous and target the shrimp you should be ok with a decent amount of hiding places. You probably want to get a bunch though, sometimes it takes them a few months to start breeding and replenishing. Keeping your fish well fed tends to keep them from going after shrimp.
> 
> RCS are very easy to work with, peaceful, and prolific breeders one you get them settled. They are very attractive as well.
> 
> However I would not count on critters to take care of the the problem entirely. It's hit an miss whether they eat certain things or not.


Cool, I didn't know they were so easy to breed. In the past I've only had ghost and Bamboo shrimp, but I can't even find those locally where I live now. The tetras leave the other fish alone, so hoping the shrimp will be fine too. 

Thanks to all that offered advice with this, I now have a few things to try


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