Brown algae

[stephk]

I have a Fluval 9.5 gallon all in one tank that has been set up since December.  I am having a very hard time with brown algae.  I have done my research. I know it is very common in new tanks.  I feel like I have done everything I have read to do and it is not getting any better.  I do 50% water change weekly, do NOT overfeed. I only have one Betta, one Nerite and one rabbit snail.  My Betta is super aggressive so I cannot add any cleaner fish.   It is lightly planted. I have my lights on 8 hour timer.  I thought maybe phosphates were too high so I tested and seems to be in normal range (1.5) Nitrates at 40ppm. I have an air stone.  I read that it can help to increase filtration.  Perhaps the filter in the Fluval isn't good enough?  Anyway, any thoughts could help.  Has anyone else battled this problem and found a solution?  I purchased a 16 gallon Waterbox that I don't want to set up yet until I can solve this problem in my Fluval! Ha!

Thanks!

[Fish Folk]

 An you share some photos? We’ve all struggled with algae issues. If there’s enough plants to compete for nutrients, sometimes that can cut it back. 

[stephk]

Here is a pic

[Will Billy]

In the beginning i too had an issue with diatoms a.k.a. Brown algae. I have a 55 gallon planted, nano community tank. Because my fish are so small i used 2 smaller HOB filters vs one big one to keep from knocking my tiny fish around in the strong current. Turns out increasing water flow and biological filtration reduces brown algae. Increased water flow can keep it from settling and help mechanical filters suck up more of the stuff to be disposed of during filter maintenance. And increased biological filtration creates food competition between nitrifying bacteria and the diatoms. My solution ended up being converting my airstones to sponge filters. I increased my water flow in a way that can be directed, as to not knock my fish around. And the sponges increased my biological filtration. Before performing water changes i would gently rub as much off of my plants and decorations as i could with my fingers before syphoning out the water. Over time it went away. 

[FrozenFins]

I am having the same problem with you. Your nitrates are high and could be why you have so much algae (because of excess nutrients). You can try to add floating plants such as hornwort, amazon frogbit to absorb the nitrates. I know that has helped with me. Also more frequent waterchanges has helped me too.

 

[Socqua]

I'm really surprised the Nerite isn't devouring it. I dropped one in a little 2.5 I have that had brown algae on every surface, and it was like new in just over a day. Certainly you want to get your parameters in check, and another Nerite might be too much for that size tank but maybe something to consider, especially if you can re-home it to your bigger tank in the future.

[stephk]

13 minutes ago, Will Billy said:

In the beginning i too had an issue with diatoms a.k.a. Brown algae. I have a 55 gallon planted, nano community tank. Because my fish are so small i used 2 smaller HOB filters vs one big one to keep from knocking my tiny fish around in the strong current. Turns out increasing water flow and biological filtration reduces brown algae. Increased water flow can keep it from settling and help mechanical filters suck up more of the stuff to be disposed of during filter maintenance. And increased biological filtration creates food competition between nitrifying bacteria and the diatoms. My solution ended up being converting my airstones to sponge filters. I increased my water flow in a way that can be directed, as to not knock my fish around. And the sponges increased my biological filtration. Before performing water changes i would gently rub as much off of my plants and decorations as i could with my fingers before syphoning out the water. Over time it went away. 

Thank you. That is what I was thinking, putting in a small sponge filter with my air stone for more filtration!

 

[Brandy]

I know this may not be super helpful unless you happen to have other tanks, buuut...

I had a tank like that, and I could not add a cleaner fish for similar reasons. My nerites didn't go for it because they were too heavy to reach it on my plants. I moved out the betta to a bowl for a day and added 2 female guppies from another tank. In 6 hours the tank was spotless. I put the fish back in their respective homes and the brown algae never recurred. 

If you really don't want to or can't do that, I would say manually remove it as often as you can find the time and patience. It will  eventually subside as your tank settles. Since you have high nitrates without overfeeding, they may be coming from your tap water. A trick is to add a floating plant like water lettuce, or even a strand or two of pothos sticking out of the tank--they are heavy feeders and will help suck up the excess nutrients.

[stephk]

16 hours ago, Brandy said:

I know this may not be super helpful unless you happen to have other tanks, buuut...

I had a tank like that, and I could not add a cleaner fish for similar reasons. My nerites didn't go for it because they were too heavy to reach it on my plants. I moved out the betta to a bowl for a day and added 2 female guppies from another tank. In 6 hours the tank was spotless. I put the fish back in their respective homes and the brown algae never recurred. 

If you really don't want to or can't do that, I would say manually remove it as often as you can find the time and patience. It will  eventually subside as your tank settles. Since you have high nitrates without overfeeding, they may be coming from your tap water. A trick is to add a floating plant like water lettuce, or even a strand or two of pothos sticking out of the tank--they are heavy feeders and will help suck up the excess nutrients.

I didn't know guppies were so good at eating brown algae!

[L.W. Wetarm]

Seachem PhosGuard to remove silicates and snails to eat them are the best cure that I have had success with. More plants to compete for nutrients helps. Remove as much as you can from the tank. Just brushing it off only moves it to a different place. Remove it from the glass by wiping upwards, bottom to top, with a paper towel, folding over to a clean side with each wipe. Remove any rocks that are high in silicates such as sandstone and shale. 
 

It comes and goes in my 60 gallon Brichardi species only tank because of the overfeeding that occurs in trying to get a huge colony of fish of all ages, fry to adults. I run PhosGuard continuously in a HOB but my Mystery Snail population has mysteriously diminished. 

[Brandy]

4 hours ago, stephk said:

I didn't know guppies were so good at eating brown algae!

Right?! I wish I had taken before and after photos.  It was after I did that that I learned that livebearers have this tiny mouth pecking behavior that is just amazing at clearing certian algaes. I had just noticed that my guppy tanks were clean, so I tried a thing, and it worked astonishingly well. Sadly they ignore staghorn and blackbeard though.