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Hate to seem like I'm contridicting you in any way Frank, but there are some times when waterchanges and 2wpg (fresh bulbs) are just not enough when it comes to diatoms.
Upon returning from vacation a year or so ago the 20 gallon tank (that was fed every other day a small portion per visual instructions) had such a bad diatom issue that even with daily 10% changes it was still bad. Which is why I had to start running phosguard in that tank, rather than a chemical that is added it simply removes excess phosphate.
Somewhere I have the anual water report that my local water supplier sends out...believe it does set us with above normal (but still in "federal" guidlines) levels of phosphates.

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I’ve got another confession my friend, I’m no fool.
I’m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Also, an old and clean toothbrush is VERY useful.
:88)

Last edited by wfish at 12-Nov-2005 11:01

I used paper towels.:88)

i had a brown algea outbreak and was told it will happen at around 1 to 4 months after set up my nitrates never get over 20 ppm i do a 25% water change every week its not as bad now but i still have it i,ve also noticed a smell i dont over feed only a pinch a day of spirulina may some lettice once a week but i have changed my bulbs so maybe that will help

Well the phosphates are high so I think i found my problem.

Frank,

I think we're showing our age

Tuppence is an old 2 penny coin. We've gone all Euro now (at least in Ireland) so don't have them anymore. Guess it's the Irish/English equivilant of "my 2 cents"

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Whats a "Tuppence" My grandmother used to use that word
too.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

My tuppence worth

Despite the discussion on diatoms I doubt that's the original posters problem ! If it was diatoms it could be cleaned quite easily , just rub it off with your finger. As he said it won't even scrub off I would imagine it's some type of red algae.

---

Some days you're the pigeon and some days you're the statue.

Remember that age and treachery will always triumph over youth and ability.

Hi Babel,
Nope you are not contradicting me, or the data.
Its a silica acid that the diatoms use to create their
shells. In tanks that have silica based substrates, and
are have not been cleaned or the water changed that
acid builds up and the diatoms have a banquet.

Being on vacation for a month simply gave the stew time
to simmer and the diatoms loved it.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

I have spots of brown algae growing on my rocks and I can't get rid of it. What causes it and how do i get rid of it?

i had my share of algae break-outs be it brown or green...if u have living plants in ur tank..its not recommended to use any anti-algae meds. a regular cleaning.... scrubing, vac; water changes, presence of fast growing plants, moderate length (time) of lighting, and moderate feeding will be enuf to keep algae at bay.

Hi,
I don't mean to be pushing any products, and in fact I
rarely ever use any chemicals to resolve a problem.
My main objective in the earlier post was to show that
the problem was an outbreak of diatoms, rather than
actual algae.

The easiest way to eliminate them is to increase
your lighting (number of watts/gallon),
regularly clean your gravel (1/4 of the tank a month),
feed fish a little less,
and 10-20% water changes regularly (weekly).

Most of the time there is no need for chemicals when
regular housekeeping will do.

Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Don't mean to intrude on your post but this "Algone" stuff sounds great. I too have been having a problem with Brown Algae and am looking for solutions. Has anyone here used this product? Is it safe for the tank?

Hi,
Actually Brown "Algae" is not actually an algae.
It is an outbreak of Diatoms. They are very small critters
that have silica shells. They thrive in low light tanks,
and especially those that have sand or gravel of silica.

Here is a site that will tell you all about a brown algae
outbreak and how to get rid of it.

[link=http://www.algone.com/diatoms.htm]http://www.algone.com/diatoms.htm" style="COLOR: #FF00FF[/link]

Hope this helps...
Frank


-->>> The Confidence of Amateurs, is the Envy of Professionals <<<--

Well I clean out my tank every week so theres no problem there. I just bought a phosphate test kit and I am going to test for phosphates. I also bought Phos-X which is a media insert which you spoke of.

In addition to the above which should be your first step, have your tap water tested for phosphates. Some water supplies have enough of it that it causes no end to diatom algae issues. Having a lax maintence schedule and overfeeding the tank will simply compound the issue.
If your tap water does test high for phosphates there are media inserts you can buy which remove them, however they arent safe for all fish (clown loaches for one have been known to die when phosphate reducing media are used).

^_^[hr width='40%']"Has someone taken your faith? It's real, the [link=pain]http://babelfish.qwertydigital.com/" style="COLOR: #EB4288[/link] you feel.
The life, the love, You die to heal.
The hope that starts, The broken hearts...
I&#8217;ve got another confession my friend, I&#8217;m no fool.
I&#8217;m getting tired of starting again, Somewhere new."

Usually, brown algae are symptoms of high nitrates level or high uneaten food content in the water.

Doing a through cleaning, feeding less and less spaced water changes would correct the problem.

You might be overfeeding the fishes, and some of the time the brown algae says something might get worse like diseases and such. Having high nitrates leads in sometimes in diseases, so keep an eye on the problem and correct it.