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Hey I know i probably cant add any algae eaters so i was thinking a few snails to help me with this problem im getting tired of keep cleaning after cleaning this algae that just loves to grow on my tank walls. Well this is my 20 gallon 11 zebra danios and 6 panda cories can i add some snails to this mix? Do they do much to the bio load?
I have 2 filters in there too my water levels are fine. I just did a 20% water change and clean but this unwanted algae keeps finding its way back. I was thinking an apple snail any suggestions?

You may want to add 2 or 3 ottos.

From the TropicalTank.com wbpage. Highlights are mine:

"Brown algae" (Diatoms)

This is often the first algae to appear in a newly set-up tank, where conditions have yet to stabilise. It will often appear around the 2-12 week period, and may disappear as quickly as it arrived when the conditions stabilise after a couple of months. It is essential to minimise nutrient levels to ensure the algae disappears - avoid overfeeding and carry out the appropriate water changes, gravel and filter cleaning, etc. Limiting the light will not deter this algae, as it can grow at low lighting levels and will normally out-compete green algae under these conditions.

If brown algae appears in an established tank, check nitrate and phosphate levels. Increased water changes or more thorough substrate cleaning may be necessary. Using a phosphate-adsorbing resin will also remove silicates, which are important to the growth of this algae. However, as noted above, it is essentially impossible to totally eliminate algae with this strategy alone. Due to its ability to grow at low light levels, this algae may also appear in dimly lit tanks, where old fluorescent bulbs have lost much of their output. If a problem does occur, otocinclus catfish are known to clear this algae quickly, although you may need several for larger tanks, and they can be difficult to acclimatise initially.

There are some very plausible theories as to why this algae often appears in newly set up tanks and then later disappears. If the silicate (Si) to phosphate (P) ratio is high, then diatoms are likely to have a growth advantage over true algae types and Cyanobacteria. Some of the silicate may come from the tapwater, but it will also be leached from the glass of new aquaria, and potentially from silica sand/gravel substrates to some extent. Later, when this leaching has slowed, and phosphate is accumulating in the maturing tank, the Si ratio will change in favour of phosphate, which is likely to favour the growth of green algae instead.

Hope this helps! Clean the tank, do water changes, change your bulbs and add otos...


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"To steal ideas from one person is plagiarism; to steal from many is research."
researched from Steven Wright

Bob is absolutely correct. Some people, including myself, call this the "algae cycle". And all new tanks go through it, just some do without it being noticed.

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There is always a bigger fish...

Yep! Haven't seen a new tank yet that didn't grow some brown algae in the beginning. My guppies gorged themselves until I got otos. But it transitioned on its own with time to green velvet algae.

can i fit some otos in my tank? 20g 11 zd 6 panda cories 2 filters?

I just let the algae grow on the side and back of my tanks, as there's no point of scraping it off. The only thing it does is absorb nitrates.

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I'm not your neighbor, you Bakersfield trash.