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I have a 5g cycling now. It has been cycling for a little over a week. No ammonia or nitrites have shown up and nitrates are at 10ppm. The fish are two cherry barbs (not the best for cycling I know, now) and a rescued black widow tetra. I have a 10w flourescent bulb in it so it has 2wpg. I'm thinking the lighting is the problem. I leave it on 10-12 hours per day..sometimes a little less. I feed them flakes. I thought about putting my SAE from my other tank into the 5 but since it is cycling and the algae is already there, I didn't know if that was such a good idea. It is on the filter intake, on the glass near gravel, and on a couple fake plants. I have no real plants in there. The front of the aquarium has a film on it. Not brown...just cloudy looking. I dont know if that is algae..maybe its another problem. My question is could the brown algae be from the lighting. How do I get rid of it? How do I prevent it from coming back? Thanks!

*Kristin*

It is highly likely that the brown algae is a result of the aquarium light being on for too many hours. Drop the lighting to 6 hours per day. This should help stem algae growth, but will not get rid of it.

Your best bet for getting rid of it is to add an algae eater. For a new tank which is in the process of cycling you are best not to add bigger catfish so the best bet is Amano plant/ Japanese marsh shrimp. I had the same problem a while back (albeit the brown algae was on plants) and within 2-3 weeks of adding only 5 amano plant shrimp to a 180 litre tank the algae had virtually disappeared.

There is no need to feed the shrimp as long as there is algae in the tank. Once the algae is gone feed them on algae wafers. For more info on these shrimp visit centralpets.com, go to fish and more, then freshwater invertebrates.

Hope this helps!

Abid

The cloudy stuff on the glass is more than likely bacteria clinging on to anything it can. I have seen this in all my new tanks. Just be sure not to get rid of it until the tank is cycled. If if collects algae, just do a scrape and keep it all in the tank, it will find another place to grow... such as the filter.

Another cause of brown algae can be phosphates or silica. Check how much you're feeding the fish every day. Overfeeding, even slightly, can cause brown algae to gather.

Also, check the placement of your tank. My brown algae issues stem from the simple fact that I live in a basement, and it is completely dark unless the lights are on. It may not be the tank lights that aren't enough light, it may just be that the tank wants a little more diffused light (not direct sunlight).

Another solution may be plants. I have noticed that every tank I have that has live plants does not have the brown algae. Yes, they do get the green stuff, but finding fish that like the green algaes are easier. In a cycling tank... especially a small one, plants can help speed up the cycle and will normally out-compete the brown stuff.

Thanks for the help. I'm gonna try to find some amano shrimp. The tank is in my room, which is on the main floor and has a little sunlight during the day. I'm usually only at home in the mornings and at night so the light in my room is rarely on. I've tried my best to find plants at the pet stores in my area. The only store I've found is petsmart and their plants are not healthy. I would order some off live aquaria...but I dont have that kind of money right now. I'm gonna try leaving the light on for only 6 hours a day and get the shrimp and see how that goes. Thanks again.

*Kristin*

For a 5 gal tank, some online place can actually be really cheap for plants. My new favorite is www.aquaticplant depot.com. No minimum, a flat $10 shipping/handling fee, and a 5% first time discount. They have some great beginner plants, and the ones I just got are pretty healthy.

I tend to stay away from petsmart/petco for plants. Both the ones in my area sell off non aquatics as aquatics, and one store has only "assorted" non labeled plants. Just about the only thing I'd get from there anymore are healthy potted crypts. You get much better plant choices, answers, and proces online.

I wouldn't sweat it too much Brown ALgae is a doddle to deal with.

It usually appears in new taks while everything is balancing out or as a result of poor light.

As you seem to have a decent light it's probably the former.

Just let the tank do it's thing and it should clear up by itself. In the meantime just keep wiping it off, it comes off very very easy. I wouldn't add any livestock to tackle it just yet

---

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.

I guess I won't worry about it. It just looks dirty, that's why I have been worrying about it. I don't know if I could find any shrimp anyways. The stores around my area only have the basic, easy to find fish and the only shrimp I've seen are ghost shrimp. Thanks for the help. I'll see how it goes.

Thanks harleysiber for the website. I'm gonna check it out. Petsmart is the only store that has labelled plants. The others have assorted, like you said. It looks like the best place to get anything is online.:%)

Last edited by GirlieGirl8519 at 16-May-2005 17:52

*Kristin*