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I need help. About 4 weeks ago I started to get brown algae. It is now out of control. I tested my water and don't see any problems. I've looked for help online and with brown algae some of the information is conflicting, too much light, not enough light.

Tank was set up in July. It's 75 gallon freshwater. I have 23 fish in the tank, 6 danios, 10 neons, and 7 corydoras. The tank is in my basement. I did notice right before the algae, that the tank was getting direct sunlight for a portion of the day. I have since covered the window that was allowing that. I have been doing 25 % water changes every week now. The problem seems to be getting worse. I have really cut back feeding my fish as I thought maybe I was overfeeding them. I also added two airators, but nothing seems to help. Any ideas?

I don't see any algae eaters in your list of fish? You should consider a pleco or school of ottos to take care of the algae buildup. A 75g tank is good enough for 1-2 common plecos, but I would probably just get 1 since it will get pretty big after awhile.

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"That's the trouble with political jokes in this country... they get elected!" -- Dave Lippman

Hi,
Brown algae is the result of an abundance of Diatoms in the
water.
Generally this occurs in a newly set up tank shortly after a tank is set up with fresh, or new, gravel.
It is normal and some fish such as the Ottos, go berserk for the stuff.
The way to avoid a severe outbreak is to really, really, wash your gravel before adding it to your tank.

Right now water changes with a gravel vacuum is the best way to reduce the "food" for the diatoms.

Most gravels are made of a silica (SiO2) compound such as the mineral quartz. The fragments of the silica is what the diatoms feed on. A good washing flushes out most of the
excess "dust."

Do watch how long you leave your light on...no more than
10 hours IF you have live plants, or much shorter if just
fish. Pay attention to the amount of nitrogen you have in
the tank, and be sure to change the water out on a
weekly basis and at the same time vacuum 1/4 of the surface
area of the exposed gravel with each water change. Use the
python style water changer and push the head of the siphon
down into the gravel right down to the bottom of the tank.

The brown diatoms are an excellent food for fish like
ottos, and any babies. But, you do need to manage your
tank's water chemistries or the water will grow actual
algae and that is a horse of a different color.

Hope this helps...
Frank


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