# Algae Bloom?



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

I just planted my tank, and now I have a brown algae bloom?



You can see it is present on the sides of the tank.

I leave the lights on for 10 hours a day.

I have ramshorn snails present in the tank


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Brown algae is very common in "new" tanks. I say "new" because they can come anywhere from 1 month up to 4 as I've observed. Basically the Diatom's will persist until they burn themselves out and this can take up the 3 months but after that they are gone usually forever from that tank which is the good thing. So you just kind of have to sit back and wait for them to burn out on their own when they eat up all the nutrients they can get and have nothing left. You can clean off the walls as much as you want while this happens, they will come back but eventually they'll stop coming around


----------



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

Okay thank you  I wasn't sure if I should be worried or not


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

yep completely normal just a pain in the rear end!


----------



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

Okay  And when green algae appears, it's okay because its a planted tank right?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yeah, you'll get green algae with high lighting and if you use liquid ferts. Basically to battle that get some fast growing plants and they'll usually soak up the nutrients that algae needs and it will battle them away ^_^


----------



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

Ah okay  I should be expecting some green algae then


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Yep, green spot and soft algae are the more common ones but depending on the lights and what you have in there and how much you dose ferts if at all, you can see hair algae, beard algae, and more!


----------



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

I dose 1 ml of liquid c02 daily (just started two days ago), and started dosing 1 ml or liquid iron weekly


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Okay, I'd suggest you get a few more fast growing plants like water wistera, water sprite, cabomda, java moss.


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

To add to the diatoms, they'll also show up if there's a small amount of lighting. Had that problem in the past; horrific to look at, yet harmless.


----------



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

Well java moss attach to the artificial driftwood?

What I have in my tank now:

Jungle Val
2 anubias
1 sword
dwarf sag
moneywort
1 crypt
duckweed
and something else which i dont know what it is


----------



## LebronTheBetta (Apr 23, 2012)

Kalari32 said:


> Well java moss attach to the artificial driftwood?
> 
> What I have in my tank now:
> 
> ...


They'll float around, that's pretty much it. Lol For me, they float all over the place. -.- You might want some other plants. How about anarachis, hornwort, or maybe even some ferns?


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

If you attach java moss to it, it will grow. It grew on my glass once lol

I suggest Anacharis, Water sprite and water wisteria. Not Hornwort, that stuff will shed it's needles like crazy in higher temps and you don't want to have to deal with that too.


----------



## Kalari32 (Jan 10, 2013)

Yeah I have a high temp in my tank too x) I will probably get some anacharis


----------



## TexasRose (Jun 3, 2013)

lilnaugrim said:


> Brown algae is very common in "new" tanks. I say "new" because they can come anywhere from 1 month up to 4 as I've observed. Basically the Diatom's will persist until they burn themselves out and this can take up the 3 months but after that they are gone usually forever from that tank which is the good thing. So you just kind of have to sit back and wait for them to burn out on their own when they eat up all the nutrients they can get and have nothing left. You can clean off the walls as much as you want while this happens, they will come back but eventually they'll stop coming around


I have brown algae in my betta's new planted tank. I know I have to wait the algae out, but should I also do more frequent water changes? Clean everything off? I went away for a week and my mom forgot to turn on the tank light. I always felt that the tank was in a position to get good natural light, but the blinds would have to be open. Not sure what to do. 

Ps. My tank has not cycled. 10 gal with one betta, amazon narrow sword, Anubis, java fern, two red type plants, moss ball, and another green plant that has to be attached to driftwood and a dwarf Lilly.


----------



## lilnaugrim (Mar 27, 2013)

Texas, you can try more frequent water changes and scrubbing but brown algae will come back on it's own even without lots of light. It's just one of those things. However you should at least rub it gently off the leaves of your plant because they can suffocate your plants out so that's important. But overall you really can't get rid of them while you have them so you just have to wait for them to burn out is all.


----------



## TexasRose (Jun 3, 2013)

lilnaugrim said:


> Texas, you can try more frequent water changes and scrubbing but brown algae will come back on it's own even without lots of light. It's just one of those things. However you should at least rub it gently off the leaves of your plant because they can suffocate your plants out so that's important. But overall you really can't get rid of them while you have them so you just have to wait for them to burn out is all.


Thank you!


----------

