Cichlidchick Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Hi Guys, I have had my african cichlid tank set up now for approx 2 months and i have noticed brown alge growing on my 3d background and some on the lava rock and alittle on the glass??? All my amonia levels and ph and water quality is great so why is this happening?? Natural process i thought, but i would like to know how do i get rid of it?? Im running a otto internal filer and an Ehiem external filter in a 4ft tank. :-) Cheers!! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Very natural. 3 basic options. 1. Algae killing product (personally don't like using chemicals) 2. Bristlenose 3. Turn your lights off (won't stop it totally but will reduce it) Ive recently setup a new tropheus tank and have been trying to grow as much on the rocks as possible to give them something to graze on. Cheers Trav Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mongbean Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 also to add more to noddy, it could also be over feeding. the fish are not consuming the food and their is food waste in the tank. or to much fish waste. Brown algae is very common. I have personally only had an issue in my tank when the light was really low. so I reduced the amount I fed the fish and also switched the light off an hour sooner then I normally would and turned it on an hour later then I normally would. If you stick to 8-12 hours a day it can be regulated....start with 8 first as that worked perfectly for me. Also a bristlenose is a great idea as well. but if you are at tank Capacity then you can work on the easy options first. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cichlidchick Posted December 13, 2012 Author Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 Thanks guys!! I will reduce the tank lighting and may get a Bristlenose. Cheers Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
noddy Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 just make sure that you supplement the bristlenose if there is no algae around. You don't want him to starve. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
DeadFishFloating Posted December 13, 2012 Report Share Posted December 13, 2012 I actually increase lighting Basically this triggers the growth of green algaes, which IMHO makes rocks and backgrounds look more authentic. Of course each to their own! A bristlenose is an excellent idea, but do start with just the one adult. Another solution, is the addition of Chemipure elite, to your eheim cannister. That will remove the silicates that trigger diatomeous algae blooms. And of course the usual, make sure filter media is not being cleaned in tapwater. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
