Guest FLIP Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 I have brown and green algae in my tank but mostly brown. I know BN plecos are best for brown algae but mine is very small and would stand no chance against my crayfish. I have a normal pleco too but do they eat brown algae as much or as good as a BN pleco? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 28, 2008 Report Share Posted February 28, 2008 Just do more WCs in your Craytank. That'll help. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Guest FLIP Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 The cray is in my 33g tank. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
jvision Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 The reason I say do more WCs is that Ottos are the best cat for brown algae, and they'd be snacks for a cray in the 1st night. Otherwise, see if you can find a bigger BN. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Brown algae is easy to clean. Wipe it off any decorations and glass and then do a large water change. Or if it doens't have any plants just turn off the lights of a while. My cray tank also gets lots of brown algae and thats what I do to keep it under control. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
grapeape Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 zebra snails did an awesome job on my brown algae, cleaned whole tank in 3 days Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted February 29, 2008 Report Share Posted February 29, 2008 Zebra snails might make an expensive snack to a crayfish. I know mine eats regular snails when I toss them in. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
clockwork Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 i remember reading somewhere that brown algae can be zapped with lots of light. i had a lot of it in one of my tanks so i wiped it all off and set up a second light (for near 200W). the brown algae hasnt come back. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Vallisneria Posted March 1, 2008 Report Share Posted March 1, 2008 (edited) i remember reading somewhere that brown algae can be zapped with lots of light.i had a lot of it in one of my tanks so i wiped it all off and set up a second light (for near 200W). the brown algae hasnt come back. Brown algae is usually found in lower light tanks. If you add more light, the brown algae will go away but it can then be replaced with green algaes. So its basically a trade off, although green aglae are a bit better looking Edited March 1, 2008 by degrassi Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
duh duh duh Posted March 9, 2008 Report Share Posted March 9, 2008 I've started getting green algae in my tank. It's planted and I've got 4 albino bristlenose in it. I just added two very small otocinclus (from DADS). I'll scrub the sides but there are parts of the tank that I can't get at without really mucking things up. Anything else take out the green algae? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KoiBoi07 Posted March 10, 2008 Report Share Posted March 10, 2008 I recently had the same problem with brown algae in my 150. I turned the lights off for a whole day and the three commons cleaned it all up. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jo3l Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 dad's in edmonton? did they re locate in the last few years from his old whyte ave-ish location? Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sam Chicklets Posted March 28, 2008 Report Share Posted March 28, 2008 dad's in edmonton? did they re locate in the last few years from his old whyte ave-ish location? Yes it is now calle Nature's Corner http://www.naturescornerstore.com/page/page/2469882.htm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 I've started getting green algae in my tank. It's planted and I've got 4 albino bristlenose in it. I just added two very small otocinclus (from DADS). I'll scrub the sides but there are parts of the tank that I can't get at without really mucking things up.Anything else take out the green algae? More plants. In most cases, if you have a well enough planted tank, the plants will compete with algae for nutrients and often will win the battle. Try staying away from plant fertilizers containing iron, since algae thrives from extra iron. Try leaving the lights on for a maximum of 10 hours a day, and make sure you have proper lighting and your bulbs aren't getting old. How long has your tank been setup? And how long have you had the plants in there? What types of fertilizers are you using and are you using any CO2 in it? All of these things will help in whether you will get lots of algae's, whether they be green or brown, and will be the main factor on whether your plants will thrive or not. Our 90 gallon planted tank is well planted with no more algae, except the slight amount of hair algae. We have a hagen power glo bulb plus an extra 21" 15W plant grow light on it. We use seachems flourish fertilizers, and find the excel to be the best. As well we have put seachem fluorite in the substrate and mixed it in with our sand and gravel. Green algae will grow more in better lighting and it is also easier to find things that will eat it. Besides being a little bit nicer looking. Brown algae, also referred to as diatoms, are usually found in aquariums with terrible lighting or low lights, and newer established tanks. It can be unsightly but it will usually turn into green algae as the tank ages. So getting rid of green algae can be helped by minimizing light, but brown will still thrive. Best thing you can do is put a little elbow grease in to clean it off. If your tank is not planted, then you can also try and get products that remove phosphates, as this is one nutrient that algae likes to feed off. By minimizing nutrients they feed off, it will also help keep your algae problem under control. Ottos are good for eating algae, as well as most plecos, and siamese algae eaters. Stay away from things like chinese algae eaters, since they become very aggressive. Hope this helps Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
firestorm Posted March 29, 2008 Report Share Posted March 29, 2008 (edited) Oh and another thing I forgot to mention is that if your tank is in direct sunlight, you will find the algae will grow more, so best to keep tanks away from windows or keep the blinds closed at the time of day when the sun is hitting your tank. Here are a few websites that are great at explaining different kinds of algae. http://www.firsttankguide.net/algae.php http://www.seaweed.ie/algae/default.lasso http://www.otocinclus.com/articles/algae.html http://www.thetropicaltank.co.uk/algae.htm Edited March 29, 2008 by firestorm Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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