Algae Advice Please :-)

[SolitudeX]

Howdy hey!

Just wondering if I might be able to get some re-assuring advice on what appears to be my first algae related encounter! After having a good look, it appears to be spread in pockets across the gravel, growing on a top of some decorations and attaching itself to my plants (real, not plastic). I first noticed it because there were small fine hairs maybe 2-3 mm long coming off my plant leaves, at first appearance it seemed like it was red in colour but the growth on the gravel appears more of a brown than red.

After digging around the net for a bit, I found that i'm not alone! I have a 125L tank, set up for approx 6-8 weeks, I started a fishless cycle then after 2-3 weeks added some Danios and Guppies as they appeared a good beginners fish. I've since added a few Corydoras and Kuhli Loaches to help with the house keeping (I added a few at a time, to keep the cycle happy).

During my research, it appears quite common for newly set up tanks to get brown algae growth and that in some instances it will reduce naturally as the tank becomes more stable - while it appears i'll need to reduce feeding and possibly make alterations to the lighting level to control the algae. However my concern was with the small thread like strands on my plants, as during initial research Beard Algae was mentioned and kind of fit the description! I understand this can be treated easily using Flourish Excel but would prefer to not treat with chemicals if I can help it.

So - in short, I was really after a few words of wisdom as to what I might be able to do to help in slowing down or reducing the growth of the algae. below are some variables, let me know if anything else is useful and i'll post them up!

Tank: Juwel Rio 125 w/ Juwel Filter System and T5 High-Lite Lighting

Lighting: Standard 1 x Day Tube and 1 x Nature Tube as from the Factory

Stocking: 6 x Danios, 6 x Guppies, 3 x Corydoras, 3 x Kuhli Loaches

Water Changes: I do about 20% water change once a week, only lately to reduce some elevated ammonia levels due to newbie overfeeding mistake!

Water Readings as at 20:00 3/12/08:

Ammonia 3.0-4.0ppm, Nitrite 0ppm, Nitrate 0ppm, PH 7.0

I thought I could get some algae eaters to help reduce the amount growing, my main concern is the algae getting a good foot hold in the tank and becoming uncontrollable! I'm also slightly alarmed about the ammonia levels as they have been rising over the last 2-3 weeks despite my reduced feeding and more frequent gravel vacs/water changes. Any advice would be greatly appreciated! So thanks in advance for the time taken to have a squiz at my post :-)

Cheers!

[Southerrrngirrl]

When I had problems with brown algae, it was suggested to me that there was an imbalance in the water, such as too much silicates causing the algae to grow. See my post on this a couple of years ago: http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/plants ... 18133.html

But! Since I increased the hours of lighting and got 2 bristlenoses gone are the days were I needed to scrape all the algae off the glass! Not sure if you'd be able to add another couple of fish to your tank.. you might just about be at your limit for that size tank.

[whetu]

Firstly, congratulations on an excellent post! You've done your research and given us lots of useful information about your tank & conditions.

Secondly, the algae problem.

If it's the standard brown algae that comes with a new setup, it will take care of itself and will be nothing to worry about. By doing all the other things that make your fish happy and your plants grow, you will find that the algae will simply disappear after a while.

If it is beard algae, that's a different story. You will really need to nip it in the bud before it becomes established, as it can be a real pain to get rid of once it's securely attached to everything.

I didn't succeed with the Flourish Excel method, and ended up getting a bunch of Siamese Algae Eaters to do the hard work for me. They have done an excellent job. (I have three of them in a 200 litre heavily planted community tank.)

Now for two cautions:

1) I don't know how Siamese Algae eaters will handle a cycling tank. In general they seem very hardy, but perhaps someone else can advise?

2) Make sure you get a Siamese Algae Eater (known in some shops as a Black Line Flying Fox) and not a Chinese Algae Eater (which will not eat Beard Algae and will grow very big and aggressive!) There are posts on here and on other sites that will help you to tell the difference.

[alanmin4304]

Siamese algae eatersm flying foxes ans chinese algae eaters are all different fish and it it is the siamese that you want.

[whetu]

Siamese algae eatersm flying foxes ans chinese algae eaters are all different fish and it it is the siamese that you want.

Hi Alan, my local fish store (Hollywood Mt Roskill) sells Crossocheilus Siamensis as Black Line Flying Fox. More info in this thread here:

http://www.fnzas.org.nz/fishroom/siames ... tml#369511

As usual, better to use the Latin name rather than the common names to save confusion! Also if you're going to buy one, make sure you have checked out photos and descriptions of the real ones so you can compare the ones in the shops. Better than relying on the shop staff who are often misinformed.

[SolitudeX]

Firstly, just like to say a big thanks for the replies!

Southerrrngirrl - Thanks for passing along that link, I had a good read and it sounds like you had quite a mission getting things under control! Glad to hear you managed to get it sorted Heres hoping my problem can be resolved a bit easier and with less frustration!

whetu - Cheers for the comments, I understand the need to "help you to help me" Ha ha, I work in IT so am very used to not having the required info ;-)

I did have a feeling it could just be the new tank Brown Algae but my concern is if it turns out not to be this issue... Could be bad if things get to a point where the algae isn't caused by new tank syndrome and gets a foot hold in the tank!

I had considered getting some algae eaters, but I liked the Cory's better, ha ha. My tank can probably support 2 or so more fish before I get concerned about overstocking as all my guys are still small and i'll be moving the guppies into their own tank once the Xmas "Hole in the Pocket" heals.

I think I might just wait it out and add a few more plants (Only have 5-6 assorted bunch plants at present) and a few SAE if I can find them, just to help keep things a lil more in check!

Thanks again for all the help and i'll keep you posted about how I get on! Other comments are still welcome and i'm keen to get right up to play on doing this the right way from the start!

Cheers

[SolitudeX]

Righty O - Time for an update!

In our last episode... No, i'm joking - no summary needed ;-)

So I managed to get some Algae Eaters, although I should have researched things a *bit* more before commiting to a purchase, because while I got close I still ended up with the fake SAE! Doh. But no matter, the 2 that I got are doing a very nice job so far of cleaning up the excess algae on the ornaments and gravel, still cleaning the glass manually though. Now i'm getting some green algae growth, so i've cut back my lighting a bit and so far it's not spreading too far!

However my more immediate concern has shifted to the extreme ammonia levels that i'm getting. Since my initial post, the ammonia levels have gone off the test scale (8.0ppm). I've done everything that has been suggested such as reduced feeding and more frequent/bigger water changes, I even tried AmmoLock to try and detoxify the levels so none of the inhabitants would be harmed. I'd have expected the levels to drop but they just keep getting higher. I do understand that using AmmoLock will still register "Ammonia" in the tank in its non toxic form.

More concerning is that i'm not getting a reading on Nitrite or Nitrate in the tank at ALL. Which seems odd as 304 weeks ago the levels of Ammonia and Nitrite were at 0 and Nitrate was sitting about 10-20ppm... It's almost as though the Tank Grinch came down the chimney and stole my bacteria!

Just wondering if theres any Sage like advice on offer to see if I can try get things under control before anything fatal happens!