Help! I'm having problems with brown algae growth in my tank. It is mainly growing on the back wall of the tank next to my bubble wall. I have to scrub the walls about once every week to week and a half. I also noticed that my plants (Amazon Sword) is also collecting the algae on the leaves. What can I do to remedy this problem. Also, my tank water is light green everytime I do a water change (2x/week). Is this colorization caused by the algae growth? Do you recommend any products to reduce algae?

TIA!
Kyle

What is your Nitrate reading??

Hi,
Brown algae is actually not an algae, but diatoms. These usually occur in two scenarios. A new tank, or a tank with low light. If your tank is a new tank, the diatom problem will ease with time. If you have low light, you could try to add another tube to your set up.

The green water is a sign of algae in the water. This isn't harmful to goldfish, and some people even encourage it.

As the previous poster mentioned, if your nitrates are high, you should add more plants. You can use aquarium plants, or you can even hang cuttings from a plant such as pothos in the back of the tank, the ends in the water and the leaves hanging down the back of the tank, or trailing across the top, etc. This will remove a lot of nitrates from the water. Also, maintain your water with water changes

I wouldn't use any type of chemical algae remover. I haven't heard good things about these products.

Hope this helps.
Valerie

Hi Koko & Valerie,
The nitrate reading is 40, nitrites 0, NH3 0. I do two water changes (25% & 50%) a week.

My tank is fairly new (~2 months). I have 3 Amazon Swords and 2 tall grassy plants currently in the tank. I curently have one light in my tank. I'll look for a larger wattage tube for the tank and see if this helps.

I do feed my GF spirulina twice a week. Would this cause the algae growth/green water?

Thanks!
Kyle

Hi,
Your nitrate reading is high. You should try to keep it down around 5 ppm. This can be accomplished by water changes and by adding some fast growing plants, such as water sprite (which is a floating plant and would grow in your tank with the one tube). You could also try elodea (sometimes called anacharis or egeria). It is a very fast grower and uses a lot of nitrates.

Hi,
Me again
I don't think it is the spirulina, I believe it is the nitrates.

So, go with more plants to use up the nitrates.

I should have mentioned that hornwort is a good one to put in. Don't try to root it, since it won't root. Just float it in the tank. It is a great one for using nitrates, and the goldfish shouldn't bother it too much.

Hi Valerie,
Thanks for the recommendations. I change the water twice a week (one 25%, the other 50%). Are you suggesting that I should do water changes 3X a week? I've noticed that the nitrate levels do not diminish very much even with this amount of frequent changes. I've also added salt to the water which I heard helps with reducing nitrates.

I'll stop by my LFS to look for some of the plants you've recommended. I'm familiar with the anacharis. My GF love to eat on these plants and I had to constantly cleaning up the mess. Are there other plants you mentioned that are a little hardier and need less maintenance?
Kyle