I have 2 rubbernose plecs in my tank atm and I need to get some more since these 2 are not enough for a 75 gal tank and I need some help keeping it clean! The brown algae is making me !!
All of the local shops around me don't have any rubbernose or bristlenose plecos. They only have commons or the very pricey exotic kinds. I can go to another shop that is a bit out of the way to get some if they have any, but....

I have read that bristlenoses are really good algae eaters, but do they HAVE to have driftwood? I really don't want driftwood in my tank. And is it better to have just 1 in a tank? Or should I just get more rubbernose and keep it to one kind in a tank?

I have been cutting back on how long I keep the lights on, but it didn't really make a whole lot of difference. I always do my weekly water changes and scrub everything as clean as possible, but I'm thinking about trying 2 or 3 water changes a week (just changing water and not as heavy on the gravel cleaning except for the once a week deal) to see if that helps.

Any other ideas on getting rid of the brown (or some call it red) algae?

What temperature is the tank?Maybe you could get a couple of hillstream loaches or hong kong plecs as they love the brown algae. Or, what about the SAE, they like that algae as well. All plecs need some bogwood to chew on, but i dont know if the bulldogs will be territorial to a newcomer or not.

My tank is normally around 74-75. I wondered about my plecs and another kind. Maybe I should just get more rubbernose? I'll have to check on the other kinds you mentioned. Our stores just don't have a lot of choices but maybe I can get them to order me some. Thanks.

How old is your tank Ginger? Just wondering because it is very common for tanks to explode with brown algae sometime in the first six months of set-up. Just keep following your routine and it will diminish in it's own time to be replaced with green algae that usually grows at a more agreeable rate.

I think most plecos prefer the green algae to the brown, but mine eat both.

Maybe that's it Annette! I upgraded to this tank probably around April. I had a 20 gallon before and it never had so much algae, but of course it didn't have as many fish, etc. Maybe it will diminish soon, that would be great!