Hello all,

I've been reading threads on brown algea which I have had for several weeks. Aside from water changes and proper lighting, are there any products that actually work to get rid of the stuff?

Also, can someone advise as to what kind of lighting will prevent the brown algae?

Thanks Much!


S~

Has anyone heard of or used Algone?

http://www.algone.com/index.htm

Hi, I'm hoping someone that knows will chime in soon as I have been combating brown algea as well for a while.

What watt light do you have in your tank? And how long do you keep it on? Also I think I have read that direct sunlight will cause the algea to grow very fast.

Hopefully we will get some advise.

Howdy!

Well, I have a flourescent, 15w (I think). And I turn lights on around 8:30am/9ish and off around 9pmish. I try to make it 12hours or so. The tank is not near any sunlight, and any it gets is very diffused.

Hmmm, we'll see what our experts have to say *wink*!

Thanks in advance for any sage advice

S~

Brown algae comes usually from not enough lighting, or too much phosphates or other waste products in the tank. YOu still have all your fish in the 10 gl, right? What would certainly add up a lot more waste than usual, even with more regular water changes. I think with proper lighting you will have much less of the brown stuff in their new tank.

I try to aim for around 2 watt per gallon of water with the lights, and more where I have live plants in the tank. Just remember that you need to replace the bulbs every 6 months or so, since they lose their effectiveness over time.

Aha,

So, I need 2W per gallon = 10gx2w=20w. Whew math *heehee*.

That seems so bright - fishies don't mind?

I will add more light and do water changes 2x a week as opposed to one. I've been doing almost 50% every week.

I don't have a hood per se - just a glass top with a flourescent fixture (like the kind you would put under your kitchen cabinet) that works. I'll be able to find that right?

Thanks for the info from me and the fishies...

S~

Oh, that is fine as fixture. I don't have any hoods either on most of my tanks, just the cheap shop light fixtures from nnnnnn, and I just plop in aquarium lights.
There is a thing called PhosphorSorb or something - its kind of a pillow that absorbs too much phosphor in a tank, and all you have to do is put that into your filter. That should help some as well.
There is always a tiny bit of brown algae, perfectly normal. But when it overtakes your ornaments and plants, and you don't see anything but brown, that isn't pretty...

Actually, I have been experimenting with various light spectrum in regards to fish colors, immunities and growth. On some of my tanks I have as high a LUX as I can - triple tubes and all. In tanks where I cannot afford (several still) a triple tube fixture, I simply stack multiple fixtures from other tanks that are not in use.

The fish rapidly get used to the light - seem to enjoy it (it means "food" at my place, though! ) - and seem to thrive. I have nice thick green algae now - and almost no brown stuff. The fish eat the green stuff - I can shave it off in long strands and hand feed it too them. They LOVE it.