Algae begins!

[OzShrimp]

I am starting to have problems with brown algae in my tank and possibly i think clad. The brown algae keeps coming back on my glass without much success however i believe it may be due to lack of lighting given when i started seeing what looked like clad (long green string like algae) i cut back the lights majorly and since have maybe had them on for an hour or two a day.

Have also resumed my flourish comprehensive and excel since it started as i was previously dosing before it appeared.

would dropping my lighting back greatly increase the outbreak fo the brown algae or could it also be something else as i had no issues until i cut back my lights.

[2OFUS]

As far as i know brown algae is caused from not enough light ?? Maybe your globes need replacing ??

[OzShrimp]

i have gone from running my lights 8-10 hrs a day to maybe 3 hours a day if i am lucky more so to look at the shrimp and thought it would get rid of the algae lol, instead just made it worst

[fishmosy]

I'm assuming you have plants in the tank as you are dosing flourish and excel?

The problem is that 3hours is not enough light to keep your plants growing well, therefore the algae can outcompete them for nutrients as they can thrive with low amounts of light.

Your problems probably started because you stopped dosing the excel and flourish which meant that the algae could begin to outcompete your plants, and lowering the lighting has added to it.

I'd suggest

1: returning your lighting to 8-10hours per day.

2: test your water parameters. Brown algae growing on surfaces (diatoms) typically only appear when a tank is first set up as they thrive under these conditions, but tend to disappear as the tank matures.

3: water change to reduce the amount of nutrients in the water.

4: continue to dose excel (possibly overdose depending on your tank inhabitants, plants ect).

5: physically remove as much algae as you can and spot dose with excel or peroxide to remove particularly bad growths.

6: long-term, keep what you do the same, changing dosing or lighting often destabilises a tank, allowing algae to get a foothold. Any time that I've changed something in my planted tank (e.g. Miss a water change, forget to dose nutrients, problem with the timer for the lighting) is the only time I've ever gotten algae appear (besides some green spot on the glass).

[OzShrimp]

Thanks fishmosy :) Confirms i am on the right track to recovery then i just got planaria to get rid of lol

[OzShrimp]

any tips for BBA as it appears i got that now to :sorrow: