Pics of the algaes in my tank.

[32Bit_Fish]

After 7 straight days (9 hrs per day) lights on my 40g tank. Total wattage is 85 watts. I still get the yellowish algae, not green one.

I'm sure they are yellowish, see the pic of my planted tank. It's a huge difference in color of the algaes between the two tanks.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0647.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0648.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0645.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0649.jpg

[Cincy Ranchu]

After 7 straight days (9 hrs per day) lights on my 40g tank. Total wattage is 85 watts. I still get the yellowish algae, not green one.

I'm sure they are yellowish, see the pic of my planted tank. It's a huge difference in color of the algaes between the two tanks.

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0647.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0648.jpg
http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0645.jpg

http://i79.photobucket.com/albums/j133/derling2001/IMG_0649.jpg

Pretty good chance the brownish stuff in pic #2 are nitrifying bacteria as they are typically brown in pigment and grow attched to stuff.

[32Bit_Fish]

I thought nitrifying bacterias are something that you won't be able to see by eyes, no?

So the dark spots in pic # 2 is not algaes, but living bacterias?

The tank has been up running for almost 2 years, the nitrifying bacterias are started looking for new places to live in, this probably cause by my stocking rate in the tank?

I just hoping they can turn green, it would look better as well.

[bekko]

It takes a while for the green wall algae to develop and you first have to go through the phase of having the brown diatoms. Patience. It may take several months.

-steve

[32Bit_Fish]

I guess patience needed when low light is being used on the tank.

I recalled the green algaes started growing a couple of days after I installed the new T5.

Oh well, I will wait and see. Thanks for the info

[Cincy Ranchu]

These guys are sheet former and typically attach themselves to stuff. Not many brown algae in freshwater in the classical sense and if these are diatoms they would be visible under a scape at 400X. I don't think so, as I used to make a living counting freshwater algae.

[Guenther]

The German word is "Kieselalge".
Please look to this website at "Kieselalgen" there you can see what different diatoms look like under the microscope.

http://www.jaurich-online.de/Mikroskopie/bildbeispiele.htm

[Veil Gal]

I have the exact same problem in my tanks, and patience is not going to help. Some of these tanks have been set up for YEARS. The brown scume is so ugly. Every water change I have to use a sponge to get the annoying stuff off the glass. And in tanks that have plants I have to use my fingers to rub the brown coating off the (formerly) green plants. This takes alot of time. It makes no difference if the tank has plants or not. I'd love to find a permanent solution but so far I haven't found an answer.

[Guenther]

I have the exact same problem in my tanks, and patience is not going to help. Some of these tanks have been set up for YEARS. The brown scume is so ugly. ...It makes no difference if the tank has plants or not. I'd love to find a permanent solution but so far I haven't found an answer.

If you often change water and this water is high in silica, the diatoms grow very well.
Some fish like Ancistrus eat these algae. But once the Ancistrus grows up he may attack your goldfish during feeding if there is no longer algae food!
Also quick growing plants like Ceratophyllum, Vallisneria, Hygrophila polysperma or Echinodorus are good competitions to diatoms.
And yes, in well planted tanks with fast growing plants you don't find diatoms.
Some of the plants I mentioned you can see here:

http://www.shubunkin.de/temp/081105.jpg

[32Bit_Fish]

Now you guys are confusing me. Everyone has their own side of story. I would give it another week to see if I can get green ones. If not, I probably need to increase the light.

[jinyu_fan]

In my goldfish tank with low light (about .5 watt/gallon) I have the brown scum growing over everything and this tank has been set up over 3.5 years. In my other tanks that are heavily planted I do not have this problem. In these other tanks, I get some green spot algae that I scrape off the glass with each water change. You can try increasing the light to see if that will get green algae to grow. I have resigned myself to scraping off the brown scum each time I change water.

[bekko]

My impression is that when you scrape off the brown scum you also remove the beginnings of green wall algae. After the green wall algae establishes itself the brown scum no longer appears. This will not resolve the issue of algae growing on the plants. Green wall algae is more difficult to remove than brown scum and there is a green calcareous stuff which which is really difficult to get off.

I need to do as Gary suggests and look at some of that brown stuff again to make sure it is diatoms. For what it's worth, small juveniles about a half inch long eat the brown scum. When they start cleaning the side of the tank you know it's time to increase the feed rate or cull down the density.

There is one sure-fire way to eliminate glass cleaning. Put the aquarium on the flood and keep TVR.

-steve

[fishes2catch]

Out of curiosity, what is the nitrate level in the tank with the brown "algae/diatom/nitrifying bacteria"? I have associated this type of growth with increased nitrate levels and thought it to be algae.

Mark

[32Bit_Fish]

Out of curiosity, what is the nitrate level in the tank with the brown "algae/diatom/nitrifying bacteria"? I have associated this type of growth with increased nitrate levels and thought it to be algae.

Mark


10 PPM at every water change. So it would be 10 or less PPM when the pic was taken.

[fishes2catch]

I manage a fish facility that grows threespine stickleback for research. I see a lot of this brown scum in my tanks and never any green algae. It seems to grow more when my nitrates become elevated (above 5ppm) and in tanks that are exposed to lots of light (tanks nearest to the light, and tanks in a long day room).

Mark

[32Bit_Fish]

The brownish algaes/scums are growing darker and darker.

I'm going to remove them completely, the scum may become the breeding ground for bacterias.

[Ajno]

Same problem here. I have had it in all my tanks, plus my lighting is on the higher side. I have 220w on my 125 and 110w on my 55 gallon. I just scrape it off and have used phosguard with not very good results. I want to build an algae scrubber, but keep waiting til I get my new tank (closer to the end of summer) I have been putting of decorating because of this crud....

[32Bit_Fish]

Same problem here. I have had it in all my tanks, plus my lighting is on the higher side. I have 220w on my 125 and 110w on my 55 gallon. I just scrape it off and have used phosguard with not very good results. I want to build an algae scrubber, but keep waiting til I get my new tank (closer to the end of summer) I have been putting of decorating because of this crud....

Your tanks get 2wpg, and you don't get green algaes?

I think I have the scum, not algaes because they are so easy to get rid it. All I need to do just a light wipe with a sponge and they are diluted in the water.

Then follow by a huge w/c, the tank looks like brand new.

But it's interesting to know with 2wpg, you dont get green algaes. Probably need to increase the light to about 3wpg.