Re: Brown algae / diatom problem in new tank

How much lighting do you have?


"Stef" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote in message
news:[EMAIL PROTECTED]
> BACKGROUND:
>
> I had a 130L tank (3 bala shark, 4 clown loaches, 2 siamese algae
> eaters) for about a year but i was overgrown with brown algae to the
> extent it was just not pleasant to look at.
>
> i recently moved the tank to a new location, spending a long day
> moving and cleaning it - it was like new.
>
> first i let it run without fish for a week (as recommended by
> shopkeeper) then i introduced one bala to start the nitrogen cycle
> (something i didnt do the first time round and i blamed this for the
> poor condition of the tank)
>
> the tap water was pretreated with a suitable product, and i also put
> some appropriate plants fertiliser and anti algae product
> prophylactically (all products are "Aquascience" brand). the tank
> follows a regular light/dark cycle. the bala gets one ice cube size
> block of frozen bloodworms per day, the same that i feed all the other
> fish (too much?)
>
> I read FAQ's, postings in these newsgroups, books, everything i could
> find, but im unable to find a suitable explanation or solution for my
> problem so here it goes ...
>
> PROBLEM:
>
> - im now about 7 days after the bala was introduced and i get brown
> algae (diatoms im pretty sure) forming on the glass, the rocks, the
> plants ie everywhere. i can just see it getting out of hand withing a
> matter of days.
>
> - are the algae a result of nitrate presence - in indicator the tank
> is cycled? but how can this be, a mere two wks after set up and one
> week after the first fish? ( nitrates are at present undetectable by
> my Tetratest, ie lower than 10mg/L, so are the nitrites.
>
> - nitrates are the final product of the cycle, but how else can they
> used up other than feeding these damn algae?!
>
> - the algae eaters do seem to eat some, but are largely ineffective
>
> still, assuming the tank is cycled, i just did a 30% water change,
> hoping to stop the algae from growing anymore
>
> please could someone tell me how to rid this ugly pest from my tank?
> ive spent so much effort cleaning, preparing and reading up about it,
> i really dont see what im doing wrong here and the motivation to keep
> going in down in my shoes ...
>
> big thanks,
> stef