# Brown algae help



## Staffylover (8 May 2016)

I need some help with my 35l tank. It house a male fighter and has a lot of Vallis and has been up and running for about three years
For two years I did not use any ferts and did weekly water changes of 30% without issues.
It was then suggested that I should be using ferts in my tank and I have had no end of issues since
I started with liquid CO2 and ferts only to realise Vallis does not do well with the liquid carbo and I ended up losing it and having to replace it
I then started to use profito fertiliser on a weekly basis when doing my water changes but am still having a small loss with occasional leaves dying weekly.
Over the last few days I've had a big outbreak of brown algae at the top of the leaves, I've removed as much as possible manually but I need to know what to do for the best moving forwards? I've also noticed a very small amount of BBA starting to grow on my wood which I've  removed and scrubbed for now 
My lights are on for 5-6 hours daily and it is an 18w tube
There is obviously something not quite right in my set up but I don't know where to start. I don't want to kill the vallis but I need to get the algae under control and get some stability in my tank. I have attached a picture of what I believe to be the brown algae


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## tim (8 May 2016)

Hi, algae will be feeding on the organic's released by the decaying plant leaves, remove all the damaged leaves and carry out a couple of water changes per week if possible untill the tank is stable again.


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## Staffylover (8 May 2016)

Thanks Tim, I'm struggling to understand all the water chemistry and I was advised to do a phosphate test. It seems high? The pic is of my tank (left) and the tap (right)


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## GHNelson (9 May 2016)

Hi Staffylover
What filter are you using?
What's the turnover?
What is the substrate?
How much ProFito have you been dosing?


Remove all the damaged leaves...plus clean the filter!
Do a light gravel clean also!
I would do huge water changes 90% for a month....cut back on lighting to 4 hours!
Get some floating plants....add root tabs/balls!

ProFito does not contain nitrate or phosphate!
You could be low in Nitrate?
Cheers
hoggie


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## Staffylover (10 May 2016)

Hi Hoggie
I'm using an aqua one 101f filter, turnover is 400lph
Substrate is standard gravel
I'm dosing 3ml of profito once a week
All decaying leaves are being removed and I clean the gravel weekly but avoid the area the plants are rooted.
I've added some floating plants within the last few days 
Will such large water changes not affect my filtration? I clean the filter usually about every 8 weeks
I have noticed recently that my vallis roots are about an inch above the gravel, I'm sure I have read that this is normal?


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## Straight Shooter (11 May 2016)

I think 90% water change is too much. If you're changing that much water ensure you match temps before or you will likely kill off some bacteria.... Or livestock..... We need to be careful when we give this advice to newcomers. 

I would do no more than 50% at once, still matching temps. Then review, do more 50% changes as necessary. 

The other advice seems right.


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## Lapul (11 May 2016)

Hi
Have you changed the 18w Tube recently?
O.T.
Love your dog!! I have one too.


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## GHNelson (11 May 2016)

Hi
The reason l advocated a large water change is there is probably a lot of decaying matter  and  detritus within the aquarium! 
Large water changes will  not affect the filter!
Obviously you must keep the temperaturesite within reasonable limits...one to one!
Vallisneria  roots should be below the substrate. ...with the crown above!
Your substrate may not be deep enough to accommodate the roots!
Cheers 
hoggie


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## Lewie (11 May 2016)

Staffylover said:


> Hi Hoggie
> I'm using an aqua one 101f filter, turnover is 400lph
> Substrate is standard gravel
> I'm dosing 3ml of profito once a week
> ...


Looks like your substrate may be turning anaerobic. The roots should be seeking to grow beneath the gravel. While the roots can supply oxygen to the substrate they can't overcome a fouling substrate. Do 50% water change once a week with fertilizer dose and siphon the substrate with the water changes. Be patient. Have a great night.


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## MrAqua (11 May 2016)

You say you have gravel as substrate and its been running for 3 years? The substrate might leak excessive nutrients wich the plants cant take up...

Just my 0.02 euros


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## Staffylover (12 May 2016)

Would it be wise to replace the gravel or would that make things worse? 

I stripped the tank down a few weeks ago and gave the gravel a thorough cleaning and threw a few plants away and then replanted along with some new plants I picked up.
I do gravel clean weekly when I do water changes but as the vallis is very densely planted I don't get in amongst the plants 
This is how it's looking tonight


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## MrAqua (12 May 2016)

I could recommend you to change to sand only. It would require you to get some Malaysian trumpet snails. They will keep the substrate oxygenated. But the nutrient leakage would be reduced to a minimum.


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## GHNelson (13 May 2016)

Hi
I would change the substrate to one of the regular planting soils!
I have used Clombo Flora base.....with good results!
Your plants will appreciate it!!
George Farmer set -up a nice  tank using Clombo Flora base! 
Cheers hoggie


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## sciencefiction (13 May 2016)

Staffylover said:


> All decaying leaves are being removed and I clean the gravel weekly but avoid the area the plants are rooted.



It may sound counteractive to some but stop disturbing the substrate. Brown algae such as diatoms for example live in the substrate(based on scientific studies) and perform a totally different function when they are stuck in there. When they come out, they love themselves some oxygen conditions and spread all over the plants. When you disturb the substrate, it releases all types of substances, not just micro-organisms such as diatoms. One major one and known to everyone is ammonia. It is quite common when people do total replanting or pulling too many plants out of the substrate at once, to get an algae outbreak.

You don't need to siphon the substrate if the fish bio-load is normal to light. In an overstocked tank nothing helps............and won't make any difference to the fish or the plants until you reduce the stocking. Don't overfeed...

As for liquid CO2 in a low tech tank, I've had exactly the same problem. I ended up with multitude of problems. I never use the stuff anymore. It's a disinfectant in the end of the day and shouldn't be poured inside a fish tank. I'd stick with the ferts and don't bother with the liquid carbon. Your tank may not grow plants well in a while until the gravel is fully colonized with proper micro-organisms and starts acting like a nutrient rich substrate. The fast cut is to have an inch of soil under the gravel.

Oh, and I forgot...Do large water changes weekly...and again, don't siphon at all unless there's stuff you can visibly see on the substrate which with good mechanical filtration you should never see.


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## GHNelson (14 May 2016)

hogan53 said:


> Hi
> I would change the substrate to one of the regular planting soils!
> I have used Clombo Flora base.....with good results!
> Your plants will appreciate it!!
> ...


http://ukaps.org/forum/threads/my-best-low-tech-scape-so-far.38709/


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