# Brown algae



## Crazy_NDN (Apr 21, 2010)

Hi all I have an issue with my 120 gallon,
3x54 hot5's light 
timer is set to 8 hours and an additional half hour for just one actinic bulb, then after that moon lights. 
Substrate is playsand, 
only thing I'm using is flourish root tabs and excel. 

Ive been slowly upping the dose of excel to try and kill off the algae but still seems to get Alot of brown algae on the glass as well as the plants. I had an Anubias nana plant that was just covered in it but I was able to wipe it off but I have these smaller plants like elodea, sword plant and java fern that won't be so easy to get off. So I'm hoping to find a solution to eliminate it and in the time being try and clean up the plants. I tried a excel bath on the elodea plants but it didn't seem to help much it just came back. Thanks for any input. 


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## cdsgo1974 (Sep 25, 2011)

I had the exact same problem as you're describing until I bought some Otocinclus Catfish last week. Literally within a week of acquiring 5 ottos for my 20 gallon tank, 95% of the algae on the glass and the plants have all been consumed. Nice thing is I don't have to dose Excel anymore.


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Diatom outbreak. Do a few water changes, lessen your feedings, decrease a few hours of lighting. Excess sunlight may have also contributed to the outbreak. simple to deal with. 

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## Crazy_NDN (Apr 21, 2010)

Ok oto cats and what other fish are good for eating algae/diatoms? I feed small portions. How many hours of light Should I do?


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## jobber (May 14, 2010)

Bristlenose Pleco.

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## rich16 (Mar 25, 2011)

I had the same problem in my 110 African tank. Introduced 4 juvenile Bristlenose plecos. No more brown algae.


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

How long has the tank been running for???

Brown algea usually shows up during the first few months after setting up a fish tank. Its all part of the cycling process. I agree oto cats work great. They can be a little sensitive so make sure you introduce them to your tank correctly. In a tank as large as yours you could fit a bunch of them. They are very social with each other.

IMO Dosing excel on a tank that large is going to end up costing you a lot of money. You might want to switch to Metricide I believe its called. Its alot stronger so you wont have to use as much. I have never used it but I have read on this forum about it. Everyone seems to like it. 

Good luck with the oto's they are fun to watch


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## Crazy_NDN (Apr 21, 2010)

Yah it would be cheaper to use metricide. I just picked up the excel in a hurry when I started getting some plants. It's been running for about 4 months I had to restart the tank after I moved. How long after does it start to go away? Cause I've never had this issue previously with any of my tanks. Lucky I guess. 


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## Crazy_NDN (Apr 21, 2010)

Also I have one large albino longfin bnp. So I will be adding some more for him. Soon as I get some more hiding spots for them. 


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## jbyoung00008 (May 16, 2011)

Crazy_NDN said:


> Also I have one large albino longfin bnp. So I will be adding some more for him. Soon as I get some more hiding spots for them.
> 
> Sent from my iPhone using Tapatalk


Check out the thread above yours about brown algea. Someone just posted some stuff on it. Keep removing it off the glass and give your tank a little more time. It will be crystal clear in no time.


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