# Brown algae High nitrates - Neolamprologus Multifasciatus



## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

Hey, 
A while ago I posted asking for help with Blue Green algae. I did the black out method which got rid of it for about a week but soon came back along with a brown algae.

I bought Ultralife Blue Green Algae Remover which seemed to get rid of the Blue Green algae but I still have the brown algae, now I have high nitrates at 80. I do a 25% water change every 3 days and there are only 2 multies and about 10 fry in the tank.

I have been doing more water changes, feeding less and physically removing the brown algae from the shells and rocks but it just keeps coming back, it covers everything even turning the sand a brown colour. The nitrates at the moment are about 40.

Any ideas on how to get rid of this annoying brown algae, and are nitrates this high normal?

Thanks!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Remember the blue green algae (is there really a product with that name...it is cyanobacteria, not algae) will come back unless you change the conditions that caused it in the first place.

Brown algae is also not algae...it is diatoms. Common in the first year of a new tank...when did you start the tank?

But the fact that it is on the substrate makes me think it might be cyanobacteria in disguise...maybe a result of the chemical in the remover? Have you tried contacting the manufacturer? I would not use it again though.

The high nitrates are abnormal. Did you vacuum the substrate? Search for hidden debris? Clean the filters? I would change water daily until you get to 10ppm. Larger amounts each day until you get to 50%. Some people change 50% daily for fry anyway.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

I have moved the tank out of the sunlight as it once was which I guess caused it. The brown 'algae' came after I covered up the tank. The tank is fairly new, I set it up about 2/3 months ago. I haven't properly vacuumed the substrate only just got left over food/dead 'algae' off of it. I believe the substrate went green when the cyanobacteria was there, could it be that it has just changed colour or is it dead? If it is just under disguise what do you suggest me doing? I have been cleaning the filter also.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

Sorry if it was unclear, the tank has been out of sunlight for about a month.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

Sunlight does not cause cyanobacteria...what was the advice for eliminating it on your earlier post? I'm thinking it was not to use a bottled product?

Clean everything with tank water...(filter, substrate, hidden spots in rocks) to reduce nitrate.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

It was my local fish store which told me it was sunlight. The advice given from my earlier post was to use erythromycin which is not available without prescription here in the UK. Or to cover with a blanket for a week, which I did but only seemed to make my problem worse.

I didn't see much other option.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)




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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What are the test results for ammonia and nitrites? Did you clean the filter, substrate, rocks?

What happens when the nitrates are reduced to 10ppm for a month? Do you have nitrates in your tap water? Do you use tank lights? How many hours daily?


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

I have run out of ammonia tests so I can't test at the moment.
Just tested:
Nitrites: 0
Nitrates: 40

Now for tap water, I tested the nitrates and I got 50??
Is this normal?

Should I get some plants to add to the tank?

I have an LED light which is on on for about 12/13 hours a day.

Thanks.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

No your tap water should have zero nitrates. Plants (fast growing ones, and lots of them. Think in terms of a dozen vallisneria) or bottled water for changes.

Have your tank lights on 6 hours or less daily.

What is the total GPH of your filters or other circulation devices?


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

Ill get some plants as soon as possible.

My filter is 110 GPH


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

What is your tank size in gallons? You may need more circulation/filtration.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

Only 20G


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I would add filtration until you have 8X GPH and see if that helps as well as changing the nitrates and the light duration.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

So I should add another filter? Or just more flow?
Thanks.


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

I like multiple filters, but flow might help instead if you don't want another filter.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

Thanks. I added some Vallisneria Torta to the tank. By the looks of it, one seems to be going slowly brown. Could this be insufficient lighting? I currently am using probably the cheapest tank led kit I could find... or would the diatoms not be able to survive without good lighting? 
As for cleaning stuff off how do I go about this? I initially cleaned all the shells a couple of weeks ago, before the fry had moved into almost all of them... I wouldn't be comfortable taking the shells completely out of the tank if they could possibly have fry in them. I clean the rocks, substrate, glass etc every water change, but it definitely is gathering on the shells the most.
As for nitrates after the plants being in there for about two days, they are still extremely high, in between 40 and 80 on my test strips. I haven't been doing high volume water changes as I just presume that would make the problem worse since my tap water shows in between 40 and 80 too! I have still been doing about 30% every 2 to 3 days though.

Just to recap:
1) Cyanobacteria appeared
2) I asked on here advice, and proceeded with a 7 day black out
3) Cyanobacteria appeared to be gone
4) It reappears, still green, but along with another brown looking 'algae'
5) I bought a bottled product as I could not get erythromycin. 
6) I moved tank out of sunlight and I do the bottled product treatment as advised.
7) There is no longer a green 'algae' and the algae on the glass does not come off in a film/slime anymore.
8) Brown 'algae' seems to stick to the glass like small brown dots(in some places it turns the glass brown) and turns the substrate brown ALTHOUGH the algae isn't visually physically growing on the substrate.

By the way, my water is very hard.

Thanks!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

With the water quality out of tap, it seems your only options for water changes are to use bottled water for changes or get an RO water unit. The plants won't make a difference for a couple weeks and if they are turning brown, it is just going to make your cyanobacteria come back.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

Say i were to get an RO unit... 
- Would it affect my pH?
- What sort of 'stuff' would I have to add?
- Is there any unit you would recommend bearing in mind i am on a tight budget?

Also, my first ever tank has never had any issues with cyanobacteria or diatoms (It is just a random tank with the usual platies, guppies etc with a planted log and some random plants from my local store) It has very low circulation as it uses the HOB filter it came with, it uses my tap water and is stocked with a lot more than my current tank. It is 30G yet the only major difference is that it has fluorescent tube lighting. I just wonder how it doesn't have any of the issues I am getting on my first cichlid tank. It has about the same nitrates.

Thanks again!


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## DJRansome (Oct 29, 2005)

IDK why your old tank does not have issues with the nitrates...perhaps it has settled into old tank syndrome and you've achieved a balance. How long have the fish been in there...any fry grown up in the tank? I get deformities when my nitrates are too high.

RO units are not cheap, you would have to add cichlid salts. In the US laws require human drinking water be 10ppm or lower and most of us have 0ppm nitrates in our tap water.


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## joshuadouch (Apr 11, 2017)

I have never had any fry grow up in any of my tanks, my first fry ever are that of my multies... some are about 1-2 months old now they seem to be doing okay so far... I will maybe consider contacting my water supplier or atleast research into it.

I may have spoken too soon as upon looking in my other tank there seems to be a thick layer of algae growing on some of the plants in there and the filter is getting clogged with an unusual amount of algae. The fish have been in for about 6 months now.

Thanks for all the help.


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