# brown algae still here even though



## antreasgr (Nov 28, 2004)

.....i make daily 15-20% water changes.plants , glass sides , gravel , is covered with algae.please im not an expert so i would like to have a simple and easy to understand solution to my problem.
ph-6.5
co2-30
nitrates at normal
nitrites -0
ammonia-0
kh-3
lighting now is 3 wpg and will upgrade to 5 wpg.

thanks.


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## david lim (Mar 30, 2004)

I have found otocinclus and snails to be very effective soft algae consumers (including brown algae). How large is the tank? How long has it been setup? Brown algae occurs frequently in initially setup tanks. Diatoms, which make up the brown algae, use silicates to produce shell-like structures for their bodies. I believe that the silicates can be found in new gravel. Anyway, I would definately recommend adding otocinclus at the beginning to try and prevent the brown algae outbreak. 

David


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## John P. (Nov 24, 2004)

What exactly are normal nitrate levels? You should aim to have them at 10ppm--is that what you mean?


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## antreasgr (Nov 28, 2004)

my nitrates are 20ppm.


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## trenac (Jul 16, 2004)

I suggest bringing your N03 down to around 10ppm along with keeping the P04 at 0.4 ppm.

_How often do you do your 15-20% water changes_? If it is weekly that is not enough, up to 30%-50% weekly.

_What type of algae do you have?_ There is different approaches depending on the type you have.


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