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Brown Algae out of control!
I seem to be having a problem in my tank. It is a 20 gallon tank that I set
up about a month ago. I planted several plants, including Ludwigia, Bacopa,
and some Hair Grass. I added a DIY yeast system, and built my own hood,
with three 15W lights (a Triton, a Grow-Lux, and a Power-Glow, 45W total).
I even started adding Kent's Freshwater Plant micronutrients. The pH is
7.0-7.2 with CO2.
Still the plants refuse to grow. They grow, but very very slowly. And I
don't get the bubbling on the leaves that I hear about. Even worse, in the
past week or so, I have gotten a brown algae invasion on my tank. It is
creating a thick layer on the sides. I cleaned the front glass on Friday,
and its already starting to regrow by Monday.
My fish are: 8 cardinals tetras, 5 rummy-nose tetras, 3 GreenGold Cory's, 3
Cory punctatus, 2 Algae eating Shrimp, a Singapore Shrimp, and three
swordtails (added a day or two ago). Im thinking of getting some
algae-eating fish to combat the algae.
My first question is why aren't the plants growing? Am I doing something
wrong? Is the bacteria sucking up the CO2 and nutrients? I thought I was
getting plenty of light with 45W, but I've read that brown algae means I
need more light. Second, why so much algae? Too many nutrients? Will
Hillstream Loaches or Flying Fox SAE's get rid of the brown algae? I prefer
to avoid Oto's or Pleco's.
Thank you all.
Jeff Malmquist