http://monsoonwok.com/brown-freshwater/
Brown Freshwater
Why is the algae in my tank brown?
My 29 gallon freshwater tank is just getting rid of an ammonia infection. I know it is normally green but it is brown. If you could also help me on how to make it green. Also, we just got it about a month ago. There were 9 fish but five died from the high ammonia level so we have 2 dwarf gouramis a barb and a blue gourami.
Brown algae in a new tank is bound to be diatoms which will clear up on their own after a while, since their only food source is the silicates leftover from the manufacturing of your tank. I’ve heard anything from a couple of weeks to a few months. (Actually, you can get it and sustain it longer if you have silica sand in your tank… just thought I’d mention that.)
It’s not harmful to the fish but it is ugly, and if you’d like to get something that will help eat it, mystery snails and siamese algae eaters like it. So do otos BUT they are pretty sensitive to water quality so I wouldn’t recommend them for your tank so soon after ammonia problems. I don’t believe plecos will eat it at all. Be careful with buying the algae eater. You don’t want a chinese algae eater and they’re often mislabeled at fish stores. Here is a GREAT page for telling them apart:
http://www.thekrib.com/Fish/Algae-Eaters/
I’m dealing with it right now in my newest tank and find that it stays under control if I just brush it off the plants, filter surfaces, and tanksides while I’m doing water changes so that it gets sucked up in the siphon. It’s very soft and easy to rub off, even with my fingers. You can do 2 smaller water changes a week rather than one larger one in the meantime and it will probably clear up faster, but the only guaranteed fix is time.
