Brown fuzz

[fosteder]

Hello all,

I just put together a new 55 gal. tank. it has 130 W compact flour. Very low fish load, moderately planted (will be heavy once it grows in a bit). Currently no CO2. (I just got my regulator in the mail today and will be setting pressurized up tomorrow. YIPPEE!! no more DIY). Due to an early breakout of BGA (I think it piggybacked on the plants) I treated with Maracyn and KNO3. Problem solved. Since then I have been dosing fairly high on the KNO3 (1.5 tsp 3-4x a week) Also:
KH2PO4 (1/8 tsp 3-4x)
CSM+B 10 ml 3x/week
Fe 1/16 tsp 3x/week

So now I have some algae I have never seen before. Little brown fuzzy's on plants, glass, and water surface (floating). Is it from the high KNO3 or low CO2 or both? The tank has only been together for 1.5 weeks.

Thanks for helping guys.

 

[Cornhusker]

Re: Brown fuzz

fosteder,i think what you have is diatom algae. some new tanks develop this.until you get your pressurized co2 going i would back off on kno3 and fe.right now it has to be treated like a non co2 tank.until then i would get at least a dozen otto's and they will take care of in short order. i've found that setting up non co2 tanks from the start to be a challange,more so then with co2 at the start.also seachem's flourish excell every other day would help a lot. regards,cornhusker

 

[fosteder]

Re: Brown fuzz

thanx for the reply Cornhusker.

What causes the diatoms in the first place?

I'll have to go look for some ottos tomorrow.

 

[groovyfishguy]

Re: Brown fuzz

Diatoms in my experience always seem to happen in new set ups almost like its part of the cycling. It also seems to go away pretty quickly in most cases. FWIW otos love the stuff.

 

[Tom Barr]

Re: Brown fuzz

Make sure the CO2 is good.

That is the main thing. Dosing is easy, making sure the CO2 is good is not till it settles down.

Keep on top of things and make sure you add enough CO2/do water changes more etc.

Regards,
Tom Barr

 

[fosteder]

Re: Brown fuzz

Thanks for the advice guys. I set up the co2 tank this afternoon.

 

[Watcher]

Re: Brown fuzz

I keep reading that diatoms are mainly found in new setups and go away after everything stabilizes.

Before I moved I had it continously(minor but always there. And no type of algae) for almost a year(until I moved).

At my new place I battle it constantly in tanks that are 5+ months old.

No other issues in any aspect.

I tend to doubt that this is a new setup problem and not an always common one.

I always have it in my tanks.

Any ideas??

 

[Cornhusker]

Re: Brown fuzz

diatom algae seems to be in tanks with an out of balance of light and co2.i get it in my quarinteen tanks if i don't keep adding excell on a regular basis.but it's a good way to fatten otto's.regards,cornhusker