Usually, planted tanks (if the plants are growing well) will strip the nutrients out of the water very efficiently, controlling most algaes. However direct sunlight upsets the balance by providing very concentrated photosynthesis energy for algaes to go after trace amounts of nutrients and minerals. The amount of iron is sometimes a discussion point.
There are scraper brushes on a handle designed for this purpose, so this may be your best recourse. Water changes can be effective as it replenishes minerals which might be lacking for the plants, and their new growth then removes nutrients/minerals that the algaes are scavenging. Alternately, fertilizers can have a similar effect. Every situation is a little different, so you may need to try a few different things, however direct sunlight will reduce your chances of finding and maintaining a good balance. At least the algae is not harmful, and actually helps filter the water. Tiger barbs are known to munch on some types of algae. I would mostly concentrate on removing the cosmetic algae (on the front glass and decorations) and on plant leaves if needed (wipe anubius or swords, trim soft leaved plants). hth NetMax On Nov 24, 9:14 am, vishal <[email protected]> wrote: > I have a 50 gallon tank,full sun light throughout the day..18 tiger > barbs(4inchs) & rich in plants. > > On Tue, 24 Nov 2009 19:40:33 +0530, NetMax <[email protected]> > wrote: > > > > > ? Size of tank, size & quantity of fish, water parameters (NO3?), > > type, amount and duration of lighting? thanks! > > > Difficult to remove brown patches sounds like a strain of red algae > > (which is brown) and is harmless (actually helpful depending on your > > water parameters). Easy to remove brown patches might be diatoms, > > which is a low light bacteria (also harmless). > > > NetMax > > > On Nov 24, 2:49 am, vishal <[email protected]> wrote: > >> Their are brown patches everywhere inside in my tank(on the glasses).I > >> tried to remove it with cloth but its hard to remove.My plants leafs > >> and > >> gravels are also brown too..What is it and how it happened?How to cure > >> it? > >> -- > >> Using Opera's revolutionary e-mail client:http://www.opera.com/mail/- Hide > >> quoted text - > > - Show quoted text -
