brown algae

as some of you know my fishroom is ran off a sump system i have about 8 tanks running off 2 sumps connected together running thru a uv sterilizer then returned to the tanks... the problem i having is just 1 tank is getting brown algae spots i keep brushing the tank and it returns can someone tell me how to get rid of this problem and is it bad for the fish... i have blue socolofi in that tank with crushed coral also can this be a problem of why they arent doing the fishy dance and producing for me she has held successfully once before in this tank but without the algae problem

Diatoms. Normal. Just keep brushing them off. They will eventually eat themselves out of existance.

I usually just brush off enough I can see in the tank. The quicker it grows the quicker it will kill it's self off. It will cause no harm to your fish. If you want you can balance the nutrients by adding floating plants or potted plants to use the nutrients that the algae grow on. Is it a tank closer to any light source? restrict some of the light if it is.

will do
and thank you for the input
you guys are awesome

A tank that wont grow algae is not a healthy tank. Chill homie, they will get jiggy sooner or later.

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Chinese algae eaters do a wonderful job. Since I've put a couple in my 55G tropical tank - there's been no algae to scrape.


I only have diatom issues in my Malawi tank. The cichlids do enjoy nibbling at the stuff so I may not scrape/disinfect the rocks anymore, and I slow it down by taking the light strip off the top and putting it in a chair a few feet away when I'm not going to be there for a while. When I do have a student clean the tanks with a scrubber sponge (We bleach the sponge in between tanks so as not to spread anything) - I'll turn the UV on as well as add a little algaecide. It's usually several weeks before I see it again.

I used to have that problem a few months ago, and also figured out that water flow is important here.., after i changed the canister filter for a stronger one, there was a lot more flow on the tank.. and since i did it i haven't got any more diatom problems in my tank.. just make sure you have good water flow just another tip i learned..

Completely harmless. All the advice given is good. I wouldn't add fish to breeder tanks though.

i wasnt going to fern im just gonna keep scrapping it off and do a complete substrate change to sand

why change an established substrate?