Algae Problem

[Thomalop]

The algae in my aquarium is looking nasty. It is light green and turning brown on the ends and getting really stringy (almost looks like spider webs). Very unsightly!

I am running phosban (in a media sock) and using carbon.

The tank is a 75 gallon with a 30 gallon sump.

The parameters are all good. The exception was that the PH was low but I added some buffers to get it back up. Also did a 10 percent water change.

The tank is a little over 8 weeks old.

I just want to get rid of the algae.

Thanks

[an411]

I think that this is a normal part of the tank maturing I would just continue changing the water also I have heard of people turning the lights off for a few days never tried myself maybe effective

[dileggi]

The algae cycle is common in a new tank. My tank is only 3-4 mos old and the "brown algae", which is most likely cyano is just about gone now.

I added some phosban to my tank and a skimmer. That seemed to help it out immensely along with water changes. I did not cut my lighting down.

[seapug]

yeah, it's a normal stage. Phosban will help, but I'd suggest using a dedicated reactor for it. They are cheap and work great. It needs slow flow to work well and keep it from getting pounded into dust. Cyano problems can be combatted with raising your pH. The buffer you added won't raise low pH, it just keeps it from falling. Try dripping Kalkwasser at night. I've found that it works very well for burning off brown slimes and films.