Brown algae on the front

[Octupus]

greetings all,
i am having a problem with brown algae on the front side of the tank. I dont see that algae on the back side (more of purple algae on the back and very little purple algae on the front (at the base where there is sand). Any ideas why this is happening? whats the best way to get rid of the brown dotted algae without using the scrapper? Thank you

 

[Curtswearing]

Diatoms need 3 things, Nitrogen (nitrates), phosphorus, and Silica

Almost all phosphate removers also remove Silica so if you lower the levels of both of these things, you are taking away 2 of their food sources. If you also keep your nitrates down, you are taking away another of it's food sources.

 

[Krish]

The purple algae you are seeing on the back is probably coraline which is really good to have (adds beauty to the tank) so long as you keep it under control. As for the brown algae, as suggested, requires certain things (ie nitrates, phosphates etc) in order for it to grow so that fact that you are seeing it in your tank means it's requirements/food source is available. If this is a newly setup tank, then no real worries as it is a common occurance and usually subsides as your tank starts to mature and cycles out given you aren't fueling it to grow. How would a person fuel it to grow??? Well, you want to start out by not over feeding the tank, use ro/di water (or water that has been tested and proven suitable for aquarium use by not containing phosphates, silicates, nitrates etc), practice good husbandry by doing regular water changes and not allowing waste to accumilate and degrade water quality (just to name a few). In the meantime, if you are tired of seeing it and your tank is ready for a cleanup crew, some snails will make quick work of it also, siphoning it up where possible will help remove it from the tank, but the 2 will only mask the problem temporatily so you'll need to get to the root of the problem and take care of it, but as mentioned, if this is a newly setup tank, then it's all a part of the game and should subside. Just a few thoughts

 

[NC2WA]

is this a new setup? if so, normal occurrence and will go over over a period of weeks.