Brown Algae Taking over aquarium!

Ever since I bought a new lighting fixture for my aquarium (200 watt T5s) i have had an outbreak of brown algae, it is all over my rocks, substrate, and glass. I wanted to know if there was anything i should do or if I just need to wait it out?

 

check your ammonia, nitrite, nitrate and phosphate and see how much reading you get. it seems that you already have livestock in there since you are using light already, so how long is your tank running?

 

it has been running for about 6 months now, all the readings seem good however i was not able to check for phosphates because i currently don't have the test for it. But do you think it will be able to go away on its own if i just leave it?

 

It is probably a combination of excess nutrients, new lights and increased amount of carbon dioxide in your water.
To try and reverse this, water change, reduce feeding, increased water flow and dissolved oxygen to your water and also what is the length of time you have your lights on. You may want to alter the duration to find what works best for your tank.

 

diatom algae should be gone or small amount by now since your tank is cycled and running for 6 months already. it will go away on its own when the nutrient that's feeding the algae is gone or reduce to normal range. you can check your phosphate though, and maybe the reason why you have normal nitrate is because the algae is using it.

 

Diatoms feed on silicates. You can try testing for them to see how much you have in your tank!

 

ok thank you everyone

 

Are you using RO, bottled or tap water? Well water is usually high in silicates and phosphates. Really the best way to go is RO/DI, I have always felt the investment is worth it.