The Puffer Forum

I've noticed that there a spots of brown algae on some of my silk plants over the past week or so. By now it has spread to the sand substrate and the top of the powerhead in my puffer tank. I did some research and people have said that it is probably diatom algae and the solution is to get an algae eater, such as a pleco. This probably won't work with a puffer, and I'm not really sure of any way to get rid of it aside from scrubbing it off. I have the lights on from 2PM to 9-9:20PM every day. Is this to much light? Does anyone know of how to get rid of this algae easily, or does it eventually just go away on it's own. Thanks!

It's very common in newly set up tanks so if you do have a new tank then it should go away gradually over a few weeks.

I had the same problem when I started out. I got a UV sterilizer, Seachem's Phosguard, and upped my water changes. I also wiped off all of my rocks and cleaned the glass with a mag float. Luckily I caught it before it hit the sand substrate. I also have a small 10g nano and have some coral in that, and got the same problem. I just used the Phosguard and cut down on the lighting and it has been slowly dwindling with every WC. It will go away over time, however it can get get rather unsightly.

Thanks everyone!

I've never seen a pleco that wanted anything to do with diatoms. Diatoms have a silicon shell and get this from tap water; municipal water companies add silicates to tap water to help preserve metal water pipes. One solution would be to not use tap water and only use Reverse Osmosis water, but that can get expensive, and doesn't give you the other minerals that you do find in tap water.

+1 to itlagswrx's suggest to use Phosguard; I've successfully treated diatom infestations with it in the past. Not only does it trap phosphates but it also picks up those dissolved silicates I mentioned earlier. The stuff works.

Also, you might want to think about a powerhead; diatoms hate - and I mean absolutely hate - moving water.