There are three main types of algae that grow in aquariums and fish ponds – green, red and brown algae. Guess how they got their names? Red algae tends to occur more in saltwater tanks, so if you have fresh or brackish water tanks, chances are you will be having an ongoing battle with brown algae.

One important tip in how to get rid of brown algae – never get rid of all of it. Still leave a little bit. This is because brown or green algae can help keep the water chemistry healthy for your fish and live plants. But, like any good thing, more brown algae is not necessarily better. Too much brown algae is not only unsightly, it can suck up all of the oxygen in the water, leaving none for your fish.

Check Every Day For Algae Food

Algae can grow steadily or all of a sudden. They grow all of a sudden if there is suddenly a lot of decaying organic matte for them to feed off of. If you have a tank, then do not overfeed our fish and check every day that nobody has died. If you have fish that are known to produce a lot of waste, like goldfish, then you need to do a partial water change every week to get rid of some of that waste.

If you have a pond, then you need to be sure branches, leaves and fruit aren’t dropping into the water and rotting.

Shed More Light On The Subject

Brown algae is commonly seen in new aquariums because they are not getting enough light. If you have a tank and the brown algae is more concentrated on some areas of the tank more than others, try leaving the lights on a couple hours longer and making sure a decoration isn’t blocking light.

Keep The Water Moving

All kinds of algae need to settle on a surface in order to get busy, grow and look ugly. This means that they grow best in areas of still water than rapidly moving water. If your fish can handle it, stick another water agitator like an air stone into the pond or tank to get the water moving.