Q: I have a six month old 10 gal. freshwater tank we have 4 black skirts and 3 red serpaes. When the weathers started getting cooler I turned on the light to help warm the water. Now I have brown algae forming on the glass, rocks and plastic plants. What do I do now? Do I take everything out and clean? What can I clean with to get rid of the brown algae? Did having the light on cause this? What exactly should I do?

A: The Tank being six months old has already cycled and seeing the only thing different you have done is using the light, I would say that is causing your problem. Here are some suggestions

• You should purchase a heater to warm your tank.
• Fish don't need light so only keep it on when you want to see them.
• Limit the amount of time the light is on to no more than ten hours
• Try to keep natural sunlight to a minimum, the angle of the sun changes with the seasons.
• Check you Nitrate levels, Brown algae is a sign of deteriorating water conditions.

Once the cause has been identified the algae can be cleaned away or it will disappear if water conditions are maintained. Look at all these factors and I'm sure one or more of them will be the cause of your problem.

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