question about algae in a new tank

Question
Hi!

I've been having some problems with algae in my 3 week old, 10 gallon tank. I'm currently waiting for the tank to cycle, so it only contains a few plants and two serpae tetra. Because I wanted real plants rather than plastic, the fish shop suggested a plant bulb for my hood fixture. I've been using that with a timer so that my tank gets precisely 12 hours of light a day. The tank is in the middle of my apartment, away from any direct natural light sources.

I noticed last week that there was some black fuzzy algae growing around the edges of one of my plants. I couldn't scratch it off, so I wasn't sure what to do about it. Over the next two days a set of redish-brown spots spread across that plant and spread to my only fake plant (which was nearby).

I was very upset about this algae growth, so I removed all my plants, rinsed them thoroughly, soaked them in a 5% bleach solution for two minutes, rinsed them again, and then put them back in my tank after doing a 30% water change.

My tank is looking better now, but there is still algae growing on the inside glass of my tank. The fish store suggested getting shrimp or algae eating fish as a temporary measure. I'm a little suspicious of this, since they had previously told me not to put any more fish in until it was done cycling. I'm not sure if they are just angling for a sale that won't actually help my tank.

Is there anything else that I should do to help keep my tank algae free? I had been doing 10% water changes weekly before all this trouble started, and I'm not sure if I should keep that up or change even more. I'm also a bit worried, because the tank is not really finished being decorated, that things might get worse again if I make big changes to the tank.

Is it safe for me to wait until the tank is finished cycling and then re-landscape and add driftwood before I remove the serpae and add in the neons I ultimately want?

Many Thanks,
Eva

Answer
Dear Eva,
I'm sorry to hear about the black brush algae problem. This can be a difficult problem to get rid of. BUT-- you can try combating it by adding some very fast growing plants that will outcompete the black brush algae of nutrients and light. Also, try to get rid of any affected leaves if you can. Adding a Siamese Algae eater or shrimp can sometimes help, but it's not a guaranteed method.
Also increasing your water changes to try to keep nitrates and other nutrients low can really help.

If you don't have a lot of live plants, it might be good to keep the lights out for a few days to try to kill-out the algae. Only turning the light on for a few minutes for feeding your fish if necessary.
These methods of getting rid of Black brush algae should also deal with the reddish-brown algae as well.

The presence of these types of algae must mean there is an unbalance in your aquarium. Possibly too much nutrients. Having a lot of fast-growing plants should certainly out-compete this algae, manuel remover is always important of course too.

I would work on this Black brush algae/brown algae problem before moving on. I'm sure you'll be able to get it under control and keep it under control. It's really a quite rare problem.

For some of the best advice around, please visit on over to-
Aquaticplantresources.net where people there will be able to help you with any questions regarding your planted tank..

Visit this link (also from APR aquatic plant resources) for more about algae-
http://www.aquaticplantresources.net/articles/viewtopic.php?t=3

I really hope this helps!
Best of luck with everything!
Karen~