algea

[jessica47421]

i went from a 130 watt light to a 384 watt, i am now getting brown algea all over my sand bed and my rocks, should i try and stop this or is ok? if so what should i do. i know i have enough power heads i have 5 in a 55 gal. so i know it isnt the flow.

 

[ameno]

that's seems to happen to me when I change lighting but usually goes away in a few weeks.

 

[farslayer]

It's probably diatoms, and they should go away on their own. You can run filter media such as phos guard which removes silicates from the water; diatoms need silicates to create their skeletons, so no silicates means no diatoms. I ran phos guard from the start on my 125 and never had a diatom outbreak, even after switching out my bulbs (I run MH and T5).
Hope this helps.

 

[mr. limpid]

Brown algae is a lower form of algae usually in new tanks, but since you increased your light levels could of caused an out break. Most fish wont eat it but hermits will. If you didn't increase your food input, then to keep it in check reduce the time you run your lights, water changes, protein skimming and in time this will change to green algae.

 

[sturner]

How often do you replace the phosguard?

 

[jessica47421]

here is a few pics, it is now growing on my corals and not letting some open

 

[perfectdark]

Some of it kinda looks like cyano.. is it truley brown in color or does it look maroon red?

 

[jessica47421]

might be marron looks brownishred maybe. this didnt start till i got the new light

 

[jessica47421]

i have a product called chemiclean red slime remover should i use it?

 

[ameno]

I'm pretty sure it's from the new lights. if it were me I'd give it about a week and see if it starts to go away on its own.

 

[jessica47421]

it has gotten alot worse since yesturday, its every where even growing on my corals and they cant open that is what im worried about

 

[perfectdark]

There is a quick way to find out. Pick it up with your hand. Does it clump together? does it have like hair growing off the top of it? if those things are true it is cyano. Chem clean is an option and at this point might be a viable one, as it appears to be affecting your corals. Point your power heads at the infected areas, if it is cyano finding the reason why you got it is important. typically over feeding or not enough flow is a cause with your higher intensity lighting acting as a cytalist. If cyano is in your tank and on your corals it can be bad for them so removing asap is important. Chem clean is an antibiotic targeting bacteria in your tank. It does not discriminate from cyano bacteria to benificial bacteria. While I believe you will be ok be prepared for a nitrate spike after you use it and a few water changes to get them down again.

 

[jessica47421]

when i pick it up it clumps together, now what is it and what should i do? i have 5 power heads in the 55 and it has been up and running for a while now and no problems until i added these lights

 

[earlybird]

Siphon it off with a thin diameter hose and repeat.

 

[perfectdark]

if it all clumps together then my guess is you got cyano.. Reduce your light schedule. I dont know how long you keep them on for now but for the time being 4 to 5 hours a day for a few days. Scoop out as much of the cyano as you can. Do a water change 20% or so. If you can take the larger nozzel off the end of the syphon. When you start your water change you can use it to suck up the cyano. Becarful the vaccume will be very very powerful with a small opening like that but it will suck up alot of cyano. Adjust your power heads to all affected areas. Whats your feeding schedule like for your fish and your corals? This is also a factor and sometimes goes unrealized. Direct the power heads over you corals if need be a very very soft brush to sweep off your corals. Chem clean is an option but you need to get rid of the bulk of this first. Im not suggesting that you created this issue by poor tank mainenance sometimes you can bring the bacteria in on a piece of LR and all it needs is a dead spot with no flow and a food source and pow it will take off. But its a good idea to explore all possibilities as getting rid of it is 50% of the solution. Making sure it doesnt come back is the rest of it.

 

[jessica47421]

alright i got what i could out added another power head and reduced my light times to 4 or 5 hours a day. i really hope this helps. now the question is i have blue legged hermits in my tank now. should i get some red?
is there a difference in them and if so what is it?

 

[tangwhispr]

First of all the other ideas are all good ideas, but really don't focus on the problem, you have excess nutrients, so you are probably overfeeding or have to much of a bioload on your tank. So therefor we need to figure out what the actual cause is. Cyano is a huge nutrient exporter, faster then any Phosphate remover. I would turn off your lights for a few days, do some water changes and run some carbon, oh and manually remove any cyano you can. You can add all the chemical removers, but in the end it will be back if you don't remove the source.

 

[buckeye88]

Jessica, I feel your pain... from reading this post I realized that I think I have it too.

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by TangWhispr
First of all the other ideas are all good ideas, but really don't focus on the problem, you have excess nutrients, so you are probably overfeeding or have to much of a bioload on your tank. So therefor we need to figure out what the actual cause is. Cyano is a huge nutrient exporter, faster then any Phosphate remover. I would turn off your lights for a few days, do some water changes and run some carbon, oh and manually remove any cyano you can. You can add all the chemical removers, but in the end it will be back if you don't remove the source.
As I explained the same thing above...

 

[perfectdark]

Originally Posted by jessica47421
alright i got what i could out added another power head and reduced my light times to 4 or 5 hours a day. i really hope this helps. now the question is i have blue legged hermits in my tank now. should i get some red?
is there a difference in them and if so what is it?

No difference just their color. No animal (that I know of) gets rid of cyano. Mapping the cause and eliminating it is your only solution. Getting it out manually right now as an emergency step is crucial so it doesnt harm your inhabitants.