brown algae and air bubbles

[hudaisy]

Hi,
I am realizing how much I didn't know!

Thanks for the previous advice, but now I'm slightly concerned about the brown algae and air bubbles. I have read many, many posts on here about diatoms, and I think that's what I have. However, I have also read that air bubbles are bad for aquariums and I am not sure what to do from here. Aside from getting a CUC and changing to RO water, is there anything I can do? Should I be concerned about the "tiny bubbles" constantly rising from my LR and LS?
Thanks again for your patience and guidance with this nano-newbie!

 

[the_hadleys]

I'm new to the hobby too - our tank's only been set up for about four weeks - but when we have air bubble issues it's usually our skimmer tweaking out because the water level changed...
For our algae we just amped up our cleaning crew and got one of those magnet cleaners (fantastic, btw!). Hasn't "cured" it but it certainly helped.
Good luck!!

 

[coastie5685]

well im in the same boat as the two of you also..... im having a brown algae spike as well. i have come to learn.
NOTHING to worry about. it is just diatoms. and it is normal. its your tank cycling. the diatoms will soon die off and u should have nice brown algae-free tank soon..
clean up crews will handle the rapid growth of the stuff for the meantime. trust me i know how quick it grows. and yes magnet to get it off your glass as well..
just keep doing 1-2 gallon water changes every week and you should b fine.
ITS NORMAL! dont stress it my fellow aquarist!

 

[coastie5685]

o and as for the air bubbles. if it is coming from your return nozzle then theres a problem...
air bubbles in saltwater aquariums are bad.. freshwater there good.
coming from return---- check water line in chamber with pump.
coming from LR and LS---- shouldnt be much to worry about... unless its excessive...which that.. hmm i dunno why.

 

[d-dzel]

For the brown algae, I added 30 nassarius snails on my 55g and 15g bc and they just got rid of it all, but as you've probably read before, it's part of your cycle

 

[freeborder_01]

dude....why

 

[hudaisy]

Hi all!
Thanks for all the great posts! I am really learning a lot and it's so nice to have others to share with/learn from!

I got a little worried about the bubbles/algae, so I called my local LFS. (Note: Unlike some of the posts I've read on here, my LFS is AWESOME! They are extremely knowledgeable and very helpful.) The guys told me that the brown algae is (as we all knew) just part of the cycle and that the bubbles coming from the algae were a result of the photosynthesis. I dialed back my lighting even more (4 hours/day and totally off at night--no moonlamps) and already I've seen an improvement. I am getting ready for my first water change this weekend, so I am hoping with the new RO water and the CUC, I will see less algae by next week.
I have a question: I am thinking of removing my Fiji rock and swapping out for more Tonga. I really like the look of the Tonga rock and it's supposedly quite a bit better. Thoughts? Experience with either type?

 

[the_hadleys]

We've got a mixture of both in our tank. I like it that way because there's lots of visual interest and the landscape (waterscape?) has variety.
Glad your algae has gone down!!