Brown algae GROWING, Help!!

[spmnarciso]

I posted a thread yesterday expressing that I was starting to get brown algae/diatom growth. Well, it's alot worse today. What should I do? I'm alittle concerned and unsure why I am getting all this brown ugly growth. Please explain and tell me what I should do! My tank is starting to look horrible.
:help: :nervous:

 

[spmnarciso]

My cycle has been done for about 5 weeks. Should I clean it off at all? And I've been using RO water ever since I finished cycling, as top off water.

 

[zotl]

What do you have in your tank?

 

[oyam1]

the brown comes and goes at first.
ugly but not to bad for tank health.
i say do what you have been doing.
keep up good water quality

 

[spmnarciso]

Originally posted by zotl
What do you have in your tank?
In regards to what? Fish - 2 perculas, 1 YT, and 1 DD butterfly
Inverts - 10 turbos, 1 arrow, 2 hairy-red hermits, 2 blue legged, 1 scarlet, 1 brittle starfish.
125 lbs. LR, 4" sand bed.
4 PH's

 

[spmnarciso]

Originally posted by oyam1
the brown comes and goes at first.
ugly but not to bad for tank health.
i say do what you have been doing.
keep up good water quality
Will it spread completely? Should I wipe some off? Will it eventually die off, or will it change colors? Should I get more of a cleanup crew?

 

[zotl]

you need a ton more of a clean up crew--like 50 more hermits and 25 more snails, and thats a conservative estimate.

 

[spmnarciso]

Originally posted by zotl
you need a ton more of a clean up crew--like 50 more hermits and 25 more snails, and thats a conservative estimate.
I know...plan on getting those soon. However, will my brown algae diminish on it's own or will I need to do some serious cleaning?

 

[spmnarciso]

bump...

 

[zotl]

If you have that much brown algea, your cyle was not complete. Get many more clean up crew members and monitor your water parameters. THe algea will go away on its own if you follow this.

 

[spmnarciso]

My water parameters are good. Fish eat well and feel comfortable in tank. Will a water change help? And I assume adding plant life will also help?

 

[flipmodez5]

Hey,
Well I have the same problem in my 55 gallon tank thats cycling...I just have 3 turbo snails and like 4lbs of live rock (I plan to get more live rock soon). All the places I went to told me to just clean the front glass of my aquarium with the Magnetic cleaner and leave the sides & back. As for my water, I dont use RO/Di at all (Anyone know where you can buy this water without buying a RO?). But my water is good, ammonia and nitrates are perfect with just a small spike in Nitrite. Ph is stable at 8.3. Does anyone know if I need to add calcium to my tank??? or that kent elements stuff???...
BTW They said the brown algae will go away and later you should get green alage, after that there should be no alage present in the tank once its stabalized.

 

[spmnarciso]

Do you mean that you have a spike in nitrates, or nitrites. Ammonia ---- nitrites ---- nitrates, that's how they are created. As for RO water I go to Walmart. They have drinking water that is treated by reverse osmosis and deionization. $0.59/gallon, so when I buy 30G for my change water it's only $17.00. Pretty good since Culligan(water distributor) wanted $6.00 for 5 gallons. Thanks for the info on the brown algae. I couldn't take it anymore so I wiped off the glass today. That brown stuff sure makes your tank look ugly. Hope the rest goes away soon. Definitely get some LR soon;better for your system. You can always get some base rock to help with the cost. Buy a calcium tester and see if it's at least 400.

 

[peggy]

I think your main problem is simply not enough clean up crew. Rule of thumb is one cleaner for every gallon of water. So if you have a 150 gallon tank, you can see where the problem lies

 

[shrimp134]

I had the exact same problem too...I got tons and tons of bronw algae(diatoms) and I got scared..lol I didnt know it was normal for the cycle..so what i did was got some snails and they eat that stuff away..I also clean the front of my tank with the mag float and it works perfect. As for it going away, it does after bout a week..it took mine..and it turns into a light green algae..that some of my snails and crabs and shrimp eat so its all good..:happy:

 

[beaslbob]

Yes brown algae turning to green is a normal part of cycling.
But just getting cleaner crews or otherwise removing the algae can be very dangerous. the plant life is there doing its job of consuming ammonia, nitrAtes, phosphates and carbon dioxide. And filtering out heavy metals and all sotra of nasty stuff as well. To simply remove that can and probably will lead to disaster.
By introducing plant life you like or moving the uglies to a refug, you can have an excellent tank where the good actions of the plants continue. and that way the system is better able to handle the bioload from the (future) livestock.

 

[shrimp134]

So, when the brown algae turns green...does that mean the cycle is over...and can the cycle be over b4 it turns green if your levels have been stable for a week or so? Just curious?

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by shrimp134
So, when the brown algae turns green...does that mean the cycle is over...and can the cycle be over b4 it turns green if your levels have been stable for a week or so? Just curious?
Actually it is a good sign but not necessarily means the cycle is over. You still could have high nitrItes for instance.
From what I have read, the browns consume phosphates and slowly turn to green as phosphates are consumed. the greens consume more nitrates. So it is probablya very good indication the phosphates are down to almost nothing. And if you get some red cyano months down the road that could mean phosphates are back. In that case usually from feeding fish.

 

[shrimp134]

Like my water wont spike will it now that it has turned to green..All of my trates, trites, and ammonia read ZERo..and have been like that for like 1.5 weeks

 

[spmnarciso]

You guys are talking about cycling, well in my case and like I mentioned before, my cycle ended 3 weeks ago. I assumed it was done when I had no ammonia, no nitrites, and 20 nitrates. Now I've had fish in there and they seem fine. What caused this algae growth? Silica? Or just a delayed occurence, since I added so much light after cycling?
On a better note I just got my fug. running and it works great. A bit of cloudy water though from new sand. I will be introducing some plant life this weekend. Hopefully that will help bring down my nitrates and that ugly brown algae.