Brown Algae

[blkhawk10]

How do I get rid of this nasty looking stuff. I put some marine SAT in there and scraped the rocks which helped a little. I also got what I thought was a cleaning crew in turbo snails and blue leg hermits, they are more lazy and don't really eat the stuff than anything. Some of it is even starting to grow on their shells. Someone please help.

 

[misty927]

Is the algae more dusty looking or like an actual hair algae? Also, how long has your tank been set up for, what type of lighting do you have, and what type of water are you using?

 

[blkhawk10]

its dusty looking, my tank has been set up for over a year, and I have an eclipse hood, I used the water from the fish store I forgot what its called.

 

[misty927]

Dusty...sounds like a diatom bloom which is common in a tank that is newly cycled. Considering your tank is pretty established, it might be due to excess phosphates or silicates. I've heard that using a phophate sponge helps. What are your levels (nitrite, nitrate, etc)...have you done a water change recently? If you've changed your lighting recently or gotten new bulbs that also might cause a bloom, in which case the easiest thing to do would be to just wait it out. Also, do you know if your fish store uses tap water or RO/DI?

 

[blkhawk10]

The fish store uses RO/DI water and I did do a water change a couple days ago. I'm going to get my water checked tomorrow. I appreciate your help.

 

[misty927]

You never know, the LFS's water filters may have gone bad. Or maybe it's just time to invest in a larger clean-up crew. Either way, diatoms feed of nitrates and phosphates...so if either of those factors are too high, they will flourish. Good luck...I know how annoying diatom blooms can be!