Brown Algae

genius172

genius172

Member
Hi Everyone,
I have a 75gal with a Fluval xp5, a Rena xp3, and an Emperor Biowheel filter. I have a Stars and Stripe Puffer, a Humu Humu, a Lionfish, and a snowflake eel. The problem i'm having is with the brown algae, is there anything i could put in my tank that will help take care of the algae, and the fish not bother?
Thanks for your help!
 
kirkaz

kirkaz

Member
Originally Posted by genius172
cool i will try it...have u used it before?
No, but a friend of mine that owns a restaurant and has a beautiful 240 gallon tank uses it. He never has algae despite having the lighting on about 12 hours a day.
 
jonny

jonny

Member
question for you when did you start up your tank?? if its recent its just part of the cycle or if you use tap water for water changes you will get it. its in the water and you can't do anything about that if you use tap water.
 
genius172

genius172

Member
that's what i've been thinking too. my tank was up for 2yrs and it was a community saltwater tank. and then i broke it all down and made it a semi aggressive tank. so the tank has been running for a couple of months now. and i didn't have that problem when it was a community tank. i guess because i had the clean up crew. and now i have nothing. but i was thinking about a sea urchin...
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
Originally Posted by genius172
that's what i've been thinking too. my tank was up for 2yrs and it was a community saltwater tank. and then i broke it all down and made it a semi aggressive tank. so the tank has been running for a couple of months now. and i didn't have that problem when it was a community tank. i guess because i had the clean up crew. and now i have nothing. but i was thinking about a sea urchin...
Sounds like typical new tank diatoms--diatoms are normal in new tanks and can be caused by several things in established ones.There are products that work well, once you determine the cause, but wait until your tank is older and more stable. I'm not familiar with the product mentioned, but I think Marc Weiss products in general are great.
 
squirreloso

squirreloso

Member
i dunno, i wouldnt use that product
its just another so called "miracle in a bottle"
it will just mask the problem not solve it
im not very fond of any weiss product, he often makes rediculous claims about his products
get some sand stirring critters, and clean off diatoms with a soft brush, it comes off easily, even with a finger
out of all the algaes out there diatoms are the easiest to clean up after
heres the ingredients...
Ingredients
Vitamins: ascorbic acid, B-complex, beta-carotene, cyanocobalamine, folic acid, histamine, iodine, K, methionine, niacin, pyridoxin, retinol, riboflavin, thiamin, tocopherol. Trace elements: Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, S, Se, Si, Mn, Zn. Derived from ferment of: Alginate gum, allium cepa (onion), aloe barbadensis (aloe vera), capsicum annuum (cayenne pepper), citric acid, citrus molasses, daucus-carota (carrot), ipmoea batatas (sweet potato), laminiariales-fucales (kelp), lycoperscion (toma
it just doesnt make sense...
 
kirkaz

kirkaz

Member
Originally Posted by squirreloso
i dunno, i wouldnt use that product
its just another so called "miracle in a bottle"
it will just mask the problem not solve it
im not very fond of any weiss product, he often makes rediculous claims about his products
get some sand stirring critters, and clean off diatoms with a soft brush, it comes off easily, even with a finger
out of all the algaes out there diatoms are the easiest to clean up after
heres the ingredients...
Ingredients
Vitamins: ascorbic acid, B-complex, beta-carotene, cyanocobalamine, folic acid, histamine, iodine, K, methionine, niacin, pyridoxin, retinol, riboflavin, thiamin, tocopherol. Trace elements: Ca, Cr, Cu, Fe, K, Mg, Na, P, S, Se, Si, Mn, Zn. Derived from ferment of: Alginate gum, allium cepa (onion), aloe barbadensis (aloe vera), capsicum annuum (cayenne pepper), citric acid, citrus molasses, daucus-carota (carrot), ipmoea batatas (sweet potato), laminiariales-fucales (kelp), lycoperscion (toma
it just doesnt make sense...
So you are saying he should not use this because the ingredients don't make sense to you?? I can't imagine all those trace elements on the ingredient list would make sense to anyone without a PhD in Organic Chemistry.
Srfisher is right though, you should give it time. I think any sand critters would just end up an expensive lunch for your trigger and puffer.
 
squirreloso

squirreloso

Member
no, im saying not only should he not use that product but any product to control algae.
chemi clean anything like that, they are all garbage and only mask the problem they never cure it.
new setups are bound to go through this, just wait it out and things will balance out in time.
all my reef tanks went through an algae problem the first six months or so, then after that they are algae free (other than coraline)
my three year old reef hardly even needs a glass cleaning anymore.
my new FO 55g has a small cyano outbreak, its best left alone as ive learned in the past. the more you mess with it in the beginning it will just repeat itself over and over again.
and what ive found is that the more water changes that are done in the begining well it justs fuels the fire even more.
if you dont have corals then cut back on the lighting some, 6 hours a day is fine for a fish only w/ live rock system.
saltwater takes a loooooong time to get its act together. a year to mature minimum
all that product is, is basically vitamins, that cyano ingredient they list is actually vitamin B12
 
srfisher17

srfisher17

Active Member
IMO; creating an environment where we never add anything should be everyones goal. However; when it isn't possible do the research and proceed with caution. Which is exactly what the original Poster is doing. Ever look at the ingredients in salt mix; the list is hard to find for a reason. We use artificial saltwater, lighting,heating,skimming kalkwasser,even wavemakers.. All prepared foods have preservatives etc, etc, etc. Why is it Ok to add something to encourage coral growth, but not something to discourage diatoms or algae?
 
squirreloso

squirreloso

Member
algae inhibitors have a negative impact on all aquarium life, fresh, salt, and pond.
if you wanna use it go ahead. i would like to know the long term out come when such a product is used.
as for my tanks, no i wont ever resort to that, its not necessary. time and great water quality is all thats needed
skimming, lighting,heating, water movement are necessary to sustain life, its a whole different ball game.
yes i will use kalk, its just pickled lime basically
i wont use any coral foods, or coral supplements, calcium and alk are not your typical concoction in a bottle
algae inhibitors do nothing to help water quality
ok, if some corals live off of photosynthesis etc wouldnt an algae inhibitor starve out the corals natural food source?
 
genius172

genius172

Member
Thank you again to everyone that gave me great advice. squirreloso and srfisher17 you two have made very compelling arguements and I see and understand both of your points
As both of you have agreed apon, time is just the best factor. So what I have done thus far is, change the media in my FX5, that helps to control such things. I have also bought the sea urchin that I mentioned about before. With these little changes the problem is actually going away. I've noticed how much better my aquarium looks now, including the live rocks and sand bed.
So again thank you!
 
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