Brown color growing normal after cycle?

hallzy

hallzy

Member
Hey guys, its been awhile since I've had to cycle a tank, but Ive started up a new one, and it has been set up for Im gonna say about 2 months now, and it has gone through the cycle, parameters are all good. Now I am getting a brown color growing on the rocks and sides of the tank and stuff. If I remember right, this is normal. Can anyone reassure me? lol For instance this rock was basically bleach white when I put it in....... Will all this brown turn into the purple stuff we all know and love? lol Or should I be using a baster to help clean this stuff off?
 
1guydude

1guydude

Well-Known Member
siphon? id turkey baster the bubbles off personally. Ya its prob diatom bloom, this is norm in a new tank! Looks like rusty brown algae...
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
Yup, completely normal diatom bloom. It will subside on it's own, but if you're like me and impatient, you'll start siphoning it off. Do you have an CUC members yet?
And no, it won't turn into the purple algae (coralline) that we love, diatoms are different. They consume silicates.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by BTLDreef http:///forum/thread/385493/brown-color-growing-normal-after-cycle#post_3380886
Yup, completely normal diatom bloom. It will subside on it's own, but if you're like me and impatient, you'll start siphoning it off. Do you have an CUC members yet?
And no, it won't turn into the purple algae (coralline) that we love, diatoms are different. They consume silicates.
Yep, and so if you are using tap water for water changes and top off you are likely adding silicates and the diatoms may not go away without some change in your habits...
 
hallzy

hallzy

Member
Ok, thanks guys. And yes I am a bit impatient, so I'm gonna turkey bast as much off as I can. haha
And no i dont have any CUC yet. I just wanted to get a damsel in there first to see if it was gonna be ok to start adding things. My overall goal is to turn this into a seahorse tank, but the farther along I get, the more I start thinking it might just end up a FOWLR tank. Still havn't decided. Either way I will more than likly add some easy care corals, like mushrooms and stuff. And the way they are multiplying in my reef tank, I will probably just start stealing out of it! lol Im in no hurry to get it going tho. Its just in my bedroom, and the main purpose was to help relax me while I was laying in bed. I put an open air line in there, and the bubbles are SOOOOO relaxing! For this reason I might have to go with seahorses because I heard you shouldnt really have bubbles in any other type of tank. First step tho is getting substrate when I go on vacation next month. Then I will add a CUC, then i'll decide from there... I may have a thread up when the times comes taking suggestions on what to do with it! lol
And last but not least, yes I use TAP WATER. I know, im so horrible right? Ive used tap water for 5 years now and seem to do just fine. I even use tap water in my main reef tank, and have been keeping coral for almost 9 months now. Not all that worried about it.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by hallzy http:///forum/thread/385493/brown-color-growing-normal-after-cycle#post_3381093
Ok, thanks guys. And yes I am a bit impatient, so I'm gonna turkey bast as much off as I can. haha
And no i dont have any CUC yet. I just wanted to get a damsel in there first to see if it was gonna be ok to start adding things. My overall goal is to turn this into a seahorse tank, but the farther along I get, the more I start thinking it might just end up a FOWLR tank. Still havn't decided. Either way I will more than likly add some easy care corals, like mushrooms and stuff. And the way they are multiplying in my reef tank, I will probably just start stealing out of it! lol Im in no hurry to get it going tho. Its just in my bedroom, and the main purpose was to help relax me while I was laying in bed. I put an open air line in there, and the bubbles are SOOOOO relaxing! For this reason I might have to go with seahorses because I heard you shouldnt really have bubbles in any other type of tank. First step tho is getting substrate when I go on vacation next month. Then I will add a CUC, then i'll decide from there... I may have a thread up when the times comes taking suggestions on what to do with it! lol
And last but not least, yes I use TAP WATER. I know, im so horrible right? Ive used tap water for 5 years now and seem to do just fine. I even use tap water in my main reef tank, and have been keeping coral for almost 9 months now. Not all that worried about it.
I'm no hater, but you should take something from the fact that just by knowing how long you had your tank up and the amount of slime that had developed I knew your dirty little secret....
 
hallzy

hallzy

Member

 
 I'm no hater, but you should take something from the fact that just by knowing how long you had your tank up and the amount of slime that had developed I knew your dirty little secret.... 

 
 
Funny, from what I was just told, my "brown slime" was normal for a newly cycled tank. And I don't really consider it a secret since I told you I use tap water. And wouldn't really call it dirty considering I've sucessfully kept my tank for years using nothing BUT tap water. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, I just think that sometimes people get too caught up in thinking that RO water is the ONLY way to keep a successful tank, and what bugs me even more is when people that do use it act like they are better than people who don't. Just my opinion.
 
geoj

geoj

Active Member
Getting diatoms is normal when you start a tank. It's how much you have in such a short time that told me you were adding silicates in higher amounts likely by use of tap water. I think you should keep doing what you are if you are happy with the results. Just keep this little comment that I have made in your back pocket for later...
 
hallzy

hallzy

Member
Heres an update on my diatoms.... Its almost all gone now. I dont think it will really go back exactly the way it was because the one rock was pretty much bleach white when I put it in, but it looks MUCH better now. And the rock on top of it is the rock that i had taken from my other tank to help with the cycle, and it is actually accumulating quite a bit of coralline already! Im happy with it for now. I cant wait to put substrate in it! I am going to OBX in 3 weeks!!!!! (thats where Im getting my substrate) This is by far the most patient I have ever been in trying to establish a tank, but Im glad Im taking this route. No reason to rush, especially since Im seriously considering making this a seahorse tank! Anyways, heres how it looks today.....
 
btldreef

btldreef

Moderator
When you add substrate, you may end up with another diatom bloom again. Any change to the tank can cause diatoms, so be prepared to go through this again.
 
xcali1985

xcali1985

Active Member
you will probably have a WORST bloom sand usually has a lot more silicates in it than live rock or tap water.
 
tur4k

tur4k

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by hallzy http:///forum/thread/385493/brown-color-growing-normal-after-cycle#post_3381159
Quote:
Originally Posted by GeoJ http:///forum/thread/385493/brown-color-growing-normal-after-cycle#post_3381149
I'm no hater, but you should take something from the fact that just by knowing how long you had your tank up and the amount of slime that had developed I knew your dirty little secret....

Funny, from what I was just told, my "brown slime" was normal for a newly cycled tank. And I don't really consider it a secret since I told you I use tap water. And wouldn't really call it dirty considering I've sucessfully kept my tank for years using nothing BUT tap water. I'm not trying to sound like a jerk, I just think that sometimes people get too caught up in thinking that RO water is the ONLY way to keep a successful tank, and what bugs me even more is when people that do use it act like they are better than people who don't. Just my opinion.
It is true that there are many ways run a successful reef and that what works for one person may not work for another. If tap water works for you, then that's great. Most tap water contains nutrients that will quickly turn a reef into a hair algae farm.
 
hallzy

hallzy

Member
Quote:
Originally Posted by Xcali1985 http:///forum/thread/385493/brown-color-growing-normal-after-cycle#post_3385969
you will probably have a WORST bloom sand usually has a lot more silicates in it than live rock or tap water.
Im not actually using sand, I get pebbles that gather in the ocean, right where the waves break. I used them in my coral tank and love the look of them and they are very easy to keep clean! And I boil them before I stick them in my tank. I was nervous about doing it to my other tank, but at that time I only had a few mushrooms because I was just starting out with coral. Everything was fine tho, so I'm excited to use them again in this tank! and as far as the blooms after adding new stuff, I guess I will just have to live with it. Thats why Im being so patient getting this tank up and running i guess! Here is a pic of the pebbles from my other tank.....
 
hallzy

hallzy

Member
Just a syphon. I syphon out all the gunk once a month while doing a 5 gallon water change, and seem to have no problems! My parameters are all good and everything seems happy! Inclusding me because its a very easy process to clean! I had FAR more troubles keeping sand clean!
 
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