brown slick stuff

[ufo8micats]

I just started a new tank about a month ago. in the middle of cycling, all counts are great. cycling . This morning when I went to feed the fish i noticed some brown stuff covering the top of the water. cant figure out what it is. I do notice some brown algae growth on the glass. Is this algae? Have been doing saltwater on and off for over 15 years and have never seen anything like this before. If anyone has any ideas what this may be, feel free to chime in.

 

[meowzer]

brown in a new tank would lead me to think diatoms....floating leads me to believe NO FLOW
do you have filters and powerheads running?

 

[ufo8micats]

yep two fluval canisters running. was first thing i thought of. check them this morning and tonight. both running fine.

 

[ufo8micats]

ok, i took some of the brown stuff to the Saltwater Warehouse located here in Dayton Ohio and they said that it is caused from leaving the lights on too long. They did mention that sometimes it happens to their nanos that they have for sale. I was advised to do a 15 gal. water change and only run the lights 4-6 hrs .a day.

 

[coralman05]

could be a start to high phoshates I would test for it.. to be safe

 

[saxman]

All new tanks go thru a diatom bloom. It's normal, and typically goes away all on its own in 2-3 weeks. One thing about diatoms...the more you fool with it, the longer it sticks around, so bite the bullet and let it go (clean the glass if you want, but otherwise leave it be).
Your tank is FAR from stable (cycled is NOT mature), and new setups will often go thru a couple of algae blooms as they settle-in.
Now, you COULD have a dinoflagellate outbreak, which is a real PITA to get rid of, but new tank and brown tells me diatoms.
If you feed frozen food, be sure to thaw it and rinse it under the tap in a net, as the "juice" from frozen food contains tons of nitrogenous waste and PO4.
HTH

 

[ufo8micats]

Diatome issue under control now. did a partial water change and used coffee filters to skim the gunk off the top. have been free from brown stuff now for about 2 weeks. Had the experts check out my tank and water again, got an all clear from them. Thanks to everyone whom replied to the post. i was stressing for a couple of days.