brownish red algie

[trex]

my tank is turning brownish red. and has some bright greed areas on the cc i bought some snails to help but its getting worse. i do a 15% water change ever 2 weeks and just bought a remora c skimmer that is still breaking in. . I live in san diego and just started getting my water from a local pier that filters ocean water. Alot of the lsf , friends, and the birch aqarium use the same water so i dont think it is my water. Is this outbreak bad and what can i do to control it. i have a 55 gal fo tank with larg cc. The algie is covering everything except my glass. I am not using any power heads.Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate.

 

[zanoshanox]

You need to more water in your water changes, more often. What are your parameters? Probably diatoms.

 

[zero1870]

Originally Posted by trex
i am new and my tank is turning brownish red. i bought some snails to help but its getting worse, i do a 15% water change ever 2 weeks and just bought a remora ca skimmer that is still breaking in. I notice the out break after i introduced the snails. I live in san diego and get my water from a local pier that filters ocean water. Alot of the lsf and the birch aqarium use the same water so i dont think it is my water. Is this outbreak bad and what can i do to control it. i have a 55 gal fo tank with larg cc. The algie is covering everything except my glass. Any suggestions would be greatly appreciate.
First question, what is your nitrate level at? second, how long have you had the tank? are you using RO or tap water? and lastly, do you have any live rock? from my exprience, direct sunlight, high nitrate levels and high phosphates levels are a major cause of this. if you have a testing kit, check your water and see where it stands. if you have high phosphate, get some phosphate remover.

 

[trex]

my trates are high and everything els is normal. Should i start a 20% water change every week. And is this algie harmful to my fish?

 

[trex]

I bought my tank from a friend that has hadit for about a year. It is not in dierect sunlight. My trates are high and everything else is normal, i will do another check tomorrow. I am using filtered ocean water that alot of the local lfs and alot of my friends use.

 

[jsgreer1]

imo your not doing enough water changes as stated in the above replies. water changes will help get your trates down. anyone disagree?

 

[rusting]

Try adding some small power heads to move the water around. I put mine on pvc,, and pump the water down so it moves along the bottom.

 

[trex]

thanks for all the advice, i just re-tested and my trates were low, im going to start doing more water changes and purchase a power head, and advice as to witch power head i should get.

 

[rusting]

I bought the rio 600's. They pump 200 gph.. They were about $11.00 each, on a diffrent site.

 

[dingo0722]

highly recommend maxi jets. Many other on this site would say the same also

 

[jsgreer1]

Originally Posted by dingo0722
highly recommend maxi jets. Many other on this site would say the same also
i have two in my tank and one in my mixing bucket.

 

[trex]

thanks, you guys are awsome