Cleaning up diatom outbreak and water changes

[pacopetty]

First of all my tank is 5 weeks old. It has 80 lbs LS and 50/20 LR/BR. Two powersweep PH 228s and one Penguin 550 PH for circulation. A Turboflotor 1000 PS for filtration and a medium sized patch of calupera.
I used a powerhead to remove as much brown algae as I could from my LR today, cleaned the glass, siphoned out 5 gallons of the water, and replaced it with 5 gallons of aged/aerated saltwater.
The only inhabitants in my tank are 4 astrea snails and a large CB.
Is what I did ok to do once a week for the brown algae problem?
Also, I usually do a 10% water change every Saturday instead of a 25% to 50 percent once a month. Isn't this better for my tank.

 

[leopard_babe]

If your tank is new, then this is normal, and it will eventually go away. do you use ro water? that can help. But diatoms are a part of a new tank. Mine went away in about 2 months.
Leopard

 

[nm reef]

Your tank is 5 weeks old...has the cycle completed? It may just be finishing which is the cause/source of the diatoms. Its very common for newly cycled systems to develop a algae and/or diatom bloom. If the cycle is done and ammonia/nitrite are zero with low nitrates then I'd say additional clean up crew and regular small percentage water changes would be a good course of action. :thinking:

 

[pacopetty]

Thanks
I do use RO/DI and my cycle is finished. I ordered 50 astrea snails and 20 scarlet hermit crabs from SWF on Wed, hopefully they will be here by the middle of the week.

 

[shrimp134]

Nice order...is that all you got?

 

[pacopetty]

I ordered some fish yesterday and one shrimp.
2 percs
1 wards tiger goby
1 bicolor blenny
1 pistol shrimp

 

[pacopetty]

bump

 

[beaslbob]

Originally posted by pacopetty
First of all my tank is 5 weeks old.
...
Is what I did ok to do once a week for the brown algae problem?
Also, I usually do a 10% water change every Saturday instead of a 25% to 50 percent once a month. Isn't this better for my tank.
If you do nothing the brown algae will turn to green as phosphates are consumed. entirely normal at the 3-5 week period for a new tank.
Water changes will not prevent algae outbreaks.
To vastly reduce or even eliminate these algae outbreaks, the best thing to do is establish a thriving growth of other plant life. Any plant life is essential to aquariums because plant life consumes ammonia, nitrates, phosphates, and carbon dioxide. and in the process filters out all kinds of stuff including heavy metals. So by establishing other plant life that other plant life will starve the uglies.

 

[pacopetty]

Thanks, I've got calupera and I am going to get some spaghetti algae for it this week also.

 

[dubbin1]

My tank developed the brown mess in the first week that I set it up. I am now about 2 1/2 weeks into my cycle and it is all cleared up now. I dont think I would worry to much about tring to clean it up other then the crew you just got.
Dwayne

 

[pacopetty]

I added my new clean up crew this morning and I can already tell a difference. They are mowing down the algae!