Don't know what to do anymore. Brown Stuff

hsanchez

hsanchez

Member
My tank has been set up for about 6 months.
20g Long
2 percs
1 bicolor chromis
1 gold head hoby
4 turbo snalis
7-8 hermit crabs.
Misc zoo's
I began seeing brown algae come here and there. But now this stuff has just gotten out of control. For the past month and a half it completely cover my entire sand bend, all my live rock and even my snails and crabs are covered. I've added about 8 blue hermits and 3 turbos to try to help keep it under contol. But no help at all. I bought a gold head goby to atleast keep the sand clean. But after about 15 mins the sand he turned over is just brown again. He can't keep up. I thought maybe I over fed. Cut feeding down to every 2-3 days. Nothing. Cut the lights back form 12 to 8 hrs and nothing. oh, and I do use RO water.
Water test:
Nitrate 0ppm
Ammonia 0-.25ppm
PH 8.2-8.4
Nitrite 0ppm
I just don't know what to do anymore. The tank has just become unsightly and am thinking about quitting the hobby.
 
jer4916

jer4916

Active Member
use DIFFERENT ro water, the water your using has something in it, phosphates* , your feeding your tank each time you do a water change, or add freshwater,..do a 30% water change with new RO water, then keep adding ro water when you need to keep your salinity up.
i had the same problem, had to clean it 98709870987 times a day...and about shot something. started using RO as i was suggested to...and bam. problem gone 2 weeks later.
hope this helps
~Chris
 
chipmunk

chipmunk

Member
I never use RO water and my tank is awsome and have no browing issues. I think if you where to install some UV on your tank this would solve your problem.
 
ezee

ezee

Member
HSanchez,
I noticed that you did not post your water flow. How many times does the water in your tank turn over?
Sometimes better circulation can really help the situation. So it might be as easy as getting a couple of powerheads!
E
 
carshark

carshark

Active Member
ok first a UV can not kill brown diatoms in theory, for they are light thriving. phosphates, lights on too long, new tank (1 year or less), tap water, and nitrates are all big factors in diatom blooms. sounds like you have your possible factors narrowed down. Id say it is probably your tank is still relatively new. really check for phosphates they consume these fairly rapidly.
try and shoot for 15-20x turnover youre at about 12x. add another decent sized powerhead and you should be good to go.
 
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