is this brown alage good?

[jer4916]

My tank is starting to grow a brown alage..its rust in color.....its starting to grow...is this something i should end now?..or let it grow?....will it turn purple someday?...
i want my base rock to turn purple....
if anyone has ANY ideas...please help!
~chris
55 gallon,
eheim filter
protein skimmer
maxi jet 1200
maxi jet 1200 (i have 2 in my tank)
around 70 pounds of live rock,...plus sand
fish
niger trigger
cream angel
angel (not sure what kind)
lionfish
tang
thanks guys
ohh~...also all my levels are PERFECT.....everything is right on...the tank has been up and stocked with these levels stable for around 3 months

 

[paulcoates]

stop using tap water

 

[reeffeer]

first... nothing brown turns purple,sorry. its harsh but true if youve stock your tank with rok thqat is uncured, like tufa and stuff you buy out of a box..you run the chance of being overrun buy undesireable agle blooms. first get a c

leaning crew . snails crabs and one brittle star not a chocolate chip starfish cause theyll eat the snals and any future coral. next use only r.o. water not tap. phosphates create blooms. dont overfeed this too creates phosphates and blooms. get a simple book on algea since it is a great part of what lives in your tank as well. good luck

 

[nm reef]

Originally Posted by Jer4916
55 gallon:
eheim filter
protein skimmer
maxi jet 1200
maxi jet 1200 (i have 2 in my tank)
around 70 pounds of live rock,...plus sand
fish:
niger trigger
cream angel
angel (not sure what kind)
lionfish
tang
At first glance what catchs my eye is your filtration..what type/size protein skimmer? You say LR that has been in place for 3 months...but also mention base rock? Which do you have? If your tank is just 3 months old and if you used base rock to establish it then its possible the base rock hasn't fully developed yet...which in turn may limit your filtrations ability to process the bio-load placed on it.
The second thing that catchs my eye is your stocking level...a three month system with the fish you listed may be having a difficult time keeping up with the bio-load created by the fish. What are your current levels of ammonia/nitrite/nitrate? How stable is your PH? What does your temp range daily? What is your specific gravity/salinity?
Sounds like some sort of hair algae starting to gain a foot hold to me and if possible you probably should get it under control before it gets better established. THE CAUSES CAN BE NUMEROUS...BUT IN YOUR CASE i'D SPECULATE THAT THE SYSTEM IS YOUNG AND NOT STABLE...THE FILTRATION MAY NOT BE ADAQUATELY MATURED...THE BIO-LOAD CREATED BY THE FISH MAY EXCEED THE FILTRATIONS ABILITY...IT MAY BE POSSIBLE THAT THE FISH ARE OVER FED...
dang it....locked caps without knowing it...sorry ... didn't intend to scream.

 

[jer4916]

The levels in my tank have been stable for (3 months) tank is actully 6 months old total ...ph is at a perfect 8.2, amo is at zero, nitrate is at zero my nitrite is .1 (should be under 4 on my products scale for perfect) so my levels are perfect...and my fish's colors are VERY bright, and the fish are very active....i've been told by friends who have larger tanks that there oddlly confused by my stocking and how my levels are so low....but i have a protein skimmer on it designed for a 125 gallon, and a eheim designed for a 66 gallon, and 2 maxi jet 1200's... As for live rock..i get it confused with base rock....i just know i have ALOT of big rocks that look to me like dead coral...my dad had it in his saltwater tank about 3 years ago....when he put away his tank the rock all died....i obviously cleaned the rock...yada yada ..and how its in my tank....i've been reading that it can turn purple again...and im just trying to figure out how....
also in my tank i run copper...not much...but a little....because i HATE ich! ...i've been reading some pro's and some con's to the stuff...so i haven' t added copper to my tank in alittle over 2 months....im hoping that someday i can have crabs, and snails.
any imput guys?

 

[tuna dan]

Well since you added copper to the main tank any invert you put in there will most likely die... sorry that mean you will have a tough time getting rid of that algae problem. Your fish can fight ICH off themselves if not stressed with your tank size you havent said but I am guessing around 55 gallons to many fish of that size tank and a young tank like NM Reef said.